Disenchantment & ideology task 1-8

Assignment 1 - French Revolution 

timeline: 

1789:

• starts with the ancien regime and France having financial troubles due to wars and a bad(outdated) tax system. The lower class were starving. estate system: 1 church 2 nobility 3 the rest(peasants/merchants/rich but not nobility) 

•  3rd of may, calling of the estates general .  

•  june 17th, third estate declares itself the national assembly( representing the people

• July 14th, storming of the bastille (main starting point of the revolution.), (first violent revolt against the regime) 

• august 4th, after the uprising, feudal rights are abolished 

• august 26th, the declaration of the rights of men and citizenship are adopted. \

• october 5-6, women march for versailles demanding bread, forcing the king to move to Paris, the national assembly follows him there.  

1791:

• June 20-21 : king flees but gets caught, harming his people's trust in him. as he lost trust in the revolution. 

1792:

• April 20 – France declares war on Austria(people fear france is going back to a monarchy) 

• September 21 – The National Convention abolishes the monarchy and declares a republic.

1793:

• january 21 execution of the king 

• problems in the country side: people are going against the republic

• september, reign of terror( robespierre) executing everyone against the revolution 

• insurrection by counter revolution. 

1794 

• july, robespierre gets executed (end of reign of terror) 

• voila -

1. What was the background to, and the course of, the French Revolution (causes

and events)? How did the Revolution change after 1791?

French society was divided into three estates: (First Estate) the clergy, included wealthy archbishops as well as poor parish priests, (Second Estate) the nobility, controlled important roles in administration,could only get it through birthright, the military, and the Church. It included sword nobles (land-based wealth) and robe nobles (held judicial offices), and (Third Estate) everyone else, comprised 97% of the population, ranging from peasants (who worked the land) to urban workers, merchants, and the bourgeoisie (wealthy middle class). Each Estate had a similar amount of power. The third estate which was 97% of people only had ⅓ of the power. 

The French Revolution was driven by social inequality(the three different estates), economic collapse (huge national debt, tax system was outdated, and food shortages(main reason)), political struggle (When it was finally called in 1789, voting disputes led the Third Estate to break away, forming the National Assembly), and Enlightenment ideas (Montesquieu, Voltaire, Rousseau, and the Encyclopedists challenged the monarchy and promoted ideas of equality, liberty, and democracy.

Public opinion also grew stronger, with newspapers, salons, and political clubs encouraging debate).

The authoritarian parts of the revolution led to the terror La Terreur. 

The taking of the Bastille should mark the beginning of the French Revolution(even though it was still considered a problematic victory). 

It overthrew the monarchy, abolished feudalism, and introduced democracy, but also led to radical violence and instability. By 1795, the revolution had transformed France, but it ultimately paved the way for Napoleon’s rise to power.

-first they still included the king in decisions, later they changed it more to a republic. 

There were mass executions due to radicalism.

last the king was executed. 

2. How did the French Revolution and the idea of citizenship relate to the Enlightenment, particularly the theories of Locke and Rousseau?

• locke declaration of the rights of men, theorie of the natural right: life liberty and property. demanded representative institutions. 

• locke argued that all individuals are born with natural rights to life, liberty, and property, which governments must protect.

• The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (1789) reflected these ideas, stating:

  • "Men are born and remain free and equal in rights."

  • Laws exist to protect liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression.

• Locke also believed that governments derive power from the consent of the governed. This inspired the Revolution’s push for a constitutional monarchy (1791) and later a republic (1792).

• The Revolution also embraced Locke’s justification for overthrowing unjust rulers, which supported the removal of King Louis XVI.

• rousseau; general will: will of the collective/ people. Rousseau argued in The Social Contract (1762) that:

  • True government is based on the "general will" of the people rather than a king’s authority.

  • Citizens should actively participate in politics to ensure collective freedom.

• The French Revolution adopted Rousseau’s concept of popular sovereignty, shifting power from the king to the National Assembly and later the Republic.

-oosterhuis text, changed the meaning of citizenship, but there was still exclusion on said citizenship, for example women. 

• Before the Revolution, citizenship was tied to birth, privilege, and loyalty to the king.

• Inspired by Locke and Rousseau, the Revolution redefined citizenship:

• Citizenship became a political status based on rights and duties rather than noble birth.

• Laws applied equally to all citizens, ending feudal privileges.

• Participation in government (through voting and military service) became a key duty of citizens.

