Socialism and Labor Movements in the 19th Century
The Working Classes
Farmers
The situation of European peasantry was very diverse. In the West, the peasantry was free, and in many landowner cases in Eastern Europe, serfdom was not abolished until the nineteenth century.
The Workers
The Industrial Revolution led to a wide range of industrial workers, who tended to be classified as working class or proletariat. Their common denominator was the condition of being employees.
Within the working class were manufacturing industry workers, homeworkers, domestic servants, casual employees or vendors, and artisans.
In general, job insecurity was a major concern. An accident or illness could lead to the misery of the worker, who were not covered by any social protection. The working hours were long.
The worst jobs were awarded to immigrants. Women and children were exploited. Gradually, they were forming a group of skilled workers.
Social Thought and Labor Organization
The great ideologies of the nineteenth century were liberalism, nationalism, and socialism.
Social Doctrines
The social doctrine began to be systematized between 1820 and 1830, coinciding with the liberal revolutions.
Utopian Socialism
The first socialist theories drew attention more to the effects of capitalism on the causes of this poverty. It was the era of utopian socialists, who imagined ideal solutions to remedy this situation. Their proposals focused on charitable actions. Thus emerged a number of actions:
- The Frenchman Saint-Simon stressed the need for social solidarity.
- The Frenchman Charles Fourier imagined an ideal society composed of small communities, which he called phalansteries.
- The Englishman Robert Owen created a new city called New Harmony and workers organized in cooperatives.
These proposals have in common a concern for social equality. In all cases, the work is performed collectively.
The First Collective Actions
The first actions of the working classes were held in a context of prohibition of associations. This forced the workers to combine forms of violent struggle, as the revolt and the riot.
Luddism
One of the most important manifestations of the workers’ struggle culminated in the battle against the effects of the machine since the introduction of machinery meant the loss of many jobs.
The Luddites were composed of weavers and textile workers who managed to destroy power looms. Captain Swing’s followers succeeded in destroying a large number of threshers.
Both are manifestations intermediate between rural revolt and collective action. The Luddites made some claims, such as improvements in their wages and more suitable working conditions.
Chartism
The best example of collective action by the working class during the nineteenth century was the Chartist movement in England. Chartism takes its name from the People’s Charter, a document addressed to the British Parliament, in which they called for electoral reform.
The novelty of Chartism was that it sought to reform the situation of the working class through elections and parliament.
The Chartist experience proved vital to British labor history.
The Revolutions of 1848
In the revolutions of 1848, workers participated in the revolutionary struggle. The failure of the revolutions of 1848 had important consequences for the labor movement. Thus, unions and workers’ parties were created. The unions wanted to improve working conditions. Labor parties sought to conquer political rights.
Unions and Workers’ Parties
Unions
At first, the workers were associated in mutuals and cooperatives. Both methods were intended to assist their partners in case of accidents; they were called mutual aid societies.
The next step was the creation of unions. The unions were legally recognized in the second half of the century in England.
In his first expressions, the prevailing trade union, bringing together a type of qualified worker. Later, the industrial union broke through.
In Britain, there was a national organization, the Trade Union Congress (TUC).
The firmness shown by the claims made significant strides: the struggle for the eight-hour day and the holding of the civic celebration of May Day.
Labor Parties
The most powerful political party was the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Germany.
The other major political party that emerged in this period was the British Labor Party.
In Spain, the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) was founded in 1879 by Pablo Iglesias.