Engels, as a German social
scientist, author, political
theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist-theory (The German Ideology, Marx and Engels,
1970) who commonly known as a "ruthless party tactician" devoted
almost all his attention to the state of working-class neighborhoods. He
takes the reader on a walking tour of the "great towns" with the
intention of showing the reality of urban life, almost like a Dantesque tour of
Inferno (Watch http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0368363/) or “Before Sunset” (2004, Watch http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0381681/).
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Engels
took his readers on a journey through the slums and ghettos of London. It was
interesting how he began describing the beauty and greatness of the cities and
how he dragged the audience down to “human turmoil”.
In one
side, he saw no correlation between dwellers and in other side found them
strongly tied (Like what Mark Granovetter argues in the “Strength of the Week
Ties”, 1973)!
He
followed a sinus curve and made so many ups and downs to introduce readers to
one of the most important aspects of the metropolitans; “Social Interactions”.
Look at this;
“All
human beings …same qualities and powers”
“They had nothing in common…”
“People
with the same interest…”
“Nothing
to do with one other”
“Individual
are crowded together”
“The war
of each against all”
In other
words, Engels described the estrangement that afflicts the London 1840.
Wait ! Something do not
change, I saw this city somewhere! New York City! Read the article again;
change “London” by “New York City” and change “1840” by “2013”. Nothing’s
really changed. You will see the same city’s gesture.
Jane
Jacob (1916-2006) pursued the same school of thought as Engels (Symbolic
Internationalism, George Herbert Mead). In her influential book (The Death and
Life of Great American Cities, 1961), she introduced the sociological concept
of “Social Capital” almost in the same way Engels did, and considered the city
as a node of “social bargains”.
Endnotes
- The
"Theories of Surplus Value" are contained in the Collected Works of
Marx and Englels: Volumes 30, 31 and 32 (International Publishers:
New York, 1988).
- A
copy of Frederick Engels' birth certificate is located on page 577 of
the Collected Works of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels: Volume 2(New York:
International Publishers, 1975).
- Isaiah
Berlin, Karl Marx: His Life and Environment p. 160
- Frederick
Engels' letter to Karl Marx contained in the "Collected Works of Karl Marx
and Frederick Engels
- The
three part series of articles called The Condition of England is contained in
the Collected Works of Karl Marx and Frederick Engels
- Tucker,
Robert C. The Marx-Engels Reader
- Arts
and Artisans at Home and Abroad, by J. C. Symons, Edinburgh, 1839. The
author, as it seems, himself a Scotchman, is a Liberal, and consequently
fanatically opposed to every independent movement of working-men. The passages
here cited are to be found p. 116 et seq.–Note by Engels
- Nassau
W. Senior, Letters on the Factory Act to the Rt. Hon., the President of
the Board of Trade (Chas. Poulett Thomson, Esq.), London, 1837, p.
24.– Note by Engels
