The false narrative of industrialism
This book has a defiant tone because it is positioned against the dominant narrative about industrialism. Industrialism and technological progress defined the power of man for a time of human history, and arguable, that shift has continued in an ever-accelerating rate—but right at the onset of that movement, Engels observes the truth dynamic as it manifests. The false narrative of industrialism that he critiques is the narrative of improvement. Is industry really making life better, or is it making some people extremely rich and others extremely poor?
The slavery motif
By motif, Friedrich Engels explains that he believes the working class is slowly sliding toward slavery. The question of choice has become dubious in many of these factory settings, and the outsiders in the urban and industrialized communities often have no other way to earn money. Even then, the factory work is low-paying, so basically they can only afford to keep going to work. Meanwhile, the owners of the companies are earning incredible profits by refusing to pay fair wages. It is the birth of slavery.
The symbolic schism
The symbolism schism between business owners and the working class is a major part of Engels' political opinion, making him famously compatible with Karl Marx; in fact, they coauthored The Communist Manifesto to elaborate exactly this symbolism. There, they use the language of bourgeoisie and proletariat for this. The schism is shown as a symbolic measure of the longevity of a civilization; if that schism grows too much, the people will riot and demand revolution.
The symbolism of low wages
Wages are symbolic because they are a literal symbol for worth. By paying someone very little, one says their time is worth very little. This is symbolic in this book because Engels points out that business owners often pay even less than livable wages. This is symbolically hateful, because it means that the business owners do not believe their own employees deserve human dignity or life. That is a serious powderkeg, says Engels.
Urbanization and nature
Engels also turns to nature and comments on the symbolism of urbanization and industrialization from a naturalistic point of view. Constant improvement and increasing capitalistic accommodations for the upper-middle class are making nature a thing of the past, says Engels. He also observes that humans are at war with nature by participating in exploitative business models. He believes that technological progress is a sacrifice of natural enlightenment and he predicts the unhealthiness of life in highly industrialized urban centers.
