The Labor Movement (1789-1914): Causes, Consequences, and Key Figures
The Labor Movement (1789-1914)
Causes: Exploitation of Workers
- Unemployment
- Long Hours
- Low Wages
In the mid-eighteenth century, especially in England, working conditions changed drastically. The decline of guilds and traditional production methods led to workers becoming proletarians, exchanging their labor for wages. Mechanization caused high unemployment rates.
Unemployment, long hours, low wages, and harsh labor discipline spurred the labor movement, fostering awareness of exploitation and encouraging organization.
Consequences
- Riots
- Strikes
- Luddite Movement
- Mutual Aid Societies
- Creation of Unions
- Chartism
- 1848 Revolution
Demonstrations, riots, and strikes became commonplace. The Luddite movement, named after Ned Ludd (an English worker who allegedly destroyed a power loom), emerged in response to machines perceived as causing unemployment and wage decline. Workers destroyed machinery in industrialized regions of Great Britain and continental Europe, including France and Spain (Alcoy). Governments actively pursued and suppressed Luddism.
The first labor organizations were clandestine mutual aid societies. These societies supported workers during illness or unemployment, organized early strikes, and established resistance funds through member fees.
Local trade unions, organized by profession, soon developed. The need to coordinate these unions led to the creation of larger organizations, such as the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union in Great Britain in 1834.
Trade unionism expanded in Spain in the 1830s, with the creation of the Workers’ Association in Barcelona. However, it was in Great Britain that the labor movement first took on a political character.
Facing persecution, workers realized the need for political participation to change laws. In 1836, labor representatives petitioned the British Parliament, demanding:
- Universal male suffrage
- Salaries for members of Parliament (to enable worker participation)
- Annual parliamentary sessions
Although Parliament rejected the petition, the Chartist movement successfully reduced the workday to 10 hours and mobilized large numbers of workers.
1848 and the Shift to France
In 1848, the focus of worker activism shifted from Britain to France. French workers joined with the bourgeoisie to overthrow the monarchy of Louis Philippe of Orléans and establish the Second Republic. However, the bourgeoisie rejected workers’ social demands, leading to a break in their alliance.
Large Schools of Thought
a) Before 1848 (Utopian Socialism)
Critics of emerging capitalist society denounced the poor working conditions and proposed ideal societal models. Three key thinkers include:
- Charles Fourier: Advocated for a phalanstery-based society, organized into agricultural communes where the community lived and worked collectively.
- Étienne Cabet: Envisioned Icaria, a country based on social equality. His attempts to establish such a community were unsuccessful.
- Robert Owen: Supported worker organization in production cooperatives and implemented these ideas in his factory in Scotland. Government pressure forced him into exile in the United States.
b) After 1848 (Marxism and Anarchism)
Marxism
Developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Marxism (or scientific socialism) provided a theory and action plan for societal change, outlined in The Communist Manifesto (1848).
Marxism rests on three core ideas:
- Historical Materialism: Analysis of history as a struggle between oppressors and oppressed (e.g., slavery, feudalism, capitalism).
- Critique of Capitalism: Marx argued that labor generates surplus value beyond wages, which capitalists appropriate, leading to exploitation.
- Future Vision: Marx advocated for the working class to seize power (dictatorship of the proletariat) to abolish social classes and create an egalitarian society.