The Condition of the Working Class in England (Oxford University Press Version)

Description

Written during Engels’ 1842-1844 stay in Manchester, one of the most important cities of the Industrial Revolution, The Condition of the Working Class in England is a seminal study of the industrial working class in England during Queen Victoria’s reign. Engels carefully documented the wages and terrible living conditions of workers in England and believed that the Industrial Revolution made workers worse off than before. This interpretation of the Industrial Revolution later became very influential among British historians. Engels’ theoretical interpretation of history and the primary data and observations he compiled in the book continue to be influential to this day.

The proletarian is helpless; left to himself, he cannot live a single day. The bourgeoisie has gained a monopoly of all means of existence in the broadest sense of the word. What the proletarian needs, he can obtain only from this bourgeoisie, which is protected in its monopoly by the power of the State. The proletarian is, therefore, in law and in fact, the slave of the bourgeoisie, which can decree his life or death.