3/25 DBQ

In the late 19th century, Europe was a mess in terms of its social classes. The lower class contained most of the people, they made very little money, and there was often little hope of moving up. These poor people lived in cramped apartments with several other families. The upper class was made up of those few people who happened to be lucky enough to own the factories. Upper class people lived in big mansions far removed from the common people. Figures 1 and 2 illustrate the differences of the classes. Figure 1 shows the poverty of the lower class on a train, and it also shows how tired they are after a hard day's work. Figure 2 shows the upper class waling around the center of town that has big buildings, and the people in the figure are dressed in their best clothes. Europe was looking dismal to the people in the lower class, but with the help of labor unions and the ideas of radicals such as Karl Marx, these people would soon be the ones running the political scene in Europe.
Socialism is the idea of equality in society. All of the wealth would equally be divided among the people. , and the political power would be the same for every party or group. If one has the right to vote, all votes carry the same weight. The people in figure 1, the factory workers, had no say in what happened at their work. If the boss didn't like something, he had it removed. The workers who became socialist believed in equal rights for everyone, no matter what social class he was. However, socialism would not always work. There would have to be some regulation on equality. The government would eventually have to resort to taking some of the people's rights away. Over time, a socialist country will turn into a dictatorship where nobody has any rights unless they have a powerful position. Socialism is a good idea on the surface, but when one looks into it, he finds that the long term effect can devastate a country.
Karl Marx was a radical writer and thinker of his time. One of his first works was the Communist Manifesto, saying that it was time that the Communists openly publish their long term goals for all to see. Karl Marx had his own idea about socialism. His idea was to have the people in figure 1 rebel against the factory owners, kill them/replace those in figure 2, and to run the show themselves. Another thing that Marx taught was financial equality. When the upper class was overthrown, the money was to be divided equally among the people and if anyone got too greedy, have another revolution and overthrow whoever got greedy. Marx's idea is radical, but he has some good ideas in his theories. Financial equality is good, but there is no way possible that there will not be someone who wants more. A Marxian society will have numerous revolutions, possible 1 a year.
The biggest help, long term and short term, to the people of figure 1 in their struggle against figure 2 was labor unions. Labor unions pushed for many of the benefits that the working class has today including: larger pay, workman's compensation, and a five day work week. Labor unions won the fight against working ridiculous hours. Before unions, people were working 14 hour shifts daily. With labor unions, people worked 12 hour shifts with a week end to recuperate. The higher pay helped to bolster the middle class. The strongest country is one with the strongest middle class, explaining why some countries fared better in WW1 than others.
Before these ideas came about, Europe was a terrible place to be. One was either really really rich, or he was really really poor. There was no changing one's status. The rich kept getting richer, and the poor got poorer. The conditions that the rich forced onto their workers would be considered unheard of today. People would be going back to work almost as soon as they got to the cramped apartment they considered home. The painters of figures 1 and 2 sided with Marx. Figure 1 showed what they were, and figure 2 showed what they can become if they follow his ideas. With the help of socialism, Marxism, and labor unions, Western Europe was able to gain rights, and obtain better working conditions, and pay for its workers. These new things made the middle class grow. The countries with strong middle classes were the wealthier countries, meaning that the factory workers determined the wealth of the entire nation.