A look at England in the 1850's and the classstruggles which existed between the landowners and the middle class, and the working class against the industrial revolution.
Abstract An examination of the chaos existing in 19th century England and the causes and consequences. The paper states that England's development of a dual classstruggle -middle class vs. aristocracy and working class vs. middle class - arose for several reasons. The most immediate and obvious cause was the industrial revolution, which impacted the country economically, socially, and politically.
From the Paper "The year 1850 found England in the midst of some remarkable transitions. First, in the wake of the Industrial Revolution, England was in the process of evolving from being an agrarian society into being an industrial one. In fact, the year 1851 would mark the first year when the number of people in England's cities and towns was greater than the number of people in her rural areas (Hibbert 67).
"Second, for the first time in the country's history, the landowners, also known as the gentry or aristocracy, found themselves losing political ground and cultural influence to the middle class. The Middle Class, strengthened by the Industrial Revolution, had battered its way into the House of Commons and successfully passed several reform measures, such as the Prison Act, and the Lunacy Act, measures that the aristocracy would not have undertaken if left to their own devices."
Abstract This paper looks at the views of Marx and Madison on classstruggle. The ideologies of both Marx and Madison are compared. It is shown that while Marx looked to socialism as a result and solution to the classstruggle, Madison looked to establish a structure to minimize the effect of the differences, and in which capitalism could co-exist with representative government.
From the Paper "Marx wrote that the history of all existing societies is the history of class struggle. Using this statement as a basis for his theoretical model, he argued that historical change was in large measure due to the forces of people acting to gain, protect or protest their relative social and material status. If everything is material and humans create social life in response to economic need, then aspects of human society are primarily based on economic structure, classes are determined by their relationship to that structure, and events can be seen as the outcome of the interaction of those classes. From the moment humans were able to produce more than was needed for mere subsistence, there was a struggle over who was to control the surplus and the means of production."
This paper discusses classstruggle as portrayed in 'The Critic as Artist' by Oscar Wilde and 'The Historical Text as Literary Artifact' by Hayden White.
Abstract In this article, the writer notes that classstruggle is one conflict that has persistently influenced social development and art. For purposes of this paper, the writer treats both criticism and history as forms of 'art' in themselves, respectively based on the creative equality between art and criticism Oscar Wilde argues in 'The Critic as Artist' and the structural equipollency between history and literature cited by Hayden White in 'The Historical Text as Literary Artifact'. The writer maintains that if one therefore assumes that most art, as defined above, is the product of either education, or writing, or both, then it is one of the inherent components of classstruggle. The writer concludes that art, especially in the written form, is a practice which, regardless of its intention, may empower those elites capable of comprehending and analyzing it and therefore potentially sharpens the class divide.
From the Paper "As such, both history and criticism employ the same technique to the same end: the use of reason and language to explain the meaning of an object at hand. Thus each stands in the same relationship to the object as the artist stands to reality. Since literature and painting undergo the same process of creation and interpretation as history, we may also interpret history as art also.
"While both authors appear to have similar notions about the use of 'art' to assign form and meaning, their positions on its role in society diverge."
Abstract In this article, the writer looks at views of classstruggle in Gramsci and Mao. The writer discusses Mao's views of contradiction and looks at how Mao defines identity.
From the Paper "Mao Tse-Tung outlines his view of the opposing interests and states of the proletariat and bourgeoisie. According to Mao all opposites are simultaneously different and interconnected. In each contradiction however, there is an echo of what is being contradiction. There can be no high without a low, no richness without poorness. And thus even things that are opposite are identical. Because each is the condition for the other's existence. This is the first meaning of identity ... "
Abstract This paper examines how "The Communist Manifesto" by Marx and Engels explore the concepts of communism, capitalism and class and how Marx asserts that capitalism only leads to a society of overworked people that are incapable of expressing thoughts. It looks at how there are several readings that confirm Marx? notions of class and the negative effects of mass production within a capitalist society such as "The Lawrence Textile Strike" in which Marx precepts that the proletariat class would revolt against the bourgeois comes to fruition. In this case the textile workers strike because they feel that they are not receiving enough pay for the amount of time that they work.
