Socialism In The Victorian Age

The Victorian age began from 1837 and continued till 1901, for as ling as Queen Victoria ruled England. This age has been an extremely significant contribution in the history of English literature.

The Novel was birthed in this era. Satire was losing its popularity for Victorians, who were aiming at improving everything they had control over; children’s education, their own knowledge, their job prospects, and the country’s economy in general. This led to the rich becoming richer and poor becoming poorer. The grey area in this distinction of black and white was the Middle Class (later known as the Bourgeoisie, the concept constricted largely by Karl Marx) The class system was thence, established, comprising the Upper, Middle and Working classes.

When Britain began to overcome the laissez-faire system of economy and was in search of a new economic theory, traditional liberalism and radicalism played an important role in giving way to Socialism. Karl Marx has contributed towards Victorian socialism.

Born in Trier in the German Rhineland on 1818, Karl Marx was a revolutionary communist philosopher. He studied at he University of Bonn and the University of berlin. He was highly inspired by George William Fredrich Hegel who lived in the time of German Idealism. Hegel was highly rational than religious and is most well known for his doctrine of history that addressed the final causes, design and purposes existing in nature. This theory was later adopted by Karl Marx and turned into a materialistic theory of a historical development resulting in Communism.

Marx believed that the society was corrupted by the class, and if removed, will bridge the gap between the rich and poor, and promote all people, rich or poor. He opposed Capitalism Marx and Fredrich Engels came up with the Communist Manifesto, as their statement of

They were exploited by the Upper classes, and there was a lot of tension amongst the working class.

Henry Mayers Hyndman was highly influenced by Marx and founded the Social Democratic Federation, the first Marxist socialist party in Britain. Marx had a lot of influence on Earnest Jones too. Earnest Jones was a revolutionary Chartist, who attempted at the revival of the Chartist Movement.

The principles of Karl Marx influenced several writers of the Victorian era, including Charles Dickens and HG Wells.

Oliver Twist by Dickens has a setting where the class system has been clearly established. The child protagonist, Oliver, is an orphan, who grows up in an orphanage, and then is transferred to a workhouse for adults. He narrowly escapes working as a chimney sweeper, however, he ends up with people who train children to pick pockets.

Dickens shows us early on the terrible exploitation of the lower classes from birth: “…a parish child- the orphan of a workhouse- the humble, half-starved drudge- to be cuffed and buffeted through the world- despised by all, and pitied by none.” Marx vehemently opposed this exploitation of the