Europe and the Revolutions of 1848 essays

Europe and the Revolutions of 1848 essays From ancient times until well into the nineteenth century, people were often considered subjects (not citizens) of their states and countries. The people wanted to see a change, which is why socialism was discovered. Socialism focused its aim on economic, political, and social justice for all people. The possibility of achieving these aims was first envisioned in the last quarter of the eighteenth century. It was a time of extraordinary social and political upheaval. Socialism grew out of the French Revolution and its intellectual growth and demand for equal rights, absolute democracy, and the redistribution of property. Socialism was first developed because of the revolutionary impact capitalism had on European society. Capitalism first emerged late in the Middle Ages throughout the Industrial Revolution. Capitalism (or the market economy) broke all the social bonds that had been seen during the Middle Ages. The class structure, in which everyone had a fixed position and individual responsibilities in society, was demolished. For the first time, a large class of factory workers came forth whose livelihood depended on wages. They were considered to be deprived of property because they owned no means of production. The value of their labor was seized by the capitalists for profit, while at the same time, their wages were kept as low as possible. Socialists saw the possibility of class conflict in this new capitalist economic structure. The conflict that arose was between the number of exploited workers and their capitalist exploiters. Because of this conflict, the socialists predicted the eventual transfer of the ownership of private property (the means of production) from the owners to the workers. Karl Marx's The Communist Manifesto discusses how a revolution could come about. Ever alert to ironies, Marx observes that it was the Industrial Revolution itself that had been organizing the workers most effectively. History, of cours...