• Women were excluded from voting and political office (despite efforts by figures like Olympe de Gouges), additionally women's march on versailles. 

• Enslaved people in the colonies had to fight for recognition, leading to the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804)

five types of citizenship:

-classical republican: loyalty and commitment to country,(civic duty, involvement in governance, obligation.  

-classical liberal; individual rights: personal freedoms, (ensuring people can act autonomously) 

- liberal democratic; political participation( allowing all(more than the republicans) people to engage in governance) 

- social liberal and social democratic : active participation and social equality, with capitalism there is less equality, less freedom of market.   

- neo republican citizenship; criticizing social citizenship,want to go back to ‘’simpler times’’ , more individual citizenship, wanting freedom. 

Assignment 2 - Alexis De Tocqueville's Democracy
key concepts introduction Tocqueville

-democracy

-tyranny of the majority

-federalism

Questions:
1. Could the American democracy serve as a model for Europe in general, and for France in particular

2. Who is Alexis de Tocqueville and what is the main argument he is trying to make? How does the french revolution influence him in making this argument?
3. How does American democracy compare to French democracy according to Tocqueville?

4. What does tocqueville mean by social democratization and political centralisation?
5. What is the tyranny of the majority? What problems does it cause?

6.  How is the tyranny of the majority seen today? Are there any ways to stop it from happening?

1. Tocqueville claims that America had a more decentralised power than france. People were more directly engaged in politics. France had a bigger division of power, in the USA there were for example more civil servants. French democracy should start to rely more on local governing as the USA did. Tocqueville was however aware of the differing climates in the countries.

2. Alexis de Tocqueville is an aristocrat, who lived in the 19th century. He went to the US to study prisons but ended up interested in the political climate, which he wrote a book about. His main arguments consisted of:
-democracy is inevitable, but it has to be guided by legislation. He also thought democracy can lead both to liberty and oppression, taking into account the tyranny of the majority.
-He had a strong interest in a decentralized government as well.
- The result of equality would be individualism; extreme equality would have people feel more isolated, and without striving to become of a higher class there would be little motivation for personal growth. (despotism) It would also bring apathy for the ‘’common good '’’. if the power above people stops being seen as legitimate, people will revolutionise.

3. The main differences between america and france at the time were:
-French democracy was still based off of the third estate, there was no president and no clear revolutionary leader (Yet). The French revolution was too focused on abolishing the past, which led to the rise of Napoleon, and left no room to develop a proper new system.
- Americas ‘’the new world’’ principle means there was no need to abolish the past, which left them to be able to build the future and their political system to serve it. They have the liberty to choose justice, with a base of principles to guide them. Religion (christianity) played a big part in this, as justice cannot exist without morality.
-christianity to him was the way to pursue equality as a society because of the basic principles in the bible, demonstrated by for example people of every standing being able to become part and contribute to the church. although clergymen and people within priesthood did not agree to the notion of equality in society. (especially in france, with the 1st and 2nd standing)

4. Social democratization means that everybody has the same right to participate in politics. And everyone has the same living rights. This however causes individualism, which could be prevented with civic and public associations and institutions.
Political Centralisation means that all political power is centralised within one government based often in one location such as the old monarchy in france.

5. The tyranny of the majority means that minorities within society get suppressed when speaking out/ casting their votes. It causes a fear of free thought and debate  (independent thinking), as there starts to be a new social pressure to follow the ‘’majority’’ of the group. It makes for conformity within a democracy, and he mentions that a democratic state should watch out for this. Solutions would be decentralisation of power, political engagement/participation of the citizen, and education of the citizen within politics.

6. How some minorities still do not have a considerable vote in most of society, for example how the MAGA movement in America attacks immigrants. Another example is social media ‘’cancel culture’’, which works with algorithms that create a kind of information bubble. Which causes people with different views to attack each other. This may be helped by instilling procedures to declare governments unfit to rule (impeachment) that protect the citizens, or to create guidelines for people to follow and giving room to a certain tolerance policy to make sure there is peaceful discussion. 

Text notes:
-before the french revolution the relationship of power between the monarch and the aristocracy stabilised itself
-since the 11th century we have been approaching equality through the clergy accepting all classes of people in the church
-For the revolution to work you need guidance, which depends on the ‘’higher class’’-> reconstruct what has been deconstructed -> violence rather than rationality makes things unstable
-customs ideas and norms were implemented to construct the idea of a democracy within society
-One does not mind power as one as the power is seen as legitimate
-There was focus on equality rather than freedom -> this caused individualism (focus on ex. owning land, despotism) and self interest -> they did not construct anything new, so the revolution lost its point -> more prone to be oppressed, lack of social cohesion -> solution: shift focus to both freedom and equality

Industrialization 1. 

