Module 3: Theories of Urban Sociology Lecture 10: Friedrich Engels on the 'Hypocritical' Capitalist City. The Lecture Contains:

Transcription

1 The Lecture Contains: Engel's Fieldwork in Manchester Spatial Segmentation of Classes References file:///d /NPTL%20WORK/Dr.%20Anindita%20Chakrabarti/UrbanSociology/lecture10/10_1.htm [5/31/ :14:23 AM]

2 The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844 (The first German edition was published in 1845) What were the conditions of the cities that arose in the wake of the Industrial Revolution? In the next two lectures we will look at one of the classic works on this subject. The work was based on nearly twenty months of fieldwork by Friedrich Engels. It gives a historical materialist interpretation of the rise of the bourgeois capitalist city. It shows how the forces of capitalism built cities where bourgeois affluence and abject poverty of urban slums co-existed next to each other. file:///d /NPTL%20WORK/Dr.%20Anindita%20Chakrabarti/UrbanSociology/lecture10/10_2.htm [5/31/ :14:23 AM]

3 During his time in Manchester, Engels took notes and personally observed the horrible working conditions of English workers. These notes and observations, along with his experience of working in his father's commercial firm, formed the basis of his first book The Condition of the Working Class in England in Engels was only twenty-four year old when he wrote the book. For twenty months he went about the part of the town that nobody from his class ever visited. Engels wrote that during his stay in England he purposefully forsook the company and dinner parties, the portwine and champagne of the middle-classes. He devoted his time interacting with the working classes in their everyday life. In addition to his personal experience, he gained insights into the city through literary authorities as well as official records, parliamentary commissions, factory inspectors reports, newspapers and official statistics. file:///d /NPTL%20WORK/Dr.%20Anindita%20Chakrabarti/UrbanSociology/lecture10/10_3.htm [5/31/ :14:23 AM]

4 Engels had chosen Manchester because it was built up as capitalism progressed in England, as opposed to other cities, such as London, which had a long-established history. Manchester was supposed to be the classic ground on which English industry has wrought its masterpiece. Engels showed that the separation of the rich and the poor and class exploitation was built into the spatial structure of the city. Manchester was situated on the bank of the river Irwell. Engels noted that the industries were on the banks of the water bodies that criss-crossed the town. The city and slums within had grown together exemplifying the contradiction that lies at the heart of capitalist industrialization as well as urbanization. file:///d /NPTL%20WORK/Dr.%20Anindita%20Chakrabarti/UrbanSociology/lecture10/10_4.htm [5/31/ :14:23 AM]

5 In Manchester there was systematic shutting out of the working class which Engels referred to as the crazy layout of Manchester. The city had the following layout: The central business district (CBD) in Manchester was rather extensive. The main street was about half a mile long and broad. There were offices and warehouses and some shops on the lower floor while some people also lived on the upper floors. Just outside the CBD were the working class residential areas. It consisted of one and a half mile belt around the CBD. Beyond the working class area was the middle class residential area. file:///d /NPTL%20WORK/Dr.%20Anindita%20Chakrabarti/UrbanSociology/lecture10/10_5.htm [5/31/ :14:24 AM]

6 Lecture 10: Friedrich Engels on the Hypocritical Capitalist City Beyond the middle class area was the residential area of the wealthy. They enjoyed the salubrious atmosphere away from the city centre. The upper classes enjoyed the country air and they took the omnibus to the city centre for business. But the interesting thing about the city planning was that the working class areas were carefully and systematically hidden by dazzling shops. By showing the physical pattern of the city, Engels exposes the 'hypocritical' plan of the city in his work. file:///d /NPTL%20WORK/Dr.%20Anindita%20Chakrabarti/UrbanSociology/lecture10/10_6.htm [5/31/ :14:24 AM]

7 Lecture 10: Friedrich Engels on the Hypocritical Capitalist City References Engels, Friedrich (1845). The Condition of the Working Class in England in In Engels Selected Writings. W. O. Henderson (ed.) Baltimore: Penguin Books. Magubane, Bernard "Engels: The Condition of the Working Class in England in 1844 and the Housing Question (1872) Revisited: their Relevance for Urban Anthropology". In Dialectical Anthropology Vol.10 (1-2) pp file:///d /NPTL%20WORK/Dr.%20Anindita%20Chakrabarti/UrbanSociology/lecture10/10_7.htm [5/31/ :14:24 AM]