A Study On Engels’ Historical View Of The Condition Of The Working Class In Britain

The Condition of the Working Class in Britain(hereinafter referred to as “The Condition”)is an important work in Engels’ s youth,which has important value in the development of his early philosophical thoughts.Based on the concrete social reality,Engels studied the conditions of the British working class from the Angle of historical materialism,which contains a rich view of history.A comprehensive and in-depth textual interpretation of The Condition can help us better understand the formation process,theoretical essence and contemporary value of historical materialism.This paper carries out research from the following four aspects:The first part studies the development of Engels’ view of history before The Condition in1838-1844.Based on Engels’ original works of this period,this part explores three stages of the development of Engels’ historical view before The Situation: rationalist historical view,humanistic historical view and the beginning of the construction of a materialist historical view.On this basis,it examines the writing background of The Condition.The second part examines the idea of industrial production in The Condition,which sees industrial production as the basis of social change in England in the 18 th and 19 th centuries.This part,starting from the concept of machine,leads to the industrial revolution in Britain through machine invention,machine development and the resulting development of machine labor,expounds the rise and development of industrial cities and the formation of factory system,and discusses that industrial production mode has occupied a dominant position in British production.The third part studies the idea of class struggle in The Condition,which regards class struggle as the internal driving force of social change in Britain in the 18 th and 19 th centuries.In this part,by studying the formation of class and the causes,manifestations and results of class struggle,it profoundly expounds the driving force of social and historical development from the perspective of social reform.The fourth part studies the socialist thought in The Condition,which regards socialism as the inevitable result of the social change in Britain in the 18 th and 19 th centuries.This part starts from the premise of class opposition and expounds the status of the proletariat,indicating that socialism is not only the inevitable result of the development of Britain,but also the inevitable result of the development of all mankind.Finally,this paper studies the role of The Condition in the formation of historical materialism.This part studies the philosophical foundation of The Condition and the role of The Condition in the formation of historical materialism,and points out that the historical view of The Condition still has a value that cannot be ignored in contemporary times.The historical view of The Condition is the comprehensive result of Engels’ s philosophical research,revolutionary struggle and production practice.Engels made a profound historical analysis of the formation process,class struggle,social life and ideological outlook of the British working class,which provides a model for us to comprehensively and profoundly understand the formation process and theoretical essence of historical materialism,and is of great value to better promote the socialist modernization with Chinese characteristics.