Question

How could Engels’s background have affected his assessment of Manchester? How might a description of the city written by a factory owner contrast from that written by Engels?

Answer 1

Friedrich Engels was a philosopher and a communist. He saw history as a series of struggles between two social classes. He saw the development of factories and the rise of mass production as the paradigm of social abuse. He also believed that the masses that worked in these factories were alienated from the product of their labor, and that they lacked political and social power.

A factory owner would have likely seen things differently. He would have probably been happy about the rapid rate of industrialization during this time period. He would have also defended his position as owner of the means of production. Finally, it is likely that he would have seen his relationship with his employees as a fair one.