Author: Heinrich Heine was born in 1979 into a Jewish family in Rhineland. In 1825 he converted to Christianity. Many of his works were banned by German authorities because of their potentially revolutionary and radical views.
Context: Inspired by a protest against working conditions in 1844 Germany. With the onset of the Industrial Revolution around 1820, the revolution was fully underway and people were beginning to become more aware of the problems and abuses that they were experiencing.
Language: Heine seems to use a rebellious tone with the idea of unification. Along with that, it is a somewhat dark, ominous tone.
Audience: Within the poem, Heine is addressing Germany and the atrocities that are being committed due to the Industrial Revolution. This is for those workers that are being abused so that they know there are people out there willing to stand up.
Intent: The intent of this work is to create a change in Germany that would create better conditions for the workers.
Message: Within this poem, Heine is trying to let the people of Germany know that there are others that are also unhappy while also letting Germany know that change is imminent. This opinion was obviously correct with the March Revolution occurring in 1848.
Within the poem, Heine not only addresses the lying father nation (Germany), but also the king and God in other verses. Clearly, the people that are being abused, in this case the weavers, are not happy with any of these three.
Tag Archives: Industrial Revolution
Marx on Estranged Labour
Karl Marx is a German author who is most famous for writing the Communist Manifesto with Fredrick Engels. He was a German who wrote on the final socialist revolution after the industrial revolution began to take off in the mid 19th century. Marx also wrote specifically on the plight of the worker from which he derived his Manifesto. Estranged Labor is essentially a treatise on how the worker is treated in the new industrial society.
Marx begins to talk about how the worker has power over his job as he is specialized into his field, however the better he does his job, the more power he is giving to his bosses. He does this by producing more and more as time goes on. This begins to translate into excess profit as the worker performs his job better and better allowing for the industry to hire more workers at lower wages, and consequently cut those of the original employee.
Marx speaks specifically about workers becoming part of a very objectified system, becoming materials, or resources in the eyes of the industry that they built. Workers during the industrial revolution are objectified like that of the raw materials that are essential for manufacturing.
Marx writes to make the point that the workers are the foundation of the new progressive industrial society, but that they are not revered as the true cogs of the machine. Rather they are replaced like one would replace a broken piece of furniture. The working class which is the quintessential part of the new world order, is objectified and given no rights or privileges as they are under the yoke of Capitalism. Marx advocates that revolution is necessary for the workers to receive what they deserve in a society where the work that they do is revered rather then taken off the assembly line without any appreciation or consideration given to the people who made possible the capitalist engine. Marx advocates that worker’s socialism would be the best system because capitalism is essentially an oppression of the masses with the proletariat caught under the weight of corporations.
Socialist Opinions in an Industrial Society
Robert Owen
Author
- Robert Owen
- English cotton manufacturer
- “Utopian” socialist and workers’ rights advocate
- Headed England’s Revolutionary Trades Union movement in 1830s
- Worked in America/England
Context
- Industrial Revolution is booming
- Working conditions are not good and there are few laws in place to protect them
- In United States, President Andrew Jackson defunded Second Bank of U.S. on March 28 (much to many peoples’ disapproval)
Language
- Negative opinion on the flaws of the system
- Persuasive with extended flowery (yet still understandable) language
Audience
- Literate upper/middle class
- Voters, landowners, business owners (people of everyday influence)
- Great Britain’s people
Intent
- Explain why the current system is so flawed
- Incite change in a bloodless revolution
Message
- Unite as Consolidated Union
- By holding a strong moral influence, help man reach its full potential outside the evil grasps of the current flawed system
Karl Marx
Author
- Karl Marx
- Wealthy middle class
- When this was published he was working as the editor to a paper in Paris
Context
- Industrial Revolution
- Very poor conditions for workers
- France during the July Monarchy
Language
- Very philosophical… breaks down each basic element and defines/redefines to reach a certain conclusion
- Rational
- Easy to understand and follow
Audience
- Workers
- Lower classes of Paris
Intent
- Reach the workers and convince them of a socialist system where they are not devalued
Message
- Political economy based on greed and competition
- Workers are objectified, estranged, and treated poorly in a system based on greed
- People are alienated from their products by the system which contradicts their nature
- Private property causes this estrangement
Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon
Author
- Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon
- Scientist, businessman, and theorist
- Writing had more influence after his death
Context
- France under Napoleon’s constitutional monarchy
- Industrial rev with poor working conditions and a lot of angry, hungry workers
Language
- Emotional and persuasive
- Many questions
Audience
- Working class and middle class
Intent
- Offer an opinion against laissez-faire economics
Message
- Personal and social interests do not always coincide, which is why laissez-faire economics don’t always work
- Those at the top become corrupted while those at the bottom suffer
Early Socialist Thinkers: Owen, Saint-Simon, and Marx
1.) “The Legacy of Robert Owen to the Population of the World”
Author: Robert Owen. Welsh cotton manufacturer. Utopian socialist and a founder of the cooperative movement. Founder of (failed) New Harmony colony in the U.S. Had a vision of an ideal society.
