A Coal Miner in 1940's Britain had a better life than we do now
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- Опубликовано: 6 фев 2025
- I hope you liked this video, it's different to my usual, more vernacular in nature. I was sort of astonished at the reduction of life we have endured since the end of the War. It is almost impossible for many to accept some of the realities presented here, but they did exist. Things have been better. Things can be better, but the Children of Winter do not create the Spring.
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The original Video is by the British Council, you can find it on RUclips titled "The Coal Miners of Britain 1941"
The Song at the end is called "Voices of Rhodesia" by the Rhodesian National Choir, I believe it's based on Beethoven's 9th Symphony (Movement IV) Ode to Joy specifically around 4:50 onwards.
*Yes, the job was harder, I am providing commentary on the intersection of the material and the metaphysical, not just the material, for those who cannot listen.
This and the AA breakdown of slave life vs. the life of a modern wage worker, both make a compelling argument against the banal Stephen Pinker argument that we are "living in the height of history."
That video from AA is excellent, and yes I offer this as a counter to any progressive. I am yet to hear a counter factual but I am willing to listen. The crushing weight of reality has not been good for leftists since its Third inception in Marx.
I mentioned Marx's theory of alienation in this video, wherein i described the separation and estrangement of people from their work. Which is exactly how he describes it in my reference material [Estranged Labour. Marx, K. 1844].
If you can't afford the book It's available on Marxists (.org)
The life of a slave is in no way comparable to a modern worker.
@ Go watch his video before you comment such things. Especially with reference to North America.
@ShireStrike How many modern workers are physically assaulted daily at their workplace? I don't care about the video and I will not waste my time watching it. You're obviously a retard.
Imagine getting milk bread and jam and a paper delivered every morning and it not costing £20 a day
The World we could have had.
The amazing thing is that during the war the American troops stationed in the UK were instructed not to disclose their wages back home because of the fear that British workers would realise how little they earned in comparison and would leave to go to America. That's how bad this country is!
The British State didn't give care about them. I won't leave commentary on my thoughts on the War, but as I aimed to demonstrate with this video, things are worse now after the war than they were even in the middle of it.
It’s the same in america though. That’s a bit of a bullshit comment.
Same happens today in multinational companies. Yanks earn more than double.
@@giaour. yanks are being pushed into poverty same as us.
Everyone had A better life, even the ones with no shoes
Interestingly, the Workhouses almost eradicated homelessness. "Dim" as they may be, it's better than being on the streets of Norfolk today. You could escape the streets through the workhouse. You can't now.
Imagine what men of that generation would do if they were forced to work and live in our 'modern' society.
I wouldn't wish that upon them, just look at what they've done with the world those Men left us. They have destroyed our inheritance.
The same thing you would do if you met more advanced society, be amazed.🤷♂️
@@avandurionhahahahah, don't kid yourself, there are people that thought planes and all the technology we rely on now were just fads, even as far back as the telegraph cable people thought the pony express would live on, and so far, i'm one of them who thinks all this modern technology has gone well too far, we peaked in like 2010 or early 2000s now everything is disgraceful, the families don't exist, the houses are unaffordable, the streets are filthy and basic amenities are too expensive but yeah, imagine them going "forget that, wow they've got magic phones and something called facebook 😮" 😂
You're exactly what big business relies on, delusional people thinking modern living is amazing when, it really isn't
At least we’re not speaking German.
This is incredible. Your best video yet by FAR. Excellent work. It is shocking how terrible the conditions are now, and your point about the workers rights and the progress is spot on. Things aren’t better, we are worse off, and we cannot build wealth… like a coal miner. It would be shocking if we didn’t have to live like this :/
Thank you! And yes, things are bad, and they probably won't get any better.
@@abody499 That is cope. You can't afford the miners life on an equivalent job today. Please refrain from abusing random people in my comment section too.
Came over from Scrump and Evelyn's channel, brilliant video. Any young men are lost who happen to read this join the utilities, get any job with your local electricity board then apply for internal craftsmen trainee positions once you have your foot inside the door.