Assignment 3 – Industrialization, Machinery, and Labour

Brainstorm: 

• Revolution 

• Technological determinism 

• Industrialization

• Friedrich Engels 

• Urbanization 

• Great Britain 

• Loss of skills 

• proletarization 

• Socio-economic causes 

Problem statement: The different theories about the causes of the industrial revolution. 

1. What were the pre-conditions of the IR? 

2. What were the regional differences between the IR? 

First wave 1780s- 1820 - began in Britain 

• Cotton textiles and Iron making 

• Belgians where only ones who competed with the british 

• Rest of EU followed that example - German regions and Belgium - concerning wool and metals 

France

• State that made it harder of IR - French revolution stopped the progress 

• The leaders that came after FR 

German

• Areas that are more industrialized - where saxony, NRW and 

second wave:  France Germany and USA

Need for railways to achieve power, scale and structure of industrial societies

-not for Britain though (ships > train)

• emphasized railways

• access to bette ressources and way of transferring goods.

• The second wave, around 1840-1870, saw the industrial take-off of France, the German states, and the United States, which benefited from the railworks. 

• Only industrial economies like Germany and the United States were able to overcome the Great Depression.

• Great Depression caused by the mass importation of foreign products from colonies inflating the local markets of countries.

third wave: transfer to more countries 

New countries : Italy, Russia, Japan, Sweden, Austrian section of the Habsburg Empire

•  Third-wave industrializers needed railway systems, shipyards, and steel mills for their basic manufacturing equipment. - These new technology sectors were already in abundance during the third wave.

• The Emergence of Large-Scale Corporations - The job of the large-scale corporations is to maximize throughput, organize markets, and sustain technological fertility.

• Institutions able to do this, some of them multinational corporations, existed in the United States, Germany, and even in Britain before 1914.

3. What were the positive and negative effects of the Industrial Revolution ?

• Huge job creation 

• Cities grew - people migrated there leading to urbanization 

• Improved infrastructure 

• Expansion if education 

• need for skilled labor 

• Technological innovation 

• Industrial advancements - ex steam engine 

• New regional connection 

• social mobility 

• growth of the middle class 

• opportunities for entrepreneurship 

• Overpopulation of cities - leading to the outskirts being very poor - slums and diseases 

• Great depression 

• bad working conditions - very poor wages 

• Pollution and health risks 

• child labor 

• social murder - system could have prevented deaths and starvation 

• proletarization of society 

• Craftsmen must become factory workers 

• Isolationism theory (connects to tocqueville) - The rich don't want to see the poor so they put them in back alleys

• With prosperity of Job market jobs emerge but also decrease

• Capitalism as subtle slavery 

• workers where in the hands of their “bosses” - ultra dependant - no stability - no savings 

• The law does not protect the Working class 

• The police always took side of the nobility 

• Environmental damage 

4. Who is Friedrich Engels? What are his views on IR? 

• He is a german philosopher and economist 

• Comes from an industrialized family 

• his opinion is based on observation 

• Supported philosopher Hegel even when he was subject of controversy 

Main views: 

• critique of living and working condition

• concept of social murder

• Competition in the classes:  before IR - competition between the classes 

• different people have different standards of life: ex. Irishmen in england lowering the minimum wage 

5. How does the industrial revolution compare to the scientific revolution? 

• Scientific revolution (16th-17th century) was foundation for Industrial revolution 

• Industrial Revolution (18th -19th century) - focus on practicallity,  production and technology → Impacts economics more than the SR 

• Scientific Revolution -  focus on theory and science and intellect 

• → Key innovations from SR helped the innovations of IR

6. Could the negative effects be mitigated ? 

• Labor laws and worker movements.

