The Condition of the Working Class in England · Chapter
The Agricultural Proletariat explained
This chapter examines the transformation of the English agricultural labor force from a patriarchal system to a proletarian one, driven by the dissolution of the union of industrial and agricultural work, the rise of large-scale farming, an
What happens
This chapter examines the transformation of the English agricultural labor force from a patriarchal system to a proletarian one, driven by the dissolution of the union of industrial and agricultural work, the rise of large-scale farming, and the introduction of machinery. The resulting surplus population, falling wages, and the enactment of the Poor Law and Game Laws exacerbate the misery of farm laborers, who are depicted as living in extreme poverty, often resorting to poaching and incendiarism as forms of resistance. The chapter highlights the general distress across rural England and the failure of legislative measures to alleviate it.
Themes in this chapter
Agricultural Proletariat and Rural Poverty
The chapter focuses on the creation of a rural proletariat, its extreme poverty, and the systemic causes of its misery.
Class Conflict
The antagonism between farm laborers and landowners/farmers is evident in the Game Laws, poaching, and incendiarism.
Industrial Capitalism
The chapter shows how industrial production methods (machinery, large-scale farming) penetrate agriculture, transforming social relations.
Social Murder
The description of the laborers' wretched conditions, starvation wages, and the indifference of the ruling class aligns with the concept of social murder.
Characters to notice
- Agricultural Proletariat
The central subject of the chapter, describing the transformation of small peasants into day laborers and their subsequent impoverishment.
- The English
Referenced in the context of 'agricultural distress' and the general condition of the rural poor.
- The Masters
Implied as the large farmers and landlords who benefit from the dissolution of the patriarchal relation and the lowering of wages.
- The Irish
Not explicitly mentioned in this chapter, but the context of agricultural labor and wage depression may relate to broader immigration themes.
Key passages
“The farmers had to sell their corn at low prices, and could, therefore, pay only low wages.”
Because farmers received low prices for their grain, they could only afford to pay their laborers very little.
Explains the direct economic link between agricultural prices and wages.
“The farm hands have become day labourers almost everywhere, are employed only when needed by the farmers, and, therefore, often have no work for weeks together, especially in winter.”
Farm workers are now hired by the day, only when the farmer needs them, leading to frequent periods of unemployment, particularly in winter.
Describes the shift from permanent to casual labor and its consequences.
“The necessary consequence was that the competition of the workers among each other reached the highest point of intensity, and wages fell to the minimum.”
As a result, workers competed fiercely with each other for scarce jobs, driving wages down to the lowest possible level.
Highlights the impact of surplus labor on wage levels.
“His abject and submissive demeanour towards his wealthy neighbours shows that they treat him roughly and with suspicion; hence he fears and hates them, but he never will injure them by force.”
His cowering and obedient attitude toward the rich reveals that they treat him harshly and distrustfully, so he fears and resents them, yet he never uses violence against them.
Describes the psychological state of the agricultural laborer as described by a Liberal MP.
“The labourer lays snares, or shoots here and there a piece of game. It does not injure the landlord as a matter of fact, for he has a vast superfluity, and it brings the poacher a meal for himself and his starving family.”
The laborer sets traps or shoots a bit of game, which doesn't really harm the landlord who has plenty, but provides a meal for the poacher and his hungry family.
Explains the motivation behind poaching and the perceived injustice of the Game Laws.
