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Thomas Carlyle and His Works
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There is no denying that Thomas Carlyle’s social and political criticism of England’s condition during the 1840s was among the most influential writing of that time. In his essay “Past and Present,” Carlyle acknowledges the fact that poor working conditions is a big problem in society. He states in the text, “And yet I will venture to believe that in no time, since the beginning of Society, was the lot of those same dumb millions of toilers so entirely unbearable as it is even in the days now passing over us.” (Carlyle, 29). This quote demonstrates so much about Carlyle’s attitude toward the working class. For instance, he reveals that he is very concerned about their predicament. Moreover, he understands that they have been overloaded with more work that they should, they have not been earning enough money for the work that they do, and they have been discriminated against because of their social class. Carlyle also realizes that it is very unfair that the working class has to experience these types of situations, especially when there are wealthy people witnessing the discrimination who can clearly do something about it. Furthermore, in the text, clearly wanting the inequality to end, Carlyle provides the reader with a solution to these injustices. He claims that labor needs to be organized and a better style of leadership will the best thing for society. Additionally, he states, “The main substance of this immense Problem of Organising Labour, and first of all of Managing the Working Classes, will, it is very clear, have to be solved by those who stand practically in the middle of it, by those who …show more content…
In an ideal world, it would be so simple to get rid of all inequality and discrimination in the world. However, it is not as simple as saying “we need better leaders.” There are so many things to consider before anything changes. Even today, these issues are still around and it seems as if it is a cycle that will never
Since the election of President Barrack Obama in 2008, many people have started to believe that America is beyond racial inequalities - this is not the reality. Rather, we, as a society, chose to see only what we want to see. Discrimination is still rampant in our nation. Michelle Alexander explains that since the Jim Crow laws were abolished, new forms of racial caste systems have taken their place. Our society and criminal justice system claim to be colorblind, but this is not the actuality. Michelle Alexander explains:
Engels, F & Marx, K 1845, The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844, Foreign Language Publishing House, Moscow.
This essay will compare Marx’s understanding of the relationship between laborers and capitalists and Wollstonecraft’s understanding of the relationship between women and men. Both Marx and Wollstonecraft’s conception of these groups of people show a large gap between their treatment and status in society. Marx argues that capitalism is not created by nature and the unequal relationship between laborers and capitalists is not humane. In other words, it is actually the cause of social and economic problems during that time period. On a similar note, Wollstonecraft believes that the oppressive relationship between men and women is also unnatural. The standards for men and women are placed by society, not by biological facts. Society and how people
Martin Luther King Jr. made many claims about the American society in his famous "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963 that were all legitimate. Today, we have made many advances toward the racial equality that he sought. As a nation, however, we still have not "opened the door of opportunity to all God's children", as King so eloquently put it. In part, this is due to the fact that although our society has reached a degree of political nondiscrimination, this political nondiscrimination has not led to economic nondiscrimination. What it has led to, though, is affirmative action policy and awareness among the people of this country that justice is a complicated process that has yet to be realized. King made us aware that Blacks weren't receiving equal treatment under our laws, and this awareness led to equal rights policy. These equal rights policies have, in turn, led to affirmative action policies. Affirmative action policies of equal opportunity were necessary because political equality was not resulting in economic equality. Today's citizens are still not satisfied, however. This is because affirmative action policy, to date, has been based on egalitarian policy, which has not resulted in economic security nor a sense of balanced justice. In this paper, I will show how Martin Luther King Jr. initiated a growth process in our country by creating an awareness, and that this awareness is gradually evolving toward a justice that we have yet to realize. I will show that Americans are still in the midst of growing pains, and that equality, opportunity, and justice are complex issues that we are slowly working out over ti...
In the world today, racism and discrimination is one of the major issues being faced with. Racism has existed throughout the world for centuries and has been the primary reasons for wars, conflicts, and other human calamities all over the planet. It has been a part of America since the European colonization of North America beginning in the 17th century. Many people are not aware of how much racism still exist in our schools, workforces, and anywhere else that social lives are occurring. It started from slavery in America to caste partiality in India, down to the Holocaust in Europe during World War II.