• better state regulations

• intervention of government

• Exposure and Interactions between the classes 

• prevent excessive isolation 

• communication between people and government 

• the focus on people and not on capitalist class 

7. What were the different positions on the role of technology 

• Some believe in Technological Determinism 

• Working class in the first period saw technology as a competitor not as a help 

• ex. spinning jenny and workers progress

• Present day example: AI creation and the fear of losing jobs 

Bonus: How are these ideas still relevant - 

• US and US healthcare system 

→ They don't have a healthcare system 

→ They do good and are free until something happens to them - ex. injury 

→ even with insurance - they try not to cover it as much as they can 

• Zero work contracts - is next level exploitation  - F. Engels would have hated it 

• Minimum wage tied to age (netherlands) 

• Cant get employment benefits 

• The government and neo-liberal laws of flexibility make it structurally legal for exploitation 

What we missed: 

• regional differences and differences in countries 

• long term process 

• Different type of reaction 

The institution of Development: p.61-63 

• Chronic backwardness- lead to interventionist state 

• Medium Backwardness - s

• Suppressed backwardness - intervention of large scale/multinational corporation 

Engels: 

• Points out that the cities are leading of erasion of best qualities of human nature 

• social murder

• he’s pointing at lack of security which leads to inherent willingness to work 

• Ex. Poverties and inhuman conditions 

• Competition is best weapon to control - through competition human will not humanize - just try to get a job no matter the cost 

• condition of slavery 

• Rise of demands affects minimum wage 

• Ex. of crisis is related to new economic state and it will continue to happen over and over again 

• Malthusian theory - p. 9 “For, to speak in the words of the economists, the expense incurred in maintaining them would not 'be reproduced', would be money thrown away, and to this end no man advances capital; and, so far, Malthus was perfectly right in his theory of population.” 

Pre-discussion

Industrialization II

Assignment 4 – Marxism as Politics and Philosophy

1. Who is Karl Marx?

2. What is his opinion on the industrial revolution and capitalism? 

3. What does “technological hubris” mean? 

4. What are his opinions on “estranged labour” , what were the causes and the consequences? 

5. What are the forms of consciousness? 

6. What were his opinions on class, the bourgeoisie and the proletarians? 

7. How are his ideas relevant today? 

Emmanuelle sick, group split up.

Assignment 5 – imperialism and colonialism 

Learning Goals:

1. How do we define imperialism and colonialism?

Imperialism: broad system of domination, motivated by various reasons (economic, national prestige, strategic dominance)

colonialism: direct political control, settlement and administration of foreign territories. 

2.What are the origins and consequences of imperialism?

19th century, move to capitalism increased production capacity (increased demand for raw materials) while the African continent mostly stayed static. 

imperialism mainly driven by economic motives: grow territory of influence, need of more raw materials to keep up with the increased production of goods. 

fear of missing out: countries feared that if they did not take over territories, other powers would gain an advantage. 

civilizing mission:  the belief that Europeans had a moral duty to spread its modernity and better standard of living (healthcare, education) to underdeveloped and barbarian lands.

consequences: 

For Colonizers:

Access to cheap labor, raw materials, and new markets.

Enhanced national prestige and global influence.

For Colonized Peoples:

Political domination, loss of sovereignty, and cultural erasure.

Economic exploitation: Colonies became single-export economies, dependent on Europe (were prevented from making their own self-sufficient economies).

 A.  What is the point of view of the colonisers and colonised? 

Colonized: most Experienced oppression, forced labor, and displacement, leading to resistance movements. Some acted as a middleman through trade and were supportive of imperialism. 

Some of the colonized people started to look up to europeans as the modern man and started copying them. 

Colonizers: Framed imperialism as a civilizing mission in barbarian lands, justified by racial superiority and the belief that they were bringing progress.gained wealth through the exploitation. 

3. What is the ideological motivation behind it, how does it attempt to justify it?

civilizing mission (mission civilisatrice): the belief that Europeans had a moral duty to spread its modernity and better standard of living (healthcare, education) to underdeveloped and barbarian lands. (british used the excuse of ending the slave trade to occupy African terretories). It was also believed that the European white race was biologically superior to the people of the African continent and therefore had the right to rule over them. 

A. What is the role of capitalism in it?

securing new markets, raw materials and cheap labour. 

European nations also tried to prevent African nations from attempting to industrialize (egypt) to keep them weak and exploitable. 

B. What is the role of nationalism?

Europeans believed themselves to be superior to African nations (better ethical values, industries, technology) and therefore had the right to rule over them.  

Nationalism promoted imperial expansion by linking national prestige to the acquisition of colonies. turned owning colonies as a show of power and wealth. 

 4. How and why were liberalism Janus-faced in the context of imperialism?

believed in equal rights for everyone yet still supported imperialism.
Their excuse for this was that imperialism improved the lives of colonized people. Every country has the right to free trade as a justification for invasion. 

