The Language of Class and Radicalism

By Edward Royle | Published in History Review 1997

Edward Royle explains how labels were used in early industrial Britain for propaganda rather than description.

Robert Owen, who is credited with one of the first usages of the phrase 'working classes' Historians are increasingly conscious of the language they use to describe the past. They are aware that names were and are applied to movements and categories not merely as passive labels of convenience but as active forces creating powerful images calculated to shape events at the time and historical interpretations since. Class and radicalism are two such potent words.

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Tags: Social classes,Industrial Revolution,Modern,Britain,

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