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Chapter 2 - ch2-history

### Title

**"सामाजिक परिवर्तन और समाजवाद" (Social Change and Socialism)**

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#### 1️⃣ Social Change after the French Revolution

* After the **French Revolution (1789)**, ideas of **liberty, equality, fraternity** spread across Europe.

* Society began to move from rigid estates towards modern class structures.

* Three political currents emerged:

* **Conservatives (#फूटोकन्ही)**: Wanted gradual change, respect for old institutions.

* **Liberals (mnkjoknh)**: Favoured constitutional government, equality before law, individual rights, free trade, and religious tolerance.

* **Radicals (jsfMdy)**: Demanded rapid and complete reform, universal suffrage, and redistribution of property.

* Thinkers like **Rousseau, Montesquieu**, and later **Marx, Engels** shaped debates on freedom, equality, and social justice.

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#### 2️⃣ Industrial Society & Its Problems

* The **Industrial Revolution** (18th–19th centuries) transformed Europe:

* New cities, railways, and factories developed.

* Production increased but working conditions were harsh:

* Long hours (12–15 hours/day).

* Low wages, child labour, unsafe machines.

* Workers lived in crowded, unhygienic areas.

* Employers sought maximum profit, causing social tensions.

* Industrialisation also created a new **middle class** (merchants, professionals) who valued education and personal effort.

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#### 3️⃣ Rise of Socialism

* **Socialism** emerged as a response to inequality created by industrial capitalism.

* Early socialists ("utopian") such as **Robert Owen** and **Louis Blanc** proposed cooperative communities and state-supported enterprises.

* Later, **Karl Marx (1818–1883)** and **Friedrich Engels (1820–1895)** argued:

* Workers (proletariat) create wealth through labour but are exploited by owners (bourgeoisie).

* Only a **classless society** based on collective ownership could ensure justice.

* Workers must unite and overthrow capitalism → the idea of **Communism**.

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#### 4️⃣ Support for Socialism

* By the late 19th century, socialist ideas spread widely:

* **Second International (1889)** united socialist parties across countries.

* In Britain, trade unions grew strong; in France, socialist groups formed a party (1905).

* Socialists demanded better wages, shorter hours, and workers' representation in government.

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#### 5️⃣ Russia before the Revolution

* In the early 20th century, **Russia** (under Tsar Nicholas II) was largely agricultural:

* About 85% were peasants tied to landlords; many practised subsistence farming.

* Industry was limited (textiles, metallurgy); most workers were concentrated in St Petersburg and Moscow.

* Workers endured long hours, low pay, and poor housing.

* Peasants resented nobles and the state for taxes, forced labour, and lack of rights.

* Political parties emerged:

* **Social Democrats** split into:

* **Bolsheviks** (Lenin's group): wanted disciplined party, revolution led by workers and peasants.

* **Mensheviks**: wanted broad membership and gradual reforms.

* **Socialist Revolutionaries** focused on peasant rights and land redistribution.

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#### 6️⃣ The 1905 Revolution in Russia

* Workers' protests in St Petersburg (due to wage cuts, food shortages, and harsh conditions) were brutally repressed on **"Bloody Sunday" (22 Jan 1905)** — over 100 killed.

* Strikes, peasant uprisings, and mutinies followed.

* Tsar reluctantly allowed a **Duma (parliament)**, but he retained autocratic powers and limited reforms.

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#### 7️⃣ World War I and Russia

* **WWI (1914–1918)** worsened Russia's problems:

* Millions of soldiers died; equipment and supplies were scarce.

* Food shortages and inflation gripped cities.

* Industries collapsed due to blockades and loss of markets.

* Discontent grew among soldiers, workers, and peasants.

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#### 8️⃣ The February Revolution (1917)

* In **Feb 1917**, strikes and demonstrations erupted in Petrograd:

* Workers, women (protesting bread shortages), and soldiers joined.

* The Tsar's troops refused to fire on crowds and mutinied.

* On **2 March 1917**, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated.

* A **Provisional Government** was formed, sharing power with the **Petrograd Soviet** (workers' council).

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#### 9️⃣ The October Revolution (1917)

* The Provisional Government failed to end war or redistribute land, losing support.

* Bolsheviks, led by **Vladimir Lenin**, promised:

* "Peace, Land, and Bread."

* All power to the Soviets.

* On **25 October 1917**, Bolshevik forces stormed key points in Petrograd and seized government control.

* The world's first socialist state was established.

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#### 🔟 Key Terms & Figures

* **Utopian Socialists**: Robert Owen, Louis Blanc.

* **Scientific Socialism**: Marx & Engels.

* **Trade Unions, Second International**: Tools for workers' unity.

* **Bloody Sunday**, **Duma**, **Soviets**, **Bolsheviks/Mensheviks**.

* **Peace, Land, Bread**: Bolshevik slogan.

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### Essence of the Chapter

> The chapter traces the journey from post-French-Revolution social change to the birth of socialism and the **Russian Revolution of 1917**. It explains how industrialisation created inequality, how thinkers proposed socialist alternatives, and how Russia's political, economic, and social crises culminated in two revolutions that overthrew monarchy and established communist rule.

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