 5. What are some examples of imperialism and colonialism? Why is the discussion still  relevant today? 

Belgian Congo: Exploitation under King Leopold II, justified as anti-slavery but resulting in forced labor​

  A. What is neo imperialism?

indirect imperialism, nations or corporations exert political, economic and cultural influence without formal authority. 

  B.  How is neo imperialism apparent today?

shell (oil company) exploitation of cheap labour and monopolies.
Developing countries remain dependent on foreign capital, technology, and markets, perpetuating economic inequality without direct governance.

Through political and economic pressure, countries are still heavily influenced by foreign powers. 

important things:

aggressive imperialism causes an increase in competition/hostilities between empires. 

because of imperialism, most African countries were not self sufficient. There were some collaborators with the colonizers. 

combination of liberalism and imperialism led to Janus-faced. 

assignment 6 - Berlin conference 

1 What was the Berlin conference? (its aim and historical background) (A how was Africa divided)

In 1884-1885, organized by german concealer, Bismarck. The aim was to define the territory in Africa and organize the free trade and division. 

• Promote free trade

• assure free navigation in Congo and Niger 

• Agree on the rules of annexations of african territories 

In the text: Generate conflicts among the European powers but with a focus on Africa they can avoid conflicts. 

Africa geopolitics as an extension of european geopolitics, population and public were for the colonization.

Why did they think they could get Africa?

• Saw African as Subhumans and thought they had the right to take the powers and countries. 

3C’s: Christianity, Commerce and Civilization

About the final speech: Free access for western nations in Africa, considerations for the African population and giving them access to the positive effects of colonization.

Which countries got what?

• Britain controlled the regions in the south, South Africa and Egypt

• Belgium controlled Congo, Free state 

• Germany controlled Tanzania 

• France controlled Mauritania,... (West africa)

• Spain controlled the north region of Morocco but it was also controlled by the french 

• Portugal controlled Mozambique

• The only independent countries: Ethiopia,... (Not a lot)

Some countries weren't colonized until the 20th Century, also different ways of colonization. 

2 What were the consequences of the Berlin conference, short term and long term?

• King Leopold got the congo during the conference and it led to bad politics, forced labour

• Modern scientific techniques were introduced and it led to the production of minerals, coffee, cocoa,...

• Bad for the economies in Africa, they had to copy the economical patterns of European without the ressources 

• Europea education led to the destruction of the african culture

• Lands were exploited and it is hard to come back to that, still today. 

• Short term: Conference was to keep peace among the european powers

• Long terms: effects still visible today

• Women excluded from the system

Today: Tend to keep more conservative regimes = Conservative leadership led to terror in the countries. No real self-government until WW2.

The British and colonizers favoured certain groups more than others, India and the caste system = Created conflicts among the population 

“Positive”: They constructed infrastructures: telephones, railways, transport systems but not really positive anyway. But it wasn’t really spread, present but mostly in the cities. A gap is created between European infrastructures and African ones. 

3 Why did Leopold get the Congo? 

Why? The presence of Avery, way larger than Belgium. 

He explored Congo and wanted to see if they could become a colony. He found out a few things that makes easier to conquer the congo: (Before the Berlin conference)

• No military trade

• Guns and arrows not really effective

• population was small and fragmented

He explained that it was a philanthropic aspect, he made the local population and chiefs sign treaties but most of the people didn’t really know what they were doing. But with those treaties, it became more legal. He also explained that he would abolish slavery, made a red-cross -> He explained “good” things (lies) to countries so he had their support.

A- What promises did leopold make and did he live up to them? 

• He explained to some countries that if Belgium was there, the British couldn’t and it was positive. He managed to trick countries so he could get the Congo.

• He said he created an international movement for the Congo but he controlled everything almost alone. 

With the treaties signed, the only thing he had to do was to be recognized by the other powers. He did this in the US with General Sanford: He was an associate of the president at that time. This general started to talk about Leopold in a good way to the president, they finally recognized the “association”. This association was “Congo International Association” - First one. Then “International association of the Congo”. He also promised to Americans that they could buy lands in the Congo and that the goods will be free. He also tricked them. 

In France: He gave them a “droit de préference” right of first refusal, the French agreed to that because they were confident that the railways would bankrupt Leopold and they were scared that he would sell them to Britain, they thought that deal would be good for them. 