You'll never regret it and it's a good job for life being a cable jointer, overhead linesman, electrical fitter etc. All with scope to progress further along the engineer route. An odd hold out in today's work place
Thank you :)
That's great advice mate
Growing up in a mining town, a young lad during the miners strike I remember my neighbours working 80 hours a week when they wanted to go to on holiday in Spain, my Dad had left the pit to become a Civil Engineer and earned less than they did. (To be fair I am one of five, my mum stayed at home and my Dad worked in an office in Leeds) We all knew our neighbours, we knew the Police, we all went to the same church on Sunday, drank in the same pubs and was welcomed home ever time I returned on leave from the Army. Good honest times!
Good anecdotal evidence to my point, things have deteriorated since sadly.
@ShireStrike and I have only just passed my fiftieth birthday, so I have seen quite a rapid decline in this once great nation. P.s. my current job pays very very well but would not be missed if it ended tomorrow. I get my work done in about two hours from 0700 to 0900 and then spend the rest of the day in meetings and pretending to give a shit...
@@abody499 what is your definition of "you people"?
He seems to be a bitter progressive who is being faced with the material reality of our World.
21:11 the smoking element too. If you can even afford tailor made cigarettes you would be forced outside in the cold and the rain today.
Front garden with a gate that the neighbours kids haven't busted off it's hinges. Chap read a daily newspaper and had a few books on the shelves behind him when he was eating his evening meal.
Wonderful isn't it?
Yes, the myth that we have never had it so good when in fact quality of life has declined substantially since the 1950's in Britain.
Very important to show old film - this modern world lies about 'there's no choice, the Line MUST go up forever, that is our own meaning'. By showing the young we've lived differently, it helps them understand what they're up against.
Somebody has to separate the Wheat from the Chaff.
These days, how many people even work at manual jobs where the key equipment is provided to them, and maintained dutifully by other conscientious workers? Or where a man could expect a certain piece of loaned kit to be "his for his entire working life"? These days, it's common for people to be required by employers to buy their own low-quality, essentially disposable uniforms, lights, tools, and safety equipment, at least to some degree. We've lost so much.
In every object, there is inexhaustible meaning.
Imagine if we'd fostered this things we took for granted, had leaders who actually cared about the population and kept a healthy dose of common sense. We could be living in a utopia or as close as one can get.
Fantastic video, genuinely powerful stuff.
Thank you for the kind words, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
This was the end of an era. Something happened around this time which England was never to recover from.
There is no never with Anglo-Saxons, but the decline was apparent as early as 1840, the Country formally declined after we invoked ourselves in two wars.
We will rise again, but maybe not now. Societies are cyclical, when they exist
@ShireStrike I wish I shared your optimism. I don't see any way out of this. The time for action is right now, and we are not even talking about it.
There is no counter Elite to tack onto so, now is not the time. I remain optimistic because we conquered the Earth & invented almost everything.
Imagine if Horatio Nelson gave up at Trafalgar because he was outnumbered and out gunned?
@ShireStrike when we did all that we didn't have the Regime pulling in the opposite direction, ready to stamp us out at the slightest sign of dissent. But you are right to remain hopeful. Else we may as well just roll over and die.
Never surrender.
Excellent analysis
Well said
Thank you :)
this would be huge if you did a series from the same period
@@M3talr3x I am unsure what you mean, but I have a similar plan regarding covering more of these if that’s what you mean?
My father started down the mine in 1935 age 14 pulling pit ponies.
Yes. Let's not romanticise it too much. My grandfather was a Welsh minor and would not let my dad go down the pit.
Instead my dad joined the RAF and was posted to many countries around the world.
Sometimes I go down to their village. They have a memorial for all the men and boys (as young as 14 like your dad) who died in pit accidents in the village colliery (names, addresses and ages listed).
All of that aside, it has to be said, as my dad moved out of that old world and into the modern world, something great was lost.
Hey kids, filter with a kitchen towel over a cheese cloth, over a bucket. Then add one tablespoon bleach per gallon of water.
The Kitchen Unit was already widespread when this was produced, so it's unlikely this family did that.
