On the Consequences of using Machinery under Capitalism
- Language:
- English
- Status:
- Complete work
- Authorship:
- Written by the author
- Condition of the text:
- Clean text
- Extent:
- ~840 words · 4 passages
Cite this work
- APAKarl Marx. (n.d.). On the Consequences of using Machinery under Capitalism. SigPhi. https://sigphiai.com/en/works/karl-marx/on-the-consequences-of-using-machinery-under-capitalism
- MLAKarl Marx. "On the Consequences of using Machinery under Capitalism." SigPhi, https://sigphiai.com/en/works/karl-marx/on-the-consequences-of-using-machinery-under-capitalism.
- ChicagoKarl Marx. On the Consequences of using Machinery under Capitalism. SigPhi. https://sigphiai.com/en/works/karl-marx/on-the-consequences-of-using-machinery-under-capitalism.
What it is about
On what the machine does to the person working it when the machine is not theirs.
Context and history
A subject much re-read in recent years. ⚠️ This entry is **a fragment, not the work**: it appears in the catalogue with very little text, a sign the downloader stopped at the landing page. It stays flagged until it can be fetched whole, because you are better off knowing than assuming this is all of it.
Editorial context, not a citable source: unlike the passages of the work itself, these statements cannot be checked against the corpus.
The discussion of the proposition, “The influence of machinery in the hands of capitalists”, was opened by Citizen Marx. He said what strikes us most is that all the consequences which were expected as the inevitable result of machinery have been reversed. Instead of diminishing the hours of labour, the working day was prolonged to sixteen and eighteen hours. Formerly, the normal working day was ten hours, during the last century the hours of labour were increased by law here as well as on the Continent. The whole of the trade legislation of the last century turns upon compelling the working people by law to work longer hours. It was not until 1833 that the hours of labour for children were limited to twelve. In consequence of overwork there was no time left whatever for mental culture. They also became physically deteriorated; contagious fevers broke out amongst them, and this induced a portion of the upper class to take the matter up. The first Sir Robert Peel was one of the foremost in calling attention to the crying evil, and Robert Owen was the first mill-owner who limited the hours of labour in his factory. The ten hours’ bill was the first law which limited the hours of labour to ten and a half per day for women and children, but it applied only to certain factories. This was a step of progress, in so far as it afforded more leisure time to the work-people. With regard to production, the limitation has long since been overtaken. By improved machinery and increased intensity of the labour of individuals there is now more work done in the short day than formerly in the long day. People are again overworked, and it will soon become necessary to limit the working day to eight hours. Another consequence of the use of machinery was to force women and children into the factory. The woman has thus become an active agent in our social production. Formerly female and children’s labour was carried on within the family circle. I do not say that it is wrong that women
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