Context: Great Britain, 1844. Industrial Revolution. Many of the Factory Acts were in place, including many that regulated child labor.
Language: Persuasive, confident, hopeful
Audience: The Grand National Consolidated Trades Union of Great Britain and Ireland
Intent: To persuade listeners to begin a bloodless revolution driven by morality and wisdom.
Message: A complete reworking of society was necessary. “Men of industry” should unite to begin the bloodless revolution that will lead to a new and improved state of human existence.
Why?: Many factory owners during the Industrial Revolution abused their workers with long hours, unsafe conditions, and low wages. Owen ran his factories more benevolently and saw a utopic vision in which all of society was based on moral correctness and wisdom.
2.) “The Incoherence and Disorder of Society”
Author: Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon. French political and economic theorist. Businessman. Believed in a meritocracy. Fought in the American Revolution. Supporter of French Revolution and imprisoned during the Reign of Terror.
Context: Saint-Simon lived in France under Napoleon and during the Bourbon Restoration (constitutional monarchy). Frequent occurrences of civil unrest.
Language: Passionate, sarcastic at times, easy to read
Audience: The industrial class–everyone engaged in productive work.
Intent: Disprove the principle behind laissez-faire economics. Advocate for a meritocracy.
Message: Industry needed to address the needs of the industrial class. Economics cannot be focused merely on statistics; society needs to take care of people and their needs.
Why?: Saint-Simon fought in the American Revolution, and his time in America likely exposed him to a society with fewer class distinctions than the one in which he lived. He also supported the French Revolution’s principles of equality, liberty, and fraternity, and his own work argues in favor of these principles as well. The Bourbon Restoration provided a more conservative government to France, and Saint-Simon may have reacted against his government’s conservative attitudes.
3.) “Estranged Labor” from Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts of 1844
Author: Karl Marx. German philosopher, economist, and socialist. Moved to Paris in 1843. Prolific Writer. Father of Marxism.
Context: Marx lived in France during the July Monarchy, which was a time of liberal constitutional monarchy. Paris was the de facto headquarters for revolutionaries from all over Europe.
Language: Challenging to follow, very convoluted arguments, passionate tone
Audience: The intended audience (workers; the common man) likely differs from the audience who would be capable of actually comprehending Marx’s argument (academics and philosophers).
Intent: Turn society against capitalism.
Message: Capitalism hurts the laboring class because the more wealth a worker produces, the poorer he becomes. He is alienated from his product and estranged from himself. Society is divided into these propertyless workers and the owners of that property.
Why?: Other economic thinkers of the time, such as Ludwig Feuerbach influenced Marx, and he lived in Paris at a time when revolutionary minds filled the city. The July Monarchy followed the more conservative Bourbon Restoration, bringing a more liberal view into focus. Marx met many people who shared his views, and his views fermented and strengthened in this atmosphere.
