socialism. in Europe chapter 2 summary
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The Age of Social Change
After the revolution, individual rights and social power began to be discussed in many parts of the world including Europe and Asia. Colonial development reshaped ideas of societal change but everyone was not in favour of the complete transformation of society. Through the revolution in Russia, socialism became one of the most significant and powerful ideas to shape society in the twentieth century.
Liberals, Radicals and Conservatives
Liberals wanted a nation which tolerated all religions. They opposed uncontrolled power of dynastic rules and argued for a representative, elected parliamentary government, subject to laws interpreted by a well-trained judiciary that was independent of rulers and officials. They wanted a government based on the majority of a country’s population. Conservatives, after the nineteenth century, accepted changes but also believed the past needed to be respected and change should begin slowly.
Industrial Society and Social Change
Industrial Revolution led to changes in social and economic life, new cities came up and new industrialised regions developed. Men, women and children came to factories in search of work. But, unfortunately, working hours were long and wages were poor. There was unemployment during the time of low demand for industrial goods. Liberals and radicals made wealth through trade or industrial ventures. According to them, society can be developed if freedom of individuals was ensured, if the poor could labour, and those with capital could operate without restraint. In France, Italy, Germany and Russia, revolutionaries overthrow existing monarchs. Nationalists talked of revolutions to create ‘nations’ with equal rights.
The Coming of Socialism to Europe
Socialism was a well-known body of ideas by the mid-nineteenth century in Europe. Socialists were against private property and saw it as the root of all social ills of the time. They wanted to change it and campaigned for it. Robert Owen (1771-1858) sought to build a cooperative community called New Harmony in Indiana (USA). Louis Blanc (1813-1882) wanted the government to encourage cooperatives and replace capitalist enterprises. Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820-1895) added other ideas to this body of arguments. According to Marx industrial society was ‘capitalist’ who owned the capital invested in factories, and the profit of capitalists was produced by workers. Capitalism and the rule of private property were overthrown. Marx believed that a communist society was the natural society of the future.
Support for Socialism
By the 1870s, socialist ideas spread through Europe and they formed an international body – namely, the Second International. Associations were formed by workers in Germany and England to fight for better living and working conditions. The Labour Party and Socialist Party were formed by socialists and trade unionists, by 1905.
The Russian Revolution
In the October Revolution of 1917, socialists took over the government in Russia. The fall of monarchy in February 1917 and the events of October were termed as the Russian Revolution.
The Russian Empire in 1914
In 1914, Russia was ruled by Tsar Nicholas II and its empire. The Russian Empire included current-day Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, parts of Poland, Ukraine and Belarus, stretching to the Pacific and comprised today’s Central Asian states, as well as Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Majority of the population was Russian Orthodox Christianity.
Economy and Society
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Russian population was dominated by agriculturalists, who used to cultivate for the market as well as for their own needs. St Petersburg and Moscow were prominent industrial areas. Craftsmen undertook much of the production, but large factories existed alongside craft workshops. In the 1890s more factories were set up after and foreign investment in industry increased. Large factories were supervised by the government to ensure minimum wages and limited hours of work. Workers were a divided social group. They were also divided by their skill. Despite divisions, workers united to stop work when they disagreed with employers about dismissals or work conditions.
Peasants cultivated most of the land but the nobility, the crown and the Orthodox Church owned large properties. Nobles got power and position through their services to the Tsar. In Russia, peasants wanted the land of the nobles.