Bismarck’s banker and the connection with Leopold helped him. It kept Leopold informed of what was happening in Germany and the banker also convinced Bismarck to agree with Leopold about Congo.

The Berlin conference was after all of that and this conference was more a way for Leopold to validate his grip on the Congo.

4 In which ways did the methods and institution of European colonial rule lead to issues and conflict? 

• Divided groups policy created many conflicts among the areas, and it it still visible today

• Conservative government: They stayed in an aristocracy. Those countries are still vulnerable to terror and civil wars because of conservative regimes instored by the colonizers. 

• Favoritism of European powers for certain groups: Tutsi and Hutu example. 

• Ethnic violence created by the colonizers among groups

• exploitative economic systems led to issues and conflicts: Colonies served the European economies and not the African economy. 

• The forced labour established by Leopold created problems: lack of food, deaths…

• Education: Universities and education institutions were only established after the WW2

• Education: The christian education provided an education but led to the destruction of African traditions, beliefs, languages and culture and it also marginalized women

5. Can we still see the effects of the African division right now?

• There is still political instability post-colonization. There is a door for corruption. 

• Social inequalities because of the disparities created during colonizations 

• Civil wars: Nigeria and Sudan. There are armed citizens and conflicts in countries post-colonizations. But the civil wars can also be for others reasons (ethnic and religions)

• Political conflicts: Ethiopia.

• Genocides in Rwanda: Hutu and Tutsi, consequence of western imperialist who “prefered” tutsi. 

• Forced technologies established in the countries, radical changes in their way of living. Colonizers changed their economy, institutions. This radical change created issues in the post-colonized countries. 

• In most African countries, they lost their original languages, they often speak the language of the colonizers (french, dutch,...). 

Example of “Trump Gaza” and the imperialist aspect of the video. 

Assignment 7: 

Critique of Reason I

Assignment 7 – Max Weber

Brainstorm: 

Learning goals: 

1. Who is Max Weber - what are his arguments? 

was a German sociologist, historian, and political economist who profoundly influenced social science with his work on the relationship between culture, religion, and economic systems. He was a professor at a university 

His arguments are that capitalism is not natural, it’s not just economical, but also cultural relating to religious values. 

What is modern capitalism according to Weber? 

: It is a capitalism oriented to production, which operates by means of firms, and functions on the market. It has the following features: 

1.     Fixed capital, invested in the production of goods on which depends the satisfaction of the daily needs of the masses. 

2.     Material and organizational means of production are wholly appropriated by the owners of capital. 

3.     There is rational capital accounting, oriented to long-term profitability, to the capacity to produce and reproduce profits. 

4.     Orientation to the opportunities present on the market.

5.     Rational organization of labour and of the work discipline. 

6.     Rational technology. 

Three types of authority:

1. Traditional – Based on customs (e.g., monarchy).

2. Charismatic – Based on personal appeal (e.g., revolutionary leaders).

3. Legal-Rational – Based on laws and rules (e.g., modern governments).

2. His thoughts on How do rationalization, secularization and disenchantment connect to modern liberal capitalism?

• Rationalization – The shift from traditional or religious thinking to systematic, rule-based decision-making. Capitalism thrives on efficiency, calculation, and productivity, replacing personal relationships with bureaucratic structures (e.g., corporations, financial markets).

• Secularization – As societies modernize, religion loses its influence over economic and political life. Capitalism, once driven by Protestant ethics, now operates independently of religious values, focusing solely on market logic and profit.

• Disenchantment – The decline of mysticism and traditional beliefs as rationalization and science dominate. Work, money, and bureaucracy replace spiritual meaning in everyday life, leading to an impersonal, efficiency-driven capitalist system.

How is it related to modern liberal capitalism?

• Markets are ruled by rational calculation (e.g., data-driven finance, global trade, automation).

• Profit replaces moral or religious motivations, creating a capitalist ethos based purely on economic success.

• Bureaucracies control institutions, making capitalism more structured but also impersonal and rigid.

3. How has Religion and more specifically Calvinism (branch of Protestantism) contributed to the capitalist idea? 

He describes how Calvinism and ascetic protestantism convinces people that it is important to be productive. It argues that time spent not doing anything even if spent in thought is wasted because it is time that could be spent labouring for god’s work. 

