The Study of Capital Imposed upon the Masses; E.W. Richter (pub. 3. June, 1845 CE)

The Study of Capital Imposed upon the Masses - more commonly known as the Little Blue Book - was an economic report written - and later expanded upon - by Ewald Richter in 1845 CE. Looking into - and studying - the causes of poverty in industrialized nations at the time, this report was commissioned by Caesar Julian XVI of Urea to quell recent riots and worker strikes in the Urean interior at the time. Unfortunately, Richter's report only served to stir up more controversy after it was published later that year, as it showed both the problems labourers in the interior were facing, as well as the blatent lack of safety for those workers - most of whom were either impoverished children or slaves from the Urean slave trade. The report - which was published not only to the Urean royalty and nobility but to the public as well (albeit, behind Richter's back) - advocated a look into safer working conditions for labour workers, shorter works hours, higher pay wages, and the complete abolishment of child labour.
Richter's report spread like wildfire throughout the world, angering many nobles in Urea as it pointed out bigoted flaws in their economic system that they wished to continue to exploit. After several attempts on his life, Caeser Julian eventually exiled Richter from the country for his own safety. The damage had already been done, however, and was even further compounded when - after the Urean nobility and several other industrial nations banned the report - Richter added onto the originally 50-page report, making it into a 1,300-page book.
In the book - titled "The Study of Capital Imposed upon the Masses" - Richter outlined key changes that needed to be made (The abolishment of child and slave labour, better working conditions, et cetera.) to both improve living conditions within a country or state, as well as the economy. The economy, Richter theorized, would be boosted by ten-fold profit if the working class was capable of purchasing expensive products like the upper class and nobility. Richter's writing would prompt many strikes in the years after it was published, and would still be a relevant read about the economics of the time. The book itself, nicknamed the "Little Blue Book" due to the chosen colour of the cover, would also bring about a new political and economic idea: Communityism - shortly shortened to Communism - that would make sweeping changes across the geopolitical landscape after Richter's death in 1898.

Document Structure

Publication Status

Publicly accessible

Historical Details

Background

When the Little Blue Book was released to public bookstores on June 3rd, 1845, the industrial economic revolution was in full swing. Production figures for owners of factories rose sharply, while wages for their workers stagnated. Those unlucky to work 70-hour work weeks in mines or in factories were subject to 12 to 18-hour work days, dreadful working conditions, and dangerous safety hazards all for an incredibly low wage - not adding onto the fact that a large chunk of these workforces were of children or slaves. All of these factors made it so the upper class and nobles who owned these mines, factories, and farms could make a large profit for a small cost out of their return.
So when Richter's origianal report went out about all the conditions for the working class, and all the changes that can be - should be made - many agreed with these ideas. Many even went the extra mile, connecting with their coworkers to try and find a way to push their bosses for these changes. Strikes - passive or otherwise - broke out across the industrialized world, forcing many owners to take action against them. Bloody or otherwise...

History

Richter's research into the report went differently than the two ones preceding his. While the two reports before him were funded and done by the nobility - those that wanted to the problems to remain the way they were - Caeser Julian instead called Rickter as an outside observer to achieve what the two before could not: compromise with the workers and stop these riots that were affecting production. And Richter went through with this.
He went to the place where these riots were taking place regularly place: the Danub Iron Mines in Urea's interior mountain ranges. There he spoke with the foremen and the owners, taking their pictures into account. Normally this is where the report would end, the workers were just doing an uprising and all that. But Richter was a man of both science and ethics. He went deeper.
Into the mine that is.
Richter included in his work firsthand accounts from workers at the Danub Iron Mine - child, slave, and man included - about the issues they faced on an almost daily occurrence. The long work hours, the low pay, the high chance of death or injury on the job, everything that Richter heard from these workers was written down and added to the report. This not only padded the report to 50-pages, but also gave a new insight into what exactly went on underterra.

Public Reaction

Publicly, the report and subsequent book didn't impact the mid-to-upper classes all that much. The nobles, the shopkeepers, the lawmakers, and the average, everyday folk. The demographic that was hit was the lower class, the working class. This was a report that was directly influenced by them, for them, and about their daily lives. Even those that weren't interviewed by Richter in Urea still found kindred spirits in those that were. The report was a blank check for some, stating that 'yes, you have rights, you shouldn't have to be doing this the way you are. The only reason you are is that of your boss.' while for others it was a ray of hope, that hopefully, they could shake off their shackles and rise.
The middle-to-upper classes took barely any note of the report when it first surfaced, some teachers and other literary-types choosing to put some stock into it; however, it was largely ignored. After the first strike though, more and more people began to look into the report, then the book, and finally either saw the flaws in the system or chose once again to ignore it. After all, if it didn't affect them, why should they care right? Those that did care actively lobbied for some of the changes Richter prescribed: the abolishment of child labour, shorter work days, and safer conditions.

Legacy

The legacy of the Little Blue Book is threefold: the adoption of shorter work weeks (almost universally 40-hours), the abolishment of child-supported labour in industrialized countries, and the rise of the political ideologies of Communism. All of these came about roughly ten-to-30 years after the original report was published and after the death of Richter.

Type

Report, Financial

Medium

Paper

Authoring Date

18. May to 2. June 1845 CE