Consequences of Industrialization
In H. Heine’s “The Silesian Weavers” he writes “A curse on this lying father-nation where thrive only shame and degradation, where every flower’s plucked ere it’s bloom and worms thrive in the dank rot and gloom- we’re weaving, we’re weaving!”
This passage exemplifies the poor working class man’s view of the industrial revelation. I chose this passage because it is a curse to the father-nation that is taking advantage of the these workers. The passage shows the feelings of hopelessness and anger that these people had towards their nation. Heine speaks for the people when he writes about their “degradation” and how they see no good and if they manage to get something, anything from their labor, it is quickly stripped from them by those that oppress them. This keeps them in a hopeless state where they expect to be wronged, overworked, and spend their lives rotting in the dark of these workplaces. The workers were basically slaves working unconscionable hours with little time for breaks and meager pay. The industrial revolution was a big step towards solving economic problems and advancing in technology, vocation, transport, communications and mechanized goods. However, the industrial revolution also caused problems of exploitation of women labor as well as child labor. It also created an even bigger divide between the rich and the poor and divided the people into those who “had” and those who didn’t. The need for cheap workers was solved by using the young people and making them work in conditions so horrible, most of them grew up maimed and unhealthy to the point where their quality of life was severely reduced and many died. With no rights to vote, or strike against this injustice, Heine provides these laborers with a voice, and expresses the feeling of these oppressed people who have been denied an opinion or choice for their quality of life.
“We’re weaving, we’re weaving!”
In H. Heine’s poem “The Silesian Weavers” he writes “Their gloom-enveloped eyes are tearless, They sit at the spinning wheel, snarling cheerless: “Germany, we weave your funeral shroud, A threefold curse be within it endowed-We’re weaving, we’re weaving!” This is of course in reference to the awful conditions for factory workers during the Industrial Revolution. This poem pertains to the workers in Silesia, a Prussian Province.
This stanza in the poem is more impactful when taking into account the other two readings. Even though Heine’s poem is about Silesia, it could be about any large factory. This is not an overreaction to one factory with poor conditions. Every factory had these issues. Every worker sat “at the spinning wheel, snarling cheerless”. The workers are clearly angry with the factory, angry with the new life. This is not just obvious because the poem was inspired by an 1844 protest but the language. When writing “A threefold curse be within it endowed” Heine was showing this anger. The workers are angry about the money and hours because of these conditions. It is much easier to like your job when the conditions are acceptable, but 19th century factories were certainly not acceptable. The last line of the first stanza is also very telling. By using the exclamation point, Heine is implying that “We’re weaving, we’re weaving!” is something the workers had to say often, in order to show the bosses they we’re still working. However if they had to show they we’re working then how much effort were the putting into the work?
The Division of Labor
Adam Smith’s Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations was published in 1776, and gives his descriptions of the things that are responsible for helping to build a nations’ wealth at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The first chapter speaks about the Division of Labor, which Smith states has been the cause of the greatest improvement in the increased productivity of labor. He gives the example of the pin-makers and their ability to increase productivity and output with a division of labor. Each step in making a pin was performed by a different worker, allowing for a more efficient process and resulting in the creation of many more pins. If there was no division of labor and each man worked independently, they would not be able to produce the same number of pins. Therefore with the introduction of the division, no matter in what arena, there is a proportionable increase in the productive powers of labor. When a man is only responsible for completing one step in a process, his dexterity improves and he can increase the quantity of work he can perform, while saving time in the process. Each individual worker becomes an expert in their particular task, resulting in more work being completed more efficiently.
With an increase in technology and the development of new machines in the Industrial Revolution came the idea of the division of labor. The workers new ability to concentrate on specific tasks led them to become more skilled in that task. This specialization allowed for increased efficiency, a growth in output and increase in trade, leading to greater economic independence for the nation.