568 Ch. 14 • The Industrial Revolutionproletariat aware of its historical role. Marx called his socialism “scientific
socialism” (in contrast to utopian socialism), because he thought that it was
inevitable, based on what he considered the scientific certainty of class
struggle.
Marx believed that a revolution by workers would be prepared by the orga
nizational efforts of a group of committed revolutionaries, so he formed the
Communist League. In 1848, he published the Communist Manifesto, which
resounds with the provocative exclamation, “The proletarians have nothing
to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. Working men of all coun
tries, unite!”
ConclusionEuropeans could not help but be impressed with the rapid pace of economic
change during the first half of the nineteenth century. Trains truly revolu
tionized commerce and travel, bringing distant places closer together. Cities
grew rapidly, their railway stations bringing in more agricultural goods pro
duced with capital-intensive farming. More people worked in industry than
ever before. Factories now dotted the landscape, although traditional work
shop and cottage production remained essential.
Yet many upper-class contemporaries were worried by what seemed to be
teeming, increasingly disorderly cities. The Industrial Revolution, to be sure,
had generated material progress—indeed, opulence for some people—but it
also seemed to have increased wrenching poverty and dissatisfaction among
workers.
In the meantime, having defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, the European
powers—Britain, Prussia, Austria, and Russia—set about trying to restore
the prerogatives of ruling dynasties, nobles, and the established churches.
Liberal and national movements struggled against conservative ideology in
Restoration Europe. Liberalism, above all, seemed to reflect the desires of
the middle classes, whose numbers and influence expanded so rapidly in the
decades following the end of the Napoleonic era.