The best representation of European History out of three novels
... was those who owned the means of production. There was a great divide between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, the working class. They were in an ongoing class struggle. Scrooge is the creditor of the town, so the community must often depend on him for fiscal assistance. Unlike in the story, the bourgeoisie didn’t correct their mistakes and help the proletariat, yet instead the proletariat united together and overtook the bourgeoisie, with the assistance of the Aristocrats. Dickens’ was a strong believer of liberalism of the time. Liberalism in the nineteenth century is far from what "liberalism" means today. Because 19th century "liberalism" ultimately triumphed in Western Europe and the United States, 19th century "liberalism" is actually closer to what is "conservative" today. Liberalism is the ideology that sought self-government, increased male suffrage, and legal equality for all and free-market economic policies. In his tale, Dickens shows this through Scrooge who is reformed into an active citizen, after his visits from the three spirits. Dickens believed that people have a self-rectifying mechanism, their conscience. He believed that society could change their situation and community into what they wanted it to be without the assistance of the government. Man knew what it wanted and that they had the ability to do what was needed to get it. Many people of the nineteenth century also shared Dickens view on the active citizen. That is evident through all the revolutions that occurred during the century. Although, many of the revolutions were not successful, eventually the people were granted a change. Dickens also expresses his views on nationalism throughout his tale. Nationalism was a modern movement in which countries engineered a sense of unity and common purpose among a large nation. The people in these nationalist countries develop a strong sense of loyalty to their nation. Dickens stresses the family circle and how the English are proud to be English. Dickens’ characters Bob Cratchet and his family is symbolism for the English community as a whole. During this time period, people were proud of their country and proud to be apart of it. Nationalism was rising up all over the continent, in one form or another. There were two kinds of nationalism in Europe, one that was based on fascism and the other was based on fundamental equality of people in that state. In England, the nationalism was based on the citizen’s loyalty to their country but, in other places like Germany, it was based on fascism and who the government thought were their citizens. This fascist attitude just increased the class divide and bought on more class struggle, such as Marx portrays in his writings of The Communist Manifesto. The Communist Manifesto argues that class struggles, or the exploitation of one class by another, are the motivating force behind all historical developments. Class relationships are defined by an era's means of production. However, eventually these relationships cease to be compatible with the developing forces of production. At this point, a revolution occurs and a new class emerges as the ruling one. This process represents the "march of history" as driven by larger economic forces. Marx's notion of class has nothing to do with hereditary caste, nor is it exactly social class in the sense of upper, middle and lower classes. Marx describes an economic class. Membership of a class is defined by one's relationship to the means of production. Marx talks mainly about the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. Just as Marx points out in his writings, it is evident throughout Europe. After the Industrial Revolution, these two classes spring up all over, because the factories need employees and they...