In economic, social and political terms, equality is more of an idea than a reality for many people in America; the majority of money and power has been in the control of White men since colonial times. Ideologies like racism and sexism perpetuate the status quo by isolating under- privileged groups. Problems arise from divisions that are created between two under- privileged groups. For example, the cry for equality loses much of its power when it is fractured into several segmented cries. The book Outside the Magic Circle, addresses this issue. Organizations which successfully fought for equality, like the NCAPT, were destroyed by forces (such as anti communism) which essentially divide the groups’ members and the groups, themselves. Thus, any given group becomes ineffective. This book demonstrates that unity is the best way to fight for equality.
Now that it’s been concluded that racial equality has not been reached the question must be asked of what steps society should take to fight for it. Recently violent race riots have broken out all over cities in America, like the one in Charlottesville, Virginia. White supremacists and anti-racist protesters broke out into fist fights. These riots are exactly what Martin Luther King Jr advocated against. He believed that the solution to improving race relations was to love and respect all people not fight them in the streets.
The problem with society during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was the equality of all persons was few and far between. The bourgeoisie was in control of all the power and the proletariats were basically under their control. It was as if the bourgeoisie “originated out of the old medieval peasant class, in opposition to the medieval titled aristocracy.” [ii] They had taken over everything; the oppressed class lived by their rules and ways of life. Their way of life was not a happy one; family was based upon money instead of love. “Capital developed in the same proportion as the class of laborers developed.” ii Life then seemed simple for those living the life of the bourgeoisie, b...
We live in a world full of many societal issues. The aspects that determine whether one will have a successful or unsuccessful life is due to their characteristics such as race, gender, and social status. In the book Is Everyone Really Equal, Ozlem Sensoy and Robin DiAngelo’s exigence is to express the following issues and to encourage the reader to work upon changing the world through social injustice, oppression, power, and community.
England in the nineteen-thirties was a very bleak and dark time for the working class and unemployed citizens. In The Road to Wigan Pier, George Orwell, describes the overlooked injustices that happened in in Northern British industrial towns. Orwell depicts his experiences and views on social class and English society. The book is an eye-opener to the challenging hardships that many of the working class gentry faced during the years of the depression; Things such as, horrible housing, social injustices, and a lack of consideration from the government. The primary focus of part one, was to inform the middle class people that the unemployed were victims or a corrupt society, government, and economy.
Long before the mid-19th century, he is to be discovered in the written works of the continually developing number of the working classes, 'arranged halfway between the labourers on the one side and the capitalists on the other. This is far from the worn out dichotomy of ordinary and middle class.
Friedrich Engels, “The condition of the Working Class in England,” (London: Swan Sonnenschein & Co., 1892), pp. 45, 48-53.
As a nation, there are many things that we can do, in order to help improve social mobility. One thing, that can significantly improve social mobility, is reducing inequality. Everybody deserves a chance and equal opportunities, no matter what their social class is or the color of their skin. If we want change, we should focus on changing ourselves first. We should change the stereotype image that we have of a certain race group. For example, African Americans are usually seen as “thugs” with no education, while Arabs are seen as terrorists. We must focus on changing ourselves so we can actually see change in the world.
The people that are in pursuit of social change, and constantly bring attention to issues of equal rights and privileges, are often the people that do not have them. They are the ones who suffer daily from different levels of inequality.
Different social classes can be distinguished by inequalities in such areas as power, authority, and wealth, working and living conditions, life-styles, life span, education, religion, and culture. The 19th century was primarily divided into four distinct social groups (or classes): “upper class”, “middle class”, “working class”, and “under class”. Beneath the working class of industrial workers, submerged the “under class”. They were often referred to as the “sunken people”-- those of which lived in poverty. Each class included a wide range of occupations of varying status and income; there was a large gap between the classes. Early in the 19th century the labels “working classes” and “middle classes” were already coming into frequent usage. The old inherited aristocracy, reinforced by the new gentry who owned their success to business, industry, and the professions, evolved into an “upper class” which grimly maintained control over the political system, depriving not only the working classes, but also the middle classes of a voice in (the) political developments. However, the increasingly powerful middle classes undertook organized demonstrations to remedy this situation while the working class became hostile to not only the upper class, but the middle class as well. The working class was not exactly the lowest class but endured a lot of hardships. They endured unemployment, long hours with little pay; factories full of filth, animals and pests, harsh climate/temperatures,...