Question

Suppose that each “worker” requires 0.4 units of “tea” to maintain a subsistence level of consumption. Evaluate the following claim: In Das Kapital (Chapter 15, Section 5), Karl Marx quotes the Governor General of the British colonies in India as saying, “The misery hardly finds a parallel in the history of commerce. The bones of the cotton-weavers are bleaching the plains of India.”

Answer 1

This statement refers to the fact that mannual cotton weaving has become a dying art in India.In an age where man being replaced everywhere by machines,cotton weaving or cotton weavers are becoming extinct in india,the line talks about the cotton weavers losing their job and their misery painting a sad picture in the plains of india.

Sir William the Governor General of India in 1834-35, highlight the plights and misery of the traditional cotton weavers in india due to the ruins caused by British commercial policies towards traditional Indian handicrafts.The commercial policies of the British towards Indian handicrafts led to the ruin of even those town and cities of india ravages of war and plunder earlier(towns-Dhaka,Surat,Murshidabad) In this context Sir William Bentick says "The bones of the cotton-weavers are bleaching the plains of India "