The Age of Social Change

• The French Revolution opened up the possibility of dramatic change in the way society was structured

The Age of Social Change

• Before the 18th century, society was divided into estates and orders
• The aristocracy and church controlled economic and social power
• After the revolution, it seemed possible to change this
• New ideas about individual rights and who controlled social power began to be discussed in Europe and Asia
• Raja Rammohan Roy and Derozio in India discussed the significance of the French Revolution
• Many debated the ideas of post-revolutionary Europe
• Developments in the colonies reshaped ideas of societal change
• Not everyone in Europe wanted complete societal transformation
• Responses varied from accepting gradual change to radically restructuring society
• Some were 'conservatives', others 'liberals' or 'radicals'
• Terms do not mean the same thing in all contexts or at all times
• In the 19th century there were important political traditions and their influence on change
• Socialism became one of the most significant and powerful ideas to shape society in the 20th century through the Russian Revolution

Liberals, Radicals and Conservatives

• Liberals sought societal change and wanted a nation that tolerated all religions
• European states usually discriminated in favor of one religion
• Britain favored the Church of England, Austria and Spain favored the Catholic Church
• Liberals opposed the uncontrolled power of dynastic rulers
• They wanted to safeguard individual rights against governments
• They argued for a representative, elected parliamentary government, subject to laws interpreted by a well-trained judiciary independent of rulers and officials
• Liberals were not 'democrats' and did not believe in universal adult franchise
• They felt men of property should mainly have the vote and did not want the vote for women
• Radicals wanted a nation where government was based on the majority of the population
• Many supported women's suffragette movements to give women the right to vote
• Radicals opposed privileges of great landowners and wealthy factory owners
• They disliked concentration of property in the hands of a few but were not against private property
• Conservatives opposed radicals and liberals initially, but opened their minds to the need for change after the French Revolution
• They accepted that change was inevitable, but believed the past had to be respected and change had to be slow.
• Differing ideas about societal change clashed during the social and political turmoil that followed the French Revolution
• Attempts at revolution and national transformation in the 19th century helped define both the limits and potential of political tendencies

Industrial Society and Social Change

• New political trends signaled a time of profound social and economic changes
• New cities came up and new industrialized regions developed, and railways expanded with the occurrence of the Industrial Revolution
• Industrialization brought men, women, and children to factories
• Work hours were often long and wages were poor
• Unemployment was common, particularly during times of low demand for industrial goods
• Rapidly growing towns had housing and sanitation problems
• Liberals and radicals searched for solutions to these issues
• Most industries were the property of individuals
• Liberals and radicals were often property owners and employers
• They felt wealth earned through trade or industrial ventures should be encouraged
• The workforce in the economy should be healthy and citizens educated
• The old aristocracy had privileges by birth which was opposed
• The value of individual effort, labor, and enterprise was firmly believed in
• Societies would develop if individual freedom was ensured
• It was believed that societies would develop if the poor could labor, and those with capital could operate without restraint
• Many working men and women who wanted changes in the world rallied around liberal and radical groups and parties in the early 19th century
• Some nationalists, liberals, and radicals wanted revolutions to put an end to the governments established in Europe in 1815
• Revolutionaries in France, Italy, Germany, and Russia worked to overthrow existing monarchs
• Nationalists talked of revolutions that would create 'nations' where all citizens would have equal rights
• Giuseppe Mazzini, an Italian nationalist, conspired with others to achieve this in Italy
• Nationalists elsewhere, including India, read Mazzini's writings.

The Coming of Socialism to Europe

• Socialism was one of the most far-reaching visions of how society should be structured, gaining widespread attention by the mid-19th century
• Socialists opposed private property, seeing it as the root of all social ills
• Individuals owned property that gave employment but were concerned only with personal gain, not with worker welfare
• Socialists wanted society as a whole, rather than individuals, to control property to ensure more attention to collective social interests
• Socialists campaigned for this change
• Socialists had different visions of the future and some believed in the idea of cooperatives
• Robert Owen, a leading English manufacturer, sought to build a cooperative community called New Harmony in Indiana (USA) from 1771-1858
• Other socialists demanded that governments encourage cooperatives, feeling that cooperatives could not be built on a wide scale only through individual initiative
• Louis Blanc in France from 1813-1882, wanted the government to encourage cooperatives and replace capitalist enterprises
• Cooperatives were to be associations of people who produced goods together and divided the profits according to the work done by members
• Karl Marx, from 1818-1883, and Friedrich Engels, from 1820-1895, added ideas to socialism
• Marx argued that industrial society was 'capitalist' where capitalists owned the capital invested in factories, and the profit of capitalists was produced by workers
• Workers had to overthrow capitalism and the rule of private property
• Workers had to construct a radically socialist society where all property was socially controlled to free themselves from capitalist exploitation
• This would be a communist society
• Marx was convinced that workers would triumph in their conflict with capitalists
• A communist society was the natural society of the future

Support for Socialism

• Socialist ideas spread through Europe by the 1870s
• Socialists formed the Second International to coordinate their efforts
• Workers in England and Germany began forming associations to fight for better living and working conditions
• They set up funds to help members in times of distress, demanded reduced working hours, and the right to vote
• In Germany, associations worked closely with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and helped it win parliamentary seats
• By 1905, socialists and trade unionists formed a Labour Party in Britain and a Socialist Party in France
• Socialists never succeeded in forming a government in Europe until 1914
• Represented by strong figures in parliamentary politics, their ideas shaped legislation
• Governments continued to be run by conservatives, liberals and radicals.

Exploration of social change after the French Revolution. Discussion of conservatives, liberals and radicals. Examination of individual rights and evolving ideas of social power in Europe and Asia.