Condition-of-England question facts for kids
The Condition-of-England question was a big debate in the Victorian era. It was about the difficult lives of working-class people in England during the Industrial Revolution. Thomas Carlyle first brought up this idea in his essay Chartism in 1839.
Carlyle saw that many working people were very unhappy. He asked: "Why are working people so unhappy? Where does this unhappiness come from? How can we make it stop?"
After 1832, many smart thinkers started to worry about the big differences between rich and poor. They called this problem the "Condition-of-England Question." People were also angry that leaders seemed unable to fix these serious issues. Both major political parties, the Whigs and Tories, were concerned about it.
Historian John Prest noted that in the early 1840s, the country was changing fast. People wondered if England was going in the wrong direction. They worried if factory towns would stay loyal or if poverty was growing too much. They also questioned if England could always get enough food and materials from other countries. These were all part of the "Condition-of-England" questions.
Contents
Why Did People Ask This Question?
Before Carlyle, William Cobbett had also criticized the Industrial Revolution. He spoke up for the poor. Raymond Williams said that Carlyle's question, "Are English working people so badly off that they cannot and should not rest?" was similar to Cobbett's.
However, Cobbett mainly focused on people not having enough food or basic needs. Carlyle worried about this too, but he also felt that industrial England was losing its spirit and happiness.
Carlyle's phrase "Condition-of-England Question" first appeared in his 1839 book Chartism. This book helped start many discussions about England's future. It also influenced many writers of fiction during the Victorian era.
Carlyle was very concerned about the idea of "two nations": the rich and the poor. Many Victorian writers, like Benjamin Disraeli, Elizabeth Gaskell, Charles Dickens, and Charles Kingsley, tried to show readers this problem. They hoped to find ways to close the gap between these "two nations."
Carlyle helped people realize the social problems around them. He understood how important literature could be in changing society. He criticized Victorian society for caring too much about money and for its "laissez-faire" idea. This idea meant the government should not interfere with business or people's lives. Carlyle's attacks on the wealthy inspired social reformers like John Ruskin and William Morris.
"Signs of the Times": A Warning
In 1829, Carlyle wrote an essay called "Signs of the Times." In it, he hinted at the "Condition-of-England Question" he would fully explore later. G. B. Tennyson noted that Carlyle was one of the first to truly see the big changes happening because of the Industrial Revolution.
Carlyle criticized the way the Industrial Revolution was going. He believed it was destroying people's unique spirits. He worried about the "mechanical age," where everything felt like a machine. He felt people were losing their energy and excitement. He wrote that society was "falling to pieces."
This essay aimed to make people think about the spiritual cost of social change. He warned that the Industrial Revolution was turning people into robots without their own thoughts or feelings. For Carlyle, "machine" meant both new inventions and a way of thinking that stopped human freedom. He strongly criticized how society was becoming like a machine. He showed the high moral price of industrial change.
In this essay, Carlyle argued against focusing only on science and money. He also spoke out against Utilitarianism, which said that actions are right if they bring the greatest good to the greatest number. He believed that the freedom in this new mechanical society was an illusion. He felt it made workers even more like slaves than before. He thought that making society too mechanical would stop people from thinking and creating.
Carlyle tried to change public opinion about England's situation. His ideas about a "mechanical society" greatly influenced Charles Dickens's novel Hard Times.
Chartism: A Call for Change
Carlyle brought up the "Condition-of-England question" in his book Chartism. In it, he showed sympathy for the poor and the factory workers in England. He argued that deeper changes were needed. He saw a big problem: new industries promised wealth for everyone, but the lives of poor city workers were getting much worse.
Carlyle had studied the causes of the French Revolution. He worried about England's future. He saw Chartism—a movement where working people demanded more rights—as a sign of a serious problem in England. He warned that if the government did not improve workers' lives, a revolution could happen.
Carlyle believed the cure was a "real aristocracy." This meant true leaders who could guide the working class through difficult modern times. He looked for new kinds of leaders. He criticized both the lazy rich landowners and the greedy factory owners. He felt these owners were like "pirates" instead of good "captains of industry."
Past and Present: Looking Back and Forward
Past and Present (1843) was written because of an economic crisis in the early 1840s. This book, like Chartism, further explored the "Condition-of-England question."
Carlyle compared the medieval past to the busy Victorian present of the 1830s and 1840s. For him, the present was a time of uncontrolled factories, worship of money, and exploitation of the weak. He saw low wages, poverty, joblessness, and riots. He believed these problems would destroy England.
Carlyle used strong, almost poetic language to describe England's problems. Even though England had many resources, the poor were suffering. He painted a sad picture of workers' daily lives, many of whom could not find meaningful jobs.
Carlyle's solution was similar to his earlier ideas: a spiritual rebirth for both individuals and society. The book shows two different views: an idealized past and a difficult present. His perfect vision of the past came from the writings of a monk named Jocelyn de Brakelond. This monk described the life of Abbot Samson of Tottington and his monks in a medieval monastery. Carlyle showed the monks' organized life and work as a peaceful ideal. He found modern life unbearable because it lacked true leadership.
What Solutions Were Suggested?
Carlyle argued that new "Aristocracy of Talent" should lead the country. This meant people should choose true heroes, not fake ones. In Past and Present, Carlyle made three practical suggestions to improve social conditions in England:
- He called for new laws to improve hygiene and public health.
- He suggested improving education for everyone.
- He promoted emigration, which meant helping people move to other countries.
The first two ideas, hygiene and education, were soon put into action. The third idea, emigration, mostly affected Irish and Scottish people, and to a lesser extent, the English population.
