The Condition of the Working Class in England · Chapter
The Remaining Branches of Industry explained
Engels examines the conditions of workers in industries beyond the factory system, focusing on the needle trade in Birmingham and the iron district of Staffordshire, as well as the stocking weavers of Nottingham, Derby, and Leicester.
What happens
Engels examines the conditions of workers in industries beyond the factory system, focusing on the needle trade in Birmingham and the iron district of Staffordshire, as well as the stocking weavers of Nottingham, Derby, and Leicester. He highlights the exploitation of women and children, the impact of machinery and division of labor, the poor physical condition of workers, and the moral degradation resulting from poverty. The chapter concludes with a vivid depiction of the suffering of stocking weavers, who face starvation wages and intense competition, and a rhetorical question about the sustainability of such conditions.
Themes in this chapter
Labor Exploitation and Machinery
The chapter details how machinery and division of labor lead to the exploitation of women and children, with long hours and inadequate pay.
Urban Poverty and Housing
Workers live in filthy, overcrowded dwellings, and children are half-starved and ragged, reflecting the dire housing and living conditions.
Health and Disease
Poor nutrition, long hours, and unsanitary conditions lead to physical debility, deformities, and disease among workers.
Social Murder
The conditions described—starvation, disease, and premature death—constitute a form of social murder perpetrated by society.
Characters to notice
- Unknown
The narrator provides a detailed account of the conditions in various industries, emphasizing the exploitation and suffering of workers.
- The English
Mentioned as the workers who are being undercut by Saxon competition, leading to their starvation.
- Commissioner Power
Cited for his report on the stocking weavers, noting their pride in being free from the factory bell.
- The Masters
Implied as the employers who exploit workers, particularly in the needle industry and iron district.
Key passages
“The working men, says a recruiting surgeon, are small, delicate, and of very slight physical power; many of them deformed, too, in the chest or spinal column.”
A recruiting surgeon notes that working men are physically weak and often have deformities in the chest or spine.
Illustrates the physical toll of industrial labor on workers.
“No eye has seen, no ear heard, and no heart felt the half of the sufferings that these poor people endure.”
The suffering of these poor people is beyond what anyone can imagine or feel.
A stocking weaver's testimony highlights the extreme misery of the workers.