Bleach (singular active ingredient, Chlorine) vs "Multi Surface Cleaner" (gives you cancer)
everyone in the 1940s had it better than we do now, England was great then it is a diversity nightmare now, people spoke to each other, and knew their neighbours for generation after generation, now you have no idea where your neighbour came from or who they are,
belfast 1955: mail delivery twice daily, plus saturday; public phone 2 minutes; within 5 minutes 2 confectionary and newspaper stores, 1 fish and chip shop, 1 co-op store, 1 hardware store, 1 wool and sewing store, 1 milk bar, 2 vegetable stores, 2 bakeries, 1 telephone box. WHERE IS THE PROGRESS? coal delivery every 2 weeks. Milk delivered daily, recycled bottles, ELECTRIC VAN; bread delivered every 2 days, ELECTRIC VAN. Old rag collection monthly, in return for a bottle of bleach. Post office within 10 minutes. Bus stop 5 minutes away. WHERE IS THE PROGRESS? Fresh vegetables from an allotment 5 minutes away. Rent man called bi- weekly. Gas money collected monthly. Betterware nan called monthly. Nearest bus stop 5 minutes distant. Father wirked, mother was at home, 5 kids. WHERE IS THE PROGRESS?
It's largely an illusion, backed by superficial matters, and mass propaganda.
Ironically sounds like a 15 minute city 😂
@ Sort of - Only back then the Government wasn't forcing you to do that - you just didn't have a car because barely anybody did
So...even if you do get a salary that could keep a family, remember the second you poke your wee head above 49k, you will be hit with 40% tax. 40p on the pound, straight off your arse before you are even out the gate.
Become a manger on 120k a year, worked hard for 30 years to get there? 77% Tax. They take home (net, minus child allowance everyone else gets) 40ish thousand.
You can't even be successful, you loose the benefit everyone below you and above you gets.
Only the Lord can help you if you're a small farmer who doesn't want to loose the farm after you spent your whole life earning 22-30k
Progress= the process of loss
Very good video
Thank you! I have a few more planned, need to sort the mic for some reason when I rendered the video every s I pronounced became elongated
@ShireStrike Yes, mics are extremely difficult. I made some videos (non political) a few years back but the mic is extremely difficult.
Also the outro song needs to be quieter it was WAY too loud
I will fix this for next time, I didn't check the mixer at the end before rendering
I am 42, I make around $42K to £50K per year depending on bonuses, I have a paid-off house & substantial investments. I could easily support a family but I cannot find anyone willing to start one at this age. Women around 30 who are not yet married don't seem interested in older men & most women my age already have kids. So I just gave up & enjoy being well-off.
It is what it is.
Go to the Philippines
Bloodline ends, imagine looking into the eye of your ancestors, after centuries of struggle saying “it is what it is”. Pathetic.
@Dorian-pn5rc Like I said I can't find anyone willing or suitable, what can I do. Seriously.
@@AA-Crow treat it as the most urgent and important thing in your life. Tell yourself if you have not met someone, married and had 1 child by 50 your life is a failure. It is what it is is a saying for failures and losers.
Use every bit of disposable income to find ways to meet suitable Women, if you eventually have to go abroad, do it. Good luck mate.
@ 50 is too old to have children, Even 42 is a bit old. If you have them at 50 you will be 70 when they are 20. It's not fair they could loose you when they are so young. Also women do not want older men for this reason. I am afraid it's not going to happen.
I enjoyed the film and your commentry... But the film has strong government propaganda vibes about it and less rosy accounts of the material conditions of coal miners of this period come to us from Orwell's 'wigan pier'
The numbered lamps and tools were, I learned from orwell property of the mine owner and the miners were charged for using them and having them cleaned, sharpened etc by wage packet deduction... And using your own was not permitted.
Mentally and spiritually this guy could very likely be in a better place to modern british man though.
I see what you mean, however I don't think this was a work of Propaganda from the communications minister back then, it doesn't have the usual characteristics of pre war propaganda, or even through the war necessarily. Interestingly on that note, Orwell himself was a man who produced propaganda for the British State, so I do "Question" the details of that particular book, but I know what you mean.
From what I have been told the numbering is far less insidious too, because this was filmed pre nationalisation, so the State wasn't issuing lamps, these appear to just have been so they could see who owns which.
And I agree with the last point, that's the whole argument I am trying to make, and even materially - the coal miners then had a better way of building wealth than many people do now.
In the forces today you get charge for your accomodation and food, even though in instance like basic training you have no alternative option. The main difference between then and now, is that a coal miners wage could still pay for a family after tool and uniform deduction, where as a modern soldier can never dream of owning home, or getting a council house, or paying for his Wife to stay home.
