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Engels Condition Of The Working Class Summary

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Engels Condition Of The Working Class Summary
The Condition of the Working-Class in England in 1844 was written by Friedrich Engels in 1844. Born in 1820, Engels was a German philosopher and scholar who moved to Manchester when he was twenty two in 1842. Engels became well acquainted with Karl Marx in 1844 in Paris, the two would later go on to publish the famous Manifesto of the Communist Party in 1848.
At the time of the publication of Engels’ book, Britain was in the midst of the industrial revolution which brought about rapid urbanisation due to push and pull factors. This mass urbanisation led to huge migration and population growths in cities such as Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham. Which in turn contributed greatly to the growth impoverished areas in these cities and pushed …show more content…
Engels also aims to highlight how the new working class was exploited in the capitalist society by the bourgeoisie. The extract goes into great detail of the abysmal conditions of the housing, stating that they are uninhabitable due to poor construction, poor sanitation and many other problems “Ill-fitting windows and doors, and a state of filth! Everywhere heaps of debris, refuse, and offal.” Engels’ exclamations throughout the extract emphasises his strong feelings of astonishment towards the level of pollution. This level of neglect was also shown notably by William Henry Duncan in his survey of sanitary conditions in Liverpool and found the similar types of housing to have, “Earth floors and no ventilation or sanitation.” It is clear that the conditions of the working class was a nationwide problem, not exclusive to Manchester. Engels exhibits distaste for the capitalist society throughout the extract as he comments on the failure of the bourgeoisie to not build habitable housing and that they only did the least amount of work possible to the houses “While the ground rent is high. They never do more than is absolutely unavoidable.” The tone of this shows Engels feelings towards those in the bourgeoisie as he is clearly disapproving of them not repairing the houses of those who pay them rent. Engels also
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