From the Paper "Another example of Marx theories of class and capitalism is found in the "Corporate Man". This article confirms Marx notion that capitalism cripples an individual's ability to think for himself. The author explains that all of the endeavors of the corporate man are done for the sake of the organization that he works for. The article asserts that the demands of the corporation become more important to the executive than family, recreation, sex and health. (Golbraith) In addition, the notion of the corporate executive perpetuates the division between the classes. The article asserts that the corporate executive is overeducated and overpaid while the working class is overworked and underpaid. The article explains that in the end the corporate executive is forgotten and his hard work is underappreciated."
Tags: capitalism, bourgeois, corporation, mass, production
Discusses how paternalistic overtures and the positioning of the elite as a benign force in the lives of the poor have formed the path of class conflict in Latin America.
Abstract This paper analyzes the motives and methods behind the class overtures in Latin America and how these methods have clashed with the pure-force tactics also employed by those in power. It discusses how paternalism has both hindered and facilitated force and violence in classstruggle in Latin America. The writer also explores this topic through looking at missionaries, industry and politics in the region, using specific examples such as factories in Chile and Columbia, Peronism in Argentina and Isabellan legislation in the New World.
From the Paper "The modern era has seen the rise of class conflict to the forefront of the political and economic arenas of the world. Nowhere is this more clearly seen than in the socially stratified sphere of Latin American history. From violent strikes to repressive politics, Latin America has seen class struggle pit the poor against the rich, labor against capital, peasants against landlords, the people against the government, and the masses against the elite. And yet, class conflict and the lines between the sides involved have never been so clear-cut in reality as in words. In many instances, the powers that be, the elites of politics and the factory owners of industry, have positioned themselves not as the enemies, but as the protectors, of the poor. From European missionary rhetoric to paternalistic factory politics to populist politics, those in power have forged as a much of a legacy in positioning themselves as a benign force in the lives of the lower class as they have in abusing and antagonizing those less fortunate. Incidences of paternalism, control by those in power to mold the lower classes into a way of living deemed or advertised as better than their current status, in Latin America are not only deviations from the them-vs.-us portrait of class struggle; paternalism complexifies and deepens the reality of class relations itself by at times intensifying the exploitation of elite goals, and at other times offering the lower classes genuine help from the above. Often, though, the effects of paternalism have been somewhere in between, both building bridges and burning them in the war between classes. In analyzing the motives behind paternalistic actions and rhetoric, whether they derive from need for control or power, or a genuine conception or misconception of how to improve the lives of the lower class, students of Latin American history can see that the reasons behind paternalistic efforts have been varied and unclear, while the effects of these efforts have touched all aspects of social, economic and political identity in Latin America. "
Abstract The industrial revolution brought about a new era of industry-driven wealth and prosperity, but it also resulted in the rapid polarization of social classes. This paper explains the positions of both pro-labor and anti-labor leaders and discusses the validity of these positions.
From the Paper "By the mid 1800's, industrialization had become a prominent force in American society. With it came drastic increases in productivity and manufacturing efficiency, and a vast amount of wealth, which found its way largely into the hands of the few who were intelligent - or lucky - enough to find themselves in control of lucrative businesses. This newfound supply of wealth began to have a dramatic effect on the upper classes. Even Andrew Carnegie, who called on the wealthy to practice "modest, unostentatious living," found himself living in a fabulous New York mansion by the beginning of the twentieth century. The surprising new wealth of the capitalists, however, contrasted sharply with the relative poverty of the general populace."
Abstract This essay will apply Marx's views - and, in particular, his theoretical concept of economics and classstruggle shaping social "superstructures" - to an analysis of post-secondary education in Canada. The essay will argue that the Canadian educational system, with its increasing tuition levels and state biases against public education, reflect Marx's view of how classstruggles and interests shape all social organizations.
Abstract This paper is a discussion of social inequality and classstruggle, as they relate to the history of modern society laid out in Karl Marx's "Communist Manifesto". The paper examines Marx's vision of history as a classstruggle.
From the Paper "In The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx lays out his vision of history. According to Marx, the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. The divisions and struggles between classes and the fundamental inequality that underpin..."
Tags: marx, engel, communism, communist manifesto, classstruggle
Abstract This paper looks at the French Revolution from various angles in an attempt to define it as a class revolution of not. The writer holds that, while the revolution might be described in terms of class because the royalty were overthrown by everyone else, hostility to royalty is a rather incomplete defense for calling this event any kind of classstruggle, except for the obvious reason that the royals did not want to give up their power.