Its always darkest before the dawn. What happens is things progress or regress on a multi generational scale. Those kids you mention just won't have kids because they're already doomed. Parents that teach their children good table manners and traditional family values will be more successful and more likely to have their children continue their bloodline. After a few generations the wheat will be seperated from the chaff.
The moral of the story is that yes we really are living in the ashes of our civilisation butbwe mustn't gove up hope, we have to carry on and keep our heritage going and one day something new will take over and our progeny will be there to live it
Their Lie cannot last forever, that much is absolutely assured.
That is nonsense. The more intellectually gifted people will reproduce less because they see through society and how ultimately pointless everything is. How can bring another life into this mess without a guilty conscience?
Stupid people will breed and breed as they always do without asking if they should or not.
There is no evidence for your first claim, there is lots for your second.
Good points indeed, but he'd have been dead by his early 50's in that trade.
Unlikely by the time this was filmed, LE was only 6 years below nominal, and significantly lower than the asbestos miners at the time, who died 15 years younger!
@ShireStrike Believe as you will. I know different.
@ I am more inclined to believe the hard data as opposed to anecdotal accounts but I know what you are saying at it wasn't uncommon for people to get COPD.
Enoch Powell on UK immigration: "It is like watching a nation busily engaged in heaping up its own funeral pyre" , How prophetic
You'd hate being down there.
Plus they died 20 yrs younger.
I didn't say it was easier, I said it looks better
@ShireStrike I'm not saying it's harder.
I'm saying: would you swap?
You'll lose 20 yrs of life. It's dangerous. You'll retired at 50. It's monotonous. Back and joint and lung destroying. And ultimately it's non-profit-making, so you'll be taking money from disabled kids etc.
I get your point. I think. There were good elements to this life. As there was with neolithic life. But it was in reality, as well as being somewhat rewarding; it has major downsides.
The life expectancy of a Coal Miner in 1938 (Year this film was produced) is hard to gauge but from a quick google a Coal miner lived on average 5 years less, which was caused mostly by: COPD, Lung Cancer & Shaft Collapses. The issue is, it's hard determine what was at fault, it is estimated that up to 76% of coal miners smoked (back then, without filters), so it seems more likely to me (and a few research papers) that their mortality was caused by the smoking more than it was the coal dust.
And I don't dispute the downsides, I'm sure a collapse is terrifying, but all jobs in heavy industry have their serious workplace risks.
To your question, yes, I would happily work down a Coal mine. People I am related to worked the pits in some form or another, so I see no issue with this. I am sure many would rather not, but that's their choice!
Oh no imagine not living until 95, spending 20 years sat watching TV and being manhandled by minimum wage Nigerian care workers.
@Dorian-pn5rc lols. Also bad!
We owned a coal mine back then, it was quite profitable until the 1960s
What I find interesting is that Wales never managed to make a profit (as a whole) on the mines after around 1892, the State had to keep them going to avoid the inevitable. Shame they're gone.
coal not dole
2025...Im poor...you got a mobile phone on you.....fascist.
I work in a factory not even making top dollar in my field could probably double my earnings if I moved, paid off bachelors, bought a condo got plenty of money being put aside for retirement. 0 experience required when I started at minimum wage 15 years ago. I'm 100% convinced people are poor either b/c they extremely unlucky or extremely useless or combination for the 2. Absolutely no reason to be living in the west and complain especially when you are only a google search away to realize how actually bad you could have had it if you were born somewhere else.
I assume you live in the US? Here in the UK it isn't the same, your relative poverty compared to ours is significantly different
@ShireStrike A correct assumption as he uses the word 'realize' in the colonial fashion
@ Also thinks that Factory work pays well today, only in the land of the Big Mac is that half-true
@ShireStrike not really, Germany nz, au, ca, name a western country you can find a machinist/plumber/carpenter any person of skill living absolutely great life most of them end up millionaires by the time they reach retirement. But hey keep blaming others, that always helps.
@@avandurion The issue is we know you're lying
Dont be silly. Do you know how many miners lives were lost in the mines in those days. There were was no NHS either. The living conditions in the Welsh valleys at time was grim and went on for another 25 years before any improovment was made by the English government. And that was minimal.
@@john_atco the NHS existed before Bevan. It used to be a charity service. The NHS also allowed around 47000 people to die waiting last year so, they’re useless.
As for the valleys it’s hit and miss, lower regions typically had worse housing but they also typically didn’t work the mines.