Shane O’Neil
Professor Levine
European Revolutions 1789-1989
23 September 2016
Utopian Socialist View of Industrial Revolution One of the major issues of European society today is that there is a major class struggle among the very rich and the very poor. Under these circumstances, I happen to be at the latter end of the class spectrum. Born in London, England during the year 1832 to a poor working family, I am currently working at seventeen years of age. Since I was six, my father has been out of work as a shopkeeper; as a result, I have had to work extended hours for the past few years to help support my family. As for occupation, I work as overseer at an iron factory which helps produce metal for the railroad construction project. Currently, …show more content…
He makes a valid argument when he talks about the necessary interplay between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat who basically rely on one another to exist, mostly the bourgeoisie. I find it compelling that the bourgeoisie are so desperate in their attempt to flourish that they enforce their constant economic revolution onto everyone else. Marx makes a good case of explaining how the bourgeois wants to form a society that it can thrive in and to spread this idea of modern industry to other places. He states that, “[The bourgeois] compels all nations [...] to adopt the bourgeois mode of production; it compels them [...] to become bourgeois themselves.” The bourgeoisie will continue to revolutionize the means of producing goods until there is nothing left to revolutionize. Then they will be left with the realization that a majority of the working class is severely opposed to their …show more content…
Initially, I agree with the notion of the minimum wage playing a part in how satisfied I would be at the iron industry. However, the number of hours which I am responsible for and that my group of workers needs to work play a fairly significant role. The number of hours worked is also important because we have no choice when it comes to how long we want to work; it only matters that we keep our jobs in order to support our struggling families. Still, if we continue to have decreasing wages then there is nothing stopping us from disliking our work even more than we do now. There will be little motivation left to perform our set tasks, and I might even be removed from my employed position because of an inability to reach the necessary amount of time. Increasing the amount of work, lowering the minimum wage, and refusing to add any sort of useful job benefits are what set the bourgeois apart from the better parts of society. Another point which I disagree with is the idea that we should all unite to violently overthrow the system. From my perspective, I do not think that we should have to oust the capitalists from power unless it is impossible otherwise. After all, Marx’s proposal is just a theory, and we may not have to destroy the ruling class to attain things like better working conditions. Specifically, I do not appreciate how Marx did not bring up any specifics about the “significant technological
Professor Levine
European Revolutions 1789-1989
23 September 2016
Utopian Socialist View of Industrial Revolution One of the major issues of European society today is that there is a major class struggle among the very rich and the very poor. Under these circumstances, I happen to be at the latter end of the class spectrum. Born in London, England during the year 1832 to a poor working family, I am currently working at seventeen years of age. Since I was six, my father has been out of work as a shopkeeper; as a result, I have had to work extended hours for the past few years to help support my family. As for occupation, I work as overseer at an iron factory which helps produce metal for the railroad construction project. Currently, …show more content…
He makes a valid argument when he talks about the necessary interplay between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat who basically rely on one another to exist, mostly the bourgeoisie. I find it compelling that the bourgeoisie are so desperate in their attempt to flourish that they enforce their constant economic revolution onto everyone else. Marx makes a good case of explaining how the bourgeois wants to form a society that it can thrive in and to spread this idea of modern industry to other places. He states that, “[The bourgeois] compels all nations [...] to adopt the bourgeois mode of production; it compels them [...] to become bourgeois themselves.” The bourgeoisie will continue to revolutionize the means of producing goods until there is nothing left to revolutionize. Then they will be left with the realization that a majority of the working class is severely opposed to their …show more content…
Initially, I agree with the notion of the minimum wage playing a part in how satisfied I would be at the iron industry. However, the number of hours which I am responsible for and that my group of workers needs to work play a fairly significant role. The number of hours worked is also important because we have no choice when it comes to how long we want to work; it only matters that we keep our jobs in order to support our struggling families. Still, if we continue to have decreasing wages then there is nothing stopping us from disliking our work even more than we do now. There will be little motivation left to perform our set tasks, and I might even be removed from my employed position because of an inability to reach the necessary amount of time. Increasing the amount of work, lowering the minimum wage, and refusing to add any sort of useful job benefits are what set the bourgeois apart from the better parts of society. Another point which I disagree with is the idea that we should all unite to violently overthrow the system. From my perspective, I do not think that we should have to oust the capitalists from power unless it is impossible otherwise. After all, Marx’s proposal is just a theory, and we may not have to destroy the ruling class to attain things like better working conditions. Specifically, I do not appreciate how Marx did not bring up any specifics about the “significant technological