(4) New Social Classes and Conditions

Industrial Middle Class

This new class comprised factory owners, merchants, bankers, and professionals who benefited from the economic growth of industrialisation.

They often amassed wealth and influence.

Industrial Working Class

This class consisted of factory labourers who performed repetitive tasks for wages.

They often faced harsh conditions and had little political or economic power.

Working Conditions

• Long hours (12-16 hours a day, 6 days a week) were common.

• Dangerous machinery led to frequent accidents and injuries.

• Poor ventilation and lighting contributed to health problems.

• Child labor was widespread, with children performing dangerous tasks for very small wages.

Living Conditions

• Rapid urbanization led to overcrowded and unsanitary cities.

• Housing was often cramped, poorly built, and lacked basic amenities like clean water and sewage systems.

• Disease spread rapidly in these conditions.

Early Socialism

In response to the harsh realities of industrial life, new ideologies emerged.

Early socialism, for instance, advocated for greater equality and collective ownership or control of the means of production.

Thinkers like Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels developed a more systematic critique of capitalism, arguing for a classless society.