According to Weber, Calvinism played a crucial role in shaping the capitalist spirit by promoting a disciplined, rational approach to work and economic life. Calvinist theology, particularly the doctrine of predestination, taught that God had already determined who would be saved (the "elect") and who would be damned, leaving individuals uncertain about their eternal fate. Since no one could change their destiny through good deeds or sacraments, Calvinists sought worldly "signs" of their salvation, believing that success in one’s profession and disciplined work indicated God's favor​.

This belief led to the development of worldly asceticism, where Calvinists worked tirelessly, avoided luxury, and reinvested their earnings rather than spending on personal pleasures. Unlike medieval Catholicism, which often encouraged withdrawal from economic life (e.g., monasticism), Calvinism sanctified everyday labor by treating it as a religious duty—what Weber called the Protestant "work ethic." Over time, this ethic detached from its religious origins and evolved into the rational, systematic, and profit-driven mindset of modern capitalism, forming the foundation of liberal economic systems based on hard work, frugality, and reinvestment​

Economic survival would replace religious motivation.

4. What does he mean by the iron cage? 

According to Weber, the "iron cage" (stahlhartes Gehäuse) refers to the way modern capitalism and bureaucratic rationalization have become inescapable, trapping individuals in a system of impersonal economic and social rules​. Initially, Protestant ethics, particularly Calvinism, encouraged disciplined work and frugality as signs of divine favor, but over time, these religious motivations faded, leaving behind a rigid, self-sustaining economic system focused purely on efficiency and profit.

Modern capitalism becomes more of a risk. 

In the modern world, people no longer work because they see it as a religious duty but because the capitalist system demands it—jobs, contracts, and bureaucracies dictate daily life, reducing personal freedom and creativity. Rationalization has led to a society where rules, efficiency, and economic survival take precedence over individual values, making capitalism feel like an unbreakable structure that controls human behavior rather than serving human needs​

Because of economic survival, people have no choice but to conform to capitalist’ ideas and its structures.

5. What is the capitalist mentality? 

A belief system where profit-seeking, hard work, and efficiency are seen as moral virtues.

Capitalists mindset— only work to contribute to society and to learn.

According to Weber, early capitalists, particularly those influenced by Calvinist Protestantism, had a distinct mentality characterized by discipline, rationality, and a relentless focus on work and economic success. They saw their profession not just as a means of survival but as a moral and religious duty, a "calling" (Beruf) in which they had to work methodically and accumulate wealth as a sign of divine favor​. However, instead of indulging in luxury, they practiced asceticism (a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals) reinvesting their earnings into their businesses, which fueled economic growth and capitalism’s expansion​.

Over time, this religiously motivated work ethic became secularized, but the mentality remained: capitalists continued to prioritize efficiency, productivity, and profit maximization. They embraced rational planning, long-term investment, and the rejection of traditional, emotion-driven decision-making. This rational and systematic approach to economic life ultimately shaped modern capitalism, where success is measured by continuous growth and financial gain, rather than religious or ethical considerations​.

Weber believed that the capitalist spirit invoked in people a sense of duty

·   This spirit:

I.Appealed to rationality

II.Rejected the traditional ideology of the time

III.Repressed natural human impulses, such as love, compassion

IV.Required individuals to control fatigue, shortcuts

V.Tied ethics to productivity

VI.An objectification of goals, where the calculation between objective and result are crucial                 

VII.An openness to experimentation

6. Comparison between Marx's and Webers Ideas

Karl Marx          

Causes of Capitalism— class struggles, materialism, 

Future of Capitalism— Decline to collapse, iron cage will reinforce it, keeping the capitalists system, revolution

Alienation— Economic exploitation

Max Weber

Causes of Capitalism— religious values, cultural values, ideology

Future of Capitalism– iron cage

Alienation— consequence of bureaucracy 

Historical development of society

Increasingly rationalized and bureaucratic (Weber) – Stages of economic development (Marx), feudalism → capitalism → socialism

Role of work — Moral duty (religion) → became a habit (Weber)  way to survive for a working class (Marx)

Summary/end notes:
Weber sees similarity between spirit of capitalism and calvinism (only observed)
-> Rational mentality, resistance to emotional impulses
-> work ethic seen as moral value
(page 71-72 ,poggi gianfranco, weber a short introduction, 2006)

Cause of capitalism seen as cultural growth
Calvinistic/protestant society adopts ideas of work being moral
Society secularises, lets go of religion -> holds onto the idea of work ethics
Capitalism thrives off of cultural value surrounding work
iron cage comes to life -> capitalism forces people to work (page 123, weber, asceticism and the spirit of capitalism)
Trapped by the idea of and necessity of work/labour

assignment 8 - Friedrich Nietzsche (critique of reason II)

Learning goals:

• Who is Nietzsche? 