From the Paper "In fact the non-royal classes of France had an organizational tradition in the Bourgeois Militia (Luckett, 1997). Established well during the Wars of Religion (Luckett, 1997), this militia was to be made up of one man from each household. This it crossed all classes and brought disparate groups together in a common cause. Similar to the "Minute Men" of the early United States (Luckett, 1997), it was sometimes as large as 50,000 men. The existence of the militia gave legitimacy to various classes working together to oppose a common enemy that might not have otherwise been present."
Abstract This essay is a thorough analysis of the Charles Dickens novel, "A Tale of Two Cities". It focuses on the numerous instances of class distinction, as well as the developing tensions between classes during the given time frame.
From the Paper "The historical context of Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities directly alludes to the tense social, economic, and political climates in France and England during the beginnings of the French revolution. The aristocracy's grandiose lifestyle coupled with the lower classes' desperation formulates a conflicting juxtaposition throughout the novel. Dickens depicts a historically familiar atmosphere. He has a remarkable ability, however, to develop the consistent underlying social struggle between the well-to-do and the less fortunate. Whether he relies on blatant actions from certain characters or the outcry of citizens' sentiments, Dickens develops an accurate reflection of conflicting classes throughout the novel."
Abstract The writer of this paper examines the impact of a Marxist philosophy on art and culture as well as the consequences of a society free of classstruggles. This paper discusses society's need for different classes to push the economy into a productive system by arguing that if everyone were on equal footing there would be no future Picasso, Warhol or Einstein.
From the Paper "Ralph Ellison puts it best when he says, "We are all realists and materialists. It is a question of who shall determine the direction of events."2 In this instance Ellison is pointing out that
due to being a realist and materialist we cannot govern ourselves but must be shown the way. This is one example of the negative role that capitalists serve as they help to shape the ethics and moral of the working class. The workers are encouraged, in a capitalist market, to believe that material goods are necessary. In other words the more an individual posses the better off and happier he is."
Abstract This paper explores how Marx emphasized the significance of "class" and social distinction in "The Communist Manifesto", but he did not provide a definition of what "class" actually was. Through investigating the concept of class within the "Communist Manifesto", the reader witnesses why Marx did not supply a definition for ?class?. In terms of his views upon class and society, the nature of class within human history has characterized the role of every principle humanity is supposed to detest and prohibits the acceptable conquest of those qualities the human being is supposed to idealize.
From the Paper "Of specific note by Marx are the classes of the "Proletarian" and the "Bourgeois". For Marx, the new class of the Bourgeois (interpreted as the industrialist class) is the cause of a new era of social class strife. Marx writes: ?Our epoch, the epoch of the bourgeoisie, possesses, however, this distinctive feature: it has simplified the class antagonisms.? (35) In this concept of class antagonisms, Marx refers to the concept that the middle class of the Bourgeois now has powers that were forbidden to the peasantry, and this serves to further polarize the classes into those that rank as the "Bourgeois" and those that rank among the "Proletarian"."
This paper compares "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller, "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros and "No Matter What" by Mary Saracino and depicts how the characters all find themselves in a social class marginalized from mainstream society.
1,550 words (approx. 6.2 pages), 5 sources, 2001, $ 50.95
Abstract This paper focuses on the characters of these three works and how they epitomize the typical member of society in which they live. The writer analyzes their names as an example of how much this reflects the social class to which they belong and shows how these characters have managed to be marginalized by society despite their best efforts.
From the paper:
Esperanza lives in the impoverished Hispanic community; the only luxury she ever experiences is a ride around the block in a stolen Cadillac. Peanut is part of a working class Catholic family, at a time when Catholics were considered little more than backward cultists, subservient to hundreds of arcane rules and the whims of the pope.
Although no ethnic background is ever specified for him, Willy Loman is a member of a social class that is considered to be most unseemly by mainstream America, the salesman. Worse yet, as the play begins, he is a failed salesman".
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From the Paper Esperanza lives in the impoverished Hispanic community; the only luxury she ever experiences is a ride around the block in a stolen Cadillac. Peanut is part of a working class Catholic family, at a time when Catholics were considered little more than backward cultists, subservient to hundreds of arcane rules and the whims of the pope. Although no ethnic background is ever specified for him, Willy Loman is a member of a social class that is considered to be most unseemly by mainstream America, the salesman. Worse yet, as the play begins, he is a failed salesman.
Abstract This paper assess this relationship as found in the "Harry Potter" series according to the definitions of classstruggle as presented in Karl Marx's classic work, "The Communist Manifesto". An emphasis on the influential families found in both works shall be provided.
