The Making of the English Working Class

Thompson, E. P.

Published by Penguin, London, 2013

Slight wear to spine, covers & corners. Light soiling to text block edges. ; 19.6 x 12.9 x 4.8 cms; x, 958 pages; E. P. Thompson s The Making of the English Working Class (1963) is a landmark work of social history that explores how the English working class came into being during the Industrial Revolution. Thompson argues that class is not a fixed economic category but a historical process a lived relationship shaped through experience, culture, and collective struggle. He emphasizes that the working class was not simply a result of industrial capitalism but was actively formed through the experiences of ordinary people. These included disruptions brought by industrialization such as urbanization, the breakdown of traditional work patterns, and the rise of factory labor as well as their responses to these changes through movements like Luddism, Methodism, and trade unionism. Thompson highlights how political radicalism played a key role in shaping working-class consciousness. The ideas of the French Revolution, the influence of thinkers like Thomas Paine and William Cobbett, and movements like Chartism contributed to a sense of shared identity and resistance. A central theme of the book is Thompson s rejection of economic determinism. He insists on the agency of working people, showing how they interpreted their conditions, formed solidarities, and created a class identity through struggle, rather than being passively shaped by economic forces. Culture, religion, literature, and moral values are also integral to Thompson s analysis. He demonstrates how these elements influenced how the working class understood itself and the world, weaving them into a broader narrative of political and social development. This work remains foundational for its humanistic approach to history, its emphasis on lived experience, and its enduring message that class is something made by people, not something that simply happens to them. Seller Inventory # LCB63361

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Making of the English Working Class
Publisher: Penguin, London
Publication Date: 2013
Binding: Original decorated wrappers
Condition: Very Good-
Dust Jacket Condition: No Dust Jacket
Edition: Fourth Impression.