Nietzsche was a German philosopher who lived from 15 October 1844 to 25 August 1900.

Prominent elements of his philosophy include his radical critique of truth in favour of perspectivism; a genealogical critique of religion and Christian morality and a related theory of master–slave morality; the aesthetic affirmation of life in response to both the "death of God" and the profound crisis of nihilism; the notion of Apollonian and Dionysian forces; and a characterisation of the human subject as the expression of competing wills, collectively understood as the will to power. He also developed influential concepts such as the Übermensch and his doctrine of eternal return. In his later work, he became increasingly preoccupied with the creative powers of the individual to overcome cultural and moral mores in pursuit of new values and aesthetic health.

• What is nihilism and existentialism according to Nietzsche? 

This wasn’t discussed in the specific texts we read for this assignment.

Nihilism: human beings are scared of the truth of life, so they create false things,like religion to believe in. Traditional values are just made up. Nietzsche disliked basic nihilism, because he thought that it was bad and a danger to humans. 

• How does Nietzsche define truth?

According to Nietzsche, there is no objective truth. Truth is described through language, and is a human made construct. it’s very arbitrary and created by humans.

Example: leaf metaphor (different forms of leaves, all unique and different, but we call them all leaves)

​​There is no point that is true-in-itself, real, and universally valid, apart from man. It is of very limited value and only antropomorphic, in that way man is applied as the measure of everything. Whereby he starts by believing that he has these things immediately before him as pure objects. He therefore forgets that the original metaphors of perceptions ARE metaphors and takes them for the things themselves.

There is no empirical truth, art gets closer to the actual truth. 

Truths are illusions which we have forgotten are illusions.

• What is the function of truth for Nietzsche?

Society has established fixed rules/ language describes what is true and what is false. Truth is imposed to prevent chaos and to control the masses. It constructs hierarchies and cas-like societies. 

• What is the role of language in the construction of truth?

All truths we have is constructed through language and metaphors. 

language is used to order thing; laws, social relationships,... nature is all over the place and without words we can’t capture it/ categorize it. 

He values poets a lot, as they restore the language from a lifeless state and restores a positivity. For Nietzsche, the poet revives language from its rigid, conventional, and lifeless state, restoring its transformative power. The poet restores to words (to discourse) a ‘positivity’ that has nothing in common with either knowledge or practical action: poetry, in which are reborn both the nature ousted by discourse, and the power of metamorphosis captured by this same discourse. Example of the Sun: The sun thus has a triple existence: empirical (at this level it is taken as the object of science), social(regulator of time and space for human activities), and finally poetic (symbolic and mythic). It is this last that has the greatest importance (value). Between these levels and degrees of language, all kinds of transitions, substitutions and metaphors, transfers and metonymies are at work. On many occasions, Nietzsche notes the importance of visual metaphors (vision, perspective, point of view, etc.) in rational (social and political) language.
This is where metaphilosophical thought comes in, responding to questions of the philosophers yet without being itself a philosophy.

The poet can use the metaphors and expose the metaphors that we forget are metaphors. 

• How does morality relate to language and truth?

He was questioning why man always looks for truths.  Moral concepts are built on structures of language.

Philosophy has produced and reproduced the discourse of power without ever dissociating itself from it otherwise than in appearance. Only the poet transcends this discourse. 

1. Values and conventions of class, caste, the structure of social life

2. Semiotics: rather than what value or meaning is ascribed to an object, Neitzsche’s interest in the subject lies in how and why semiotics as a concept formed.

3. The sun, for example, has a triple existence: 

   1. The empirical: taken as an object of science.

   2. The social: as a regulator of space and time for human activities

   3. The poetic: taken as a symbol and mythical (cycles, returns, death and resurrection)

4. Iron cage of language, stuck in conceptions of truth we made.

• Comparison between Nietzsche and Weber (and Marx maybe)

Language connects to Weber’s ‘iron cage’. ‘ if for an instant he could escape from …’ being trapped in the made-up system of language is what happens, even though we made up this system of language ourselves. 

Nietzsche was very critical towards Christianity and created values that were against us a s human beings. ‘God is dead’ → decline of religion→ leads to nihilism.

Language creates caste-like systems, hierarchies, class struggles. