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This episode of A HISTORY OF THE EUROPEAN WORKING CLASS traces the evolution of the working class from their early development in Great Britain to their increasingly central role in the politics of 19th century Europe. The expansion of the system and emergence of Belgium as a new industrial heartland also led to the growth of slums and alternative forms of working class culture. In France, the filmmakers trace the increasingly militant role of workers in the uprisings of the 19th century: The July 1830 Uprising, 1848 Revolution and the rapid rise and violent suppression of the 1871 Paris Commune. Along the way, we are introduced to the radical utopian thinkers that influenced working class politics: Étienne Cabet, Louis Auguste Blanqui, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon and Joseph Fourier.