Industrialism and its Discontents

Monday/Tuesday:

Continue with discussion of the industrial revolution, discussing the testimony (primary documents) and the issues raised therein. Then, some responses (ranging from the disdainful and pessimistic to the imaginative and active).

• Liberal refom
  • Reform Bill of 1832
  • Factory Act 1833
  • Poor Relief act 1834 (workhouses--see textbook)
  • Anti-Corn Law League; repeal of CL in 1846
  • 10 Hours Act 1847
• Protest
  • Peterloo Massacre 1819
  • The People's Charter, Chartism (1839 and 1842 failures)
• Radicalism (rad="root")
  • Fourier
  • Marx and Engles

Homework for Thursday:  Read the excerpt from the Communist Manifesto.  (the hyperlinks connect to helpful annotations--please read!) Begin working on your letter assignment due Friday (see below).

Letter to Marx and Engles: Responding to the Communist Manifesto

For Friday, write a response paper (1 page min; 2 pp max): Choose a historical persona (a teenage worker in a Manchester textile mill, the well-educated son of a leading Leeds industrialist, etc...) and write a letter to Marx and Engles, in which you respond directly to their ideas.  Make sure you quote from the CM as necessary and make your best effort to analyze what is being said--what do they really mean? What are the implications of their words?  What do you think--from your (imaginary) perspective--of these ideas?

• Think about what you did well in your last response paper (on Napoleon) and what you needed to improve.  Please see me for advice if you are unsure about my comments
• The best letters will be creative in the sense that they really evoke an early-nineteenth century persona with detail and accuracy (within reason).  The best letters will contain insights and thoughtful analysis of the CM, making good use of historical information from the reading in the textbook, and handouts.
• While no MLA citation is necessary in a letter, the best letters will contain a few well-chosen quotations that the writer discusses directly in his or her letter.

Marxism vs Capitalism

Thursday:

Introductory lesson on Marx and Engles, clarify important ideas: "historical dialectic," "materialism," "socialism," and "communism.". In small groups, prepare for the role-play by discussing these questions on the CM:

• What is the main source of conflict throughout history, according to Marx? What has been the role of the bourgeoisie in this conflict? WHO ARE the BOURGEOISIE?
• How did the B come into power? What means? What developments were most important?
• Do you agree with the statement, "The executive of the modern state is but a committee for managing the common affairs of the whole bourgeoisie"? Was this true in 1848? (You might want to look in your textbook or do a quick bit of Internet research to answer this one) Is it true today?
• What is harmful about the new capitalist system--how has it changed "human nature"? Effects on workers?
• Why does Marx define capitalism as a revolutionary force? Why does it have to spread worldwide?
• Is Marx right about the tendency of bourgeois society to remake the world in its own image?
• How has capitalism created forces which work against it? (Hint: by "overproduction" Marx mean something like a depression or recession). What is the pattern in these crises?
• Marx says that communists "labor everywhere for the union and agreement of the democratic parties of all countries." What do you think he means by this? What forces can you imagine might be an obstacle to this goal?

Role-Play: Divide into 3 groups --

1. The Capitalists
2. The Marxists
3. The Workers (must be the majority!)

The Assignment :  The Marxists and Capitalists are both competing to win the sympathies of the Workers, who will ultimately decide whether capitalism as a system is so flawed that it is worth replacing with socialism (not necessarily communism--Marx saw communism as only the final stage; he didn't think the transition could happen right away).  As the Capitalists and Marxists prepare propaganda posters for their presentations, the Workers need to begin composing a series of tough questions for both groups. Then we'll have our role-play/discussion, and in the end the workers will decide whether to reject Marx, or unite and overthrow capitalism.

Homework for Friday:  Complete your letters. 

Friday:

ORAL QUIZ on Marxism (don't worry--this is just to clear up any lingering questions)  Discussion of nationalism--the other "ism" from the last textbook reading that we haven't covered yet.  Review the end of the Napoleonic wars and the Congress of Vienna, and the mid-century revolutions in Europe. Then....the workers will vote to decide our fate!

Homework for Monday/Tuesday: Reading in the textbook on India: pp. 227-230 and p. 263-268.