# The Masters — The Condition of the Working Class in England character guide

> The Masters in The Condition of the Working Class in England by Friedrich Engels.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** the masters

**First appearance:** 0004-the-industrial-proletariat

## Snapshot

Mill owners and employers who extract profit from hunger, hiding behind philanthropy while treating their workers as chattel.

## Who they are

They are the bourgeoisie in its industrial form, a class that owns the factories, the courts, and the newspapers, and that Engels accuses of disguised murder through starvation wages and lethal conditions. Their power rests on the state's armed force and on the hypocrisy of calling peace what is in fact a social war. They matter because Engels needs a villain with a face, and the master who cuts wages while preaching thrift is that face.

## In the story

### [To the Working-Classes of Great-Britain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_condition_of_the_working_class_in_england_se/chapters/to-the-working-classes-of-great-britain)

The middle-classes are described as the opponents of the workers, whose interests are diametrically opposed.

### [The Condition of the Working Class in England](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_condition_of_the_working_class_in_england_se/chapters/the-condition-of-the-working-class-in-england)

The masters are depicted as the exploiting class, who benefit from the labor of the workers while showing little regard for their welfare.

### [Single Branches of Industry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_condition_of_the_working_class_in_england_se/chapters/single-branches-of-industry)

Manufacturers who resisted factory legislation, manipulated inspections, and employed overlookers to testify in their favor.

### [The Remaining Branches of Industry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_condition_of_the_working_class_in_england_se/chapters/the-remaining-branches-of-industry)

Implied as the employers who exploit workers, particularly in the needle industry and iron district.

### [Labour Movements](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_condition_of_the_working_class_in_england_se/chapters/labour-movements)

The bourgeoisie are depicted as the avowed enemy of the workers, defending their interests with the power of wealth and the state.

### [The Mining Proletariat](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_condition_of_the_working_class_in_england_se/chapters/the-mining-proletariat)

Coal kings who refused to recognize the Union, imposed harsh contracts, and imported Irish and Welsh workers to break the strike.

### [The Agricultural Proletariat](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_condition_of_the_working_class_in_england_se/chapters/the-agricultural-proletariat)

Implied as the large farmers and landlords who benefit from the dissolution of the patriarchal relation and the lowering of wages.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_condition_of_the_working_class_in_england_se/characters/the_masters
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_condition_of_the_working_class_in_england_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_condition_of_the_working_class_in_england_se/characters