“The Labour Unrest“, H.G.

Wells
Outline
2 -new kind of strike concerned more with the strike itself and what it represents
than with the material purpose drawn from it.
Contrast
- the old strike, which was a sort of primitive bargain, done clumsy and violent.
His verdict does not seem very positive for indeed there are flaws in the system and
the theory of predestination doesn’t really stand anymore. Powerful men were
powerful because they had certain qualities that enabled them to do a job no one else
could. They and only they were meant to rule and lead the country. But now, the
worker begins to see the flaws of this theory and begins to question the ability and the
good character of the ruling class. He is no longer an absolute authority, nor a heroic
figure struggling for the good of the people. The classes do not comprehend each
other. These old gentlemen think that their old influence and experience will help
them solve the problem, but they do not realise that the past cannot be applied to the
present precisely because the ruling class has slacked behind, while the working class
has developed. One is in the past, one is in the present=> a lot of confusion,
miscommunication who only makes workers angrier, thus closer to a true revolution,
not only strikes, however severe they are.

HG Wells, the author of the series of the article, was born in 1866 and was 46 in
1912. He was a declared socialist and, for a while, a member of the Fabian society. He
was very active from a political point of view and encouraged political and social
awareness.
The Daily Mail, the paper in which the article appears, was founded in 1896 by Alfred
Harmsworth who wanted to offer the people a more accessible newspaper, one they
could read and relate to. It dealt with everyday problems, but also with more
important issues like politics and current affairs. And the year 1912 had many such
affairs to relate as it was a year filled with demonstration and strikes, like the national
coal strike or the national railway strike that stopped all travelling activities for 3 days
and that of the lighter men’s Dockers and carters. It is amongst this turmoil that Wells
decides to concern himself with what it is that the worker wants and to propose some
solutions for what was a national crisis on the verge of revolution.

I. Unbalance between…
1. An evolving generation
The main way (and possibly the only one) through which the working class could
speak was to go on strike. But the new acquired education of the working classes has
brought change in their way of thinking, in their temper. They began to question the
order of things, endeavour never enterprise by their forefathers. This quest brought
about a new kind of workman, an intelligent workman who would use the strike to
assert his new discoveries. Strike would no longer have a definite end or purpose, but
a display of temper. The temper of the strike changes alongside the temper of the
workman.
But the new workman is not really smarter; it was just trained to think, although not
through the best means. Through this stimulation, the workman sees beyond his own
life into the deeper meanings. But, although he has received EYES, sight and can see,
he cannot see rightly. His readings have taught him to look at the world critically,
even if he still remains subjective, hastily and unjust.
2. A stagnant generation
On the other side, the ruling class was not as lively as the working class. It was
composed of middle-aged and elderly men who have lost contact with the real world
and its development. They still lived in the past, trying to apply the rules of the past to
these new conditions, l.40. The word still in line 2 suggests the idea that these elderly
gentlemen should no longer manage state affairs, but, unfortunately, still do. The
power in charge cannot keep up with the social changes of the time. It is old-
fashioned. The labourers are evolving much quicker than the state itself. The
politician of the present has not evolved; he has acquired very little knowledge over
the years, he is old-fashioned, belonging to another time.
This discrepancy does not allow for these two major classes to understand each other,
thus they cannot get along; they cannot communicate in a productive way. This
infuriates the working man bringing him closer and closer towards the revolutionary
fort.

II. Causes for this unbalance

1. Education
Schools and accessible press just like the Daily Mail has given the worker eyes to see,
but has not, unfortunately, pointed him in the right direction. His eyes are imperfect,
his take on things hasty and unjust. Unfortunately, education has only stimulated and
not increased his intelligence.
2. Class golf
In spite of the fact that the worker has evolved so much and the politician so little, the
first cannot ever reach the latte because of this impassable class gap existent between
them. This chief difference is the actual reason for the labour unrest. Workers have
realised this and have applied themselves to find a reason and the logic behind this
class system. The workman has asked himself, and rightly so, why is it that he in
particular is expected to toil. The working man became more and more aware of
himself as an individual, not just an anonymous part in a mass a people. The only
possible answer for the question is predestination. The working man has been born a
working man because work is the only place he fits in, while the rich man has to be
rich because he has been bestowed with a greater role in society. Each man has
received the best place he can get in the world and must stick to it. This answer,
however, doesn’t suffice anymore. As the young man puts the whole social system
upon its trial, he seems quite disposed to give an adverse verdict. This verdict makes
the workman realise that maybe the social system isn’t that perfect, that maybe the
elderly gentlemen are not acting for his welfare anymore and that brings distrust.
3. Distrust
The old worker lived with the idea that his officials were working towards the
bettering of the country and for the bettering of his situation. But the elderly
gentlemen have slacked behind on this task and while the workman was busy
improving himself through culture, they have fallen behind in providing the means for
him to improve through work as well. As the worker began to realise this more and
more he began to be more and more distrusting of the ability of the ruling classes to
do anything. The worker begins to see the flaws in the system, dethroning the ruling
class as almighty, as all-powerful.

III. Solutions
 1. Reconstruction of image
It is imperative for the ruling classes to realise that the slack days are over. A
mobilisation of all forces is necessary towards the reconstruction of their bruised
image. The wise, capable and heroic image of the past must be restored by true
actions coming from an altruistic impetus to save society. But one cannot save the
working class if one doesn’t know the working class. It is necessary to empathise
with the people just as the author is trying to do through its objective rendering of
both categories although he is clearly belonging to the rich end of the social chain.
2. Providing the eyes with a scene
Education and reading have not done much to steady the workmen’s gaze towards a
certain direction. The ruling class must pick up from where education has left off and
lay hold of the imaginations of this drifting, sullen and suspicious people. The ruling
class must mend the situation and tell the truth, lay hold of their imagination which
drifts to the darkest corners because it is kept in the dark. Working men only have the
imagination, the means for seeing, but do not know the purpose, do not know
WHERE to look, so they drift and become more anxious, on the verge of revolution.
Rulers must now work to prove themselves. Their mere existence is no longer
accepted as an excuse. Times have changed and the aristocracy must change with it,
otherwise, the only option left was Social Democracy.
3. Social Democracy
Social Democracy is a political ideology that endorses a peaceful transition from
capitalism to socialism. Primarily, it was an in-between state. Although the concept
has much to do with socialism it denies its totalitarianism and militancy. Being an
active socialist himself, Wells warns against the dangers of falling into the mediocrity
of Social Democracy, not taking a more steady course of action like the one proposed
by Socialism.

The matter is neither easy to comprise, nor to resolve, but it must be done. Action
must be taken and the scale must tilt one way or another. Whether the ruling class
deals with the situation as it is or the dreaded national revolution will become a
reality.