Between
1750 and 1870, two very different revolutions took place simultaneously in
Europe: The French Revolution which led to political transformation and the
Industrial Revolution, which brought about dramatic economic and technological
changes. These Revolutions had an enormous impact on society; in this period
and years later.
The
Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain in the 18th century and
spread across Europe and North America over the next 100 years.
The new
Industry, which was based on the mechanization of production, technical
innovations and new ways of working, caused strong growth in the production of
industrial goods.
Industrialization
introduced capitalism as an economic system and transformed society. Cities
grew as people left the countryside in search of work.
Two new
social classes made up the backbone of society: the bourgeoisie, who had
capital to invest and the proletariat, who worked in the factories.
To have a better
understanding of the social situation BBC Radio is going to interview the
Embiid brothers.
-What age are you? Twenty-two. 24
-What is
your occupation? We both work in the countryside as peasants
-At what
age did you start working? Eight, 9
-How long
did you continue in that occupation? Until now.
-Which is your working timetable? It depends on the season.
On summer, we work from 6 in the morning to 7 at night.
-Thirteen hours? Yes.
-Do you have any break? Just for lunch and for dinner.
-Have you ever had the same timetable? From 5 in the morning
to 8 in the evening. In the beginning own a land.
-Fifteen hours? Yes.
-With what intervals at dinner? — An hour and a half
-How far did you live from the land? — About 10 miles
-So far away? Yes. Our uncle, who is the engine driver,
always take us for free.
-Was there any time allowed for you to get your breakfast in
the land? — yes. As I have told you in the beginning we worked for a guy who
was very rude and he just let us little time to have a break, but thankfully,
we own a land and we had breakfast before work
-Have you ever been beaten by your boss? – Aaron was once,
tell him.
-Yes, I couldn’t go work during 3 days because I was
incredibly ill, and when I arrived the next day, he called me and I was beaten
by him.
-At the time when you were beaten for not going to work for
3, did you know that you were going to be beaten? — Yes; our boss used to tell
us that if we didn´t work hard enough, we could be beaten, and sometimes while
we were working we could see people coming out of his house with bruises.
-When you got home at night after this labor, did you feel
much fatigued? — Very much.
-Had you any time to be with your parents, and to receive
instruction from them? — No, they, as well as us, my mother worked cleaning
houses of the bourgeoisie, and my father worked in a different land.
-And why were you butted out? Because new machinery arrived
and many people had to be fired, and as you can imagine we got fired.
-What did you do? — With the savings from these years, and
with help of my family, we bought a land.
-What changes appeared? There were many changes. The main
change that appeared was the mechanical seed drill, which made it possible to
plough and sow so large fields with few workers. Also, other inventions, such
as the reaper, or the Rotherham plough. In addition, a new way of dividing the
land appeared, the Norfolk crop rotation, which was based on a combination of
grains and fodder crops, replace the three-field rotation system. In the same
period the Enclosure acts also appeared, which were used to concentrate the
fields of a person in a same plot. Furthermore, new crops appeared in the
cultivation system to improve the quality of the diet. E.g.: Potatoes and corn.
-Have you noticed any consequences? The main one is that we
got fired! These agricultural improvements led to a significant rise in food
production, which ensured the survival of a rapidly growing population.
-When the people were fired, what did they do? Most of them
went to the city. But this didn´t only happened in our village. In the last few
years there has been a rural exodus with the aim of working in the factories.
-Why didn´t you do the same? Despite the fact that the
cities tried to be prepared with new modes of transports, the city walls were
demolished and new neighborhoods were created.
-How is the political situation? Well, as we work in our own
land in the countryside, we haven´t had the same impact as the ones who live in
the cities. Our older brother, often tells us how bad the situation in the
factories is nowadays: lack of security often ends up in work accidents such as
amputation of limbs or even deaths. The work atmosphere is stressful and
irritating, the workers are often abused, and sometimes they can finish being
butted out because of anything. Also, the schedule was everything except of
flexible: they have no holidays, they work more than thirteen hours per day,
they worked seven days a week and only resting Sunday´s afternoon. Our brother
often tells us that he can see children working as young as eight years.
Frequently we have to give him some money to buy food, because salaries are
really low. Thank God, a new way of thinking called Marxism that is joining
workers with the aim of improve their rights.
-What do you think Marxism is offering your brother? In
first place, he is having support from those who are suffering this inequality
as well. Our brother thinks that Capitalism pretends this situation to be
continued, and the only possibility to make this change is to hang onto to the
ideals of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Yes, Marxism has the target of
destroying the private property, putting it in the hands of the state, creating
a proletarian dictatorship, making the social classes and the Estate disappear,
giving all the power to the workers.
-And do you think Marxism is going to have an effect in
economy? Well Marxism isn´t going to have an impact in the economy. But,
playing devil´s advocate, Capitalism economic activities respond to the free
initiative of individuals, whose objective is the pursuit of maximum profit. It
is an unplanned system with minimal state intervention. The interests of
sellers and buyers are reconciled in the market, which is regulated only by the
law of supply and demand.
-And is Britain exporting their products to other countries?
Great Britain is the pioneer of this Revolution, so to avoid competition from Britain
and to foster the growth of their own industries, European countries and the
United States applied protectionism measures.
-Thank you. It has been a pleasure. Your welcome, Bye.
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