Why was the emergence of the industrial working class decisive in ideological debates?

Correct answer: Because it made labour exploitation and rights central to politics

Option A is correct. Industrialisation created a large wage-earning working class concentrated in factories and expanding towns. Its difficult conditions—long hours, low wages, unsafe workplaces and insecure employment—made questions of exploitation, equality, representation and workers’ rights central to political discussion. The experience of this class encouraged the growth of trade unions, labour movements and socialist ideas, while conservatives and liberals also had to respond to the social consequences of industrial capitalism. The word decisive means that the working class changed the issues and groups involved in ideological debate; it did not end disagreement. Option B is therefore false. Options C and D have no historical connection with the political significance of industrial workers.