A Study On British Labour Aristocracy In The Middle And Late Period Of Nineteenth Century

In the middle of the 19 th century, the British working class produced the labour aristocracy. This class is partly developed from the skilled workers, they have higher wages, theirs lifestyle and values are very different from the ordinary workers. In recent years, the problem of labour aristocracy has become an important tool for foreign scholars to research the British politics and society from middle of nineteenth century to the eve of the First World War.In this paper, the labour aristocracy in 19 th century Britain is the main research object, through analyzing the historical background and main activities of this class to conclude a dialectic judgment of labour aristocracy. The traditional Marx's view is that the labour aristocracy is bourgeoisie agent in the labor movement, and is an important cause of long-term depression of the British labour movement after 1848. But the completely negative about labour aristocracy is unreasonable. Related data show that the better skilled workers first established a strong foundation for the revolution, these "conscious workers" are not conservative, on the contrary, they act as an important role in the labor movement, such as patiently guide and organize unskilled workers and oppressed workers. Labour aristocracy and the British Trade union have played an important role in the national and democratic revolution of Italy, assisted the revolutionary North in American Civil War, supported the armed uprising in Poland, initiated and created the first international, and has made outstanding contributions for the international workers movement.