ep thompson essays

ep thompson essays Everyday in society, somebody is challenging something. Everyone believes that they can make a difference. This manner of critical thinking allows for lifestyles to be altered on a regular basis. Much of this is caused by the creation of countercultures that oppose the so-called norm or popular culture. In the past, such people have been labeled revolutionary or enlightened thinkers. In E.P. Thompsons book, The Making of the English Working Class, he focuses on how these enlightened thinkers came to be. He discusses the argument of democracy, religion and economic status. These three elements discussed in the first part of the book titled The Liberty Tree are ideas in a theory known as industrialism. The book begins with an introduction to the hostility between the working class and the voting class. By the end of the first chapter the reader is aware that groups of enlightened thinkers are forming and wish to see a democracy within England. Following the works of Cromwell, literary working class males create organizations to fight for their right to vote. As groups such as these began to spread throughout Europe, new sects of freethinking individuals emerged. These groups were originally called Levellers in early years but slowly advanced to a broader term, namely, enlightened thinkers. This transformation in names occurred over a century starting with the Levellers in late 1640s and advancing to enlighten thinkers in the late 1790s. These new groups along with the groups who wished for democratic rights began to publicly spread their views, allowing for enlightenment to spread throughout the country and eventually into the Church, which had been closely tied in with the government. This expand of enlightenment occurred rapidly in the mid 1790s after the French revolution and the publication of Thomas Paines pamphlet The Rights of Man. The ris...