1. Triumph of the West European Bourgeoisie
Section 11.57

2. Introduction Mid 1800s was the Golden Age of the Bourgeoisie
Older French meaning of the word was:
Not nobility
Wealth generated from business or profession, or ownership of property
After 1830 it took on new meaning:
Viewed by upper crust as uncultivated, only interested in making money
Viewed by social theorists as “the employer”
Difference between nobility and bourgeois is blurring
Difference between bourgeois and labor is becoming accentuated

3. Stake in society theory
Those who govern should have something to lose
France -1 in 30 voted
England -1 in 8
England had tradition of Tory leadership
Tory leadership fought against industrialists (traditionally for landed interests)
Labor class benefited
France the aristocratic interests were less public spirited
less was done to relieve the condition of labor
lost most of its influence by 1830

4. Influence of the Bourgeois Age
Western Europe continued to accumulate capital
Little of the profit went to labor leaving more in savings of Bourgeois
New financial entities emerge (corporations)
Factory system spread from Britain to the Continent
Output of iron is increasing (a good index for economic growth) especially in England
Railroad building
Exportation of capital
British own $200,000,000 of stock in American companies

5. The Frustration and Challenge of Labor
Bourgeois Age leads to the estrangement of labor
GB and France= what Marx called a committee of the bourgeois class
Underclass is restless
Radicals and Republicans felt cheated by Rev of 1830
Forced through reforms in government and did not get the vote
Started to seek extragovernmental means of achieving ends
The labor market (according to the Manchester School)
Governed by ‘natural laws’
laboring class sells labor
bourgeois class buys labor (wage)
if labor is in demand wages rise
if labor is not in demand wages fall and workers live on relief
Entrepreneurship is only way out of labor class

6. The Frustration and Challenge of Labor
Poor Law of 1834
Unfavorable to the working poor
Idea was to make relief more unpleasant than any job
Sexes segregated, called ‘Bastilles’ by workers
Did nothing to protect employees from cyclical market forces
Left workers with 2 options:
Form labor unions or turn to socialism
Labor unions were illegal in France, barely legal in GB (strikes illegal)
Socialism= alternative economic model
goods are produced for use not sale
people are compensated according to need not according to the requirements of an employer

7. Socialism and Chartism
In France socialism blended with revolutionary republicanism
Robesspierre’ egalitarianism popular again
In England socialism blended with parliamentary reform (Chartism)
Charter of 1838 (of the Chartist)
Anti-capitalistic
annual elections in HOC(to win over the working class)
universal suffrage all adult males
secret ballots
equal electoral districts
abolition of property qualifications for membership in the House of Commons
payment of salaries to elected members of Parliament
Contradicts ‘stake in society’ and property qualifications
Charter is submitted with 3 million signatures and rejected by Parliament (50% of male population)
Chartist movement has limited success
Mines Act of 1842 and Ten Hours Act of 1847 probably would not have passed
Lack of response from the government causes the Chartist movement to turn toward labor movements and unions

8. By 1848 no stabilization had been achieved
No international system was created
Europe was fallen into two political camps
Western
liberal, national, capitalistic
Eastern
autocratic, opposed to nationality, agrarian
West still has unresolved social problems and will soon be faced with revolution