Whose research on the protests of the urban poor in industrial England showed that they had good reasons for protesting?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → E. P. Thompson
Option (1) Emile Durkheim — Incorrect. Durkheim's writing reflected the elites' worry about keeping social order. He saw social movements as forces that led to disorder, so his work did not find good reasons behind the protests.
Option (2) Rajni Kothari — Incorrect. Rajni Kothari is an Indian political scientist known for his writing on Indian politics and democracy. His work is about India, so it cannot explain protests in industrial England.
Option (3) M. N. Srinivas — Incorrect. M. N. Srinivas is the Indian sociologist who gave the concepts of sanskritisation and westernisation. His research was on caste and change in Indian society.
Option (4) E. P. Thompson — Correct. E. P. Thompson was a historian influenced by the ideas of Karl Marx. His research showed that poor people in urban areas had good reasons for protesting, because they had no other way to voice their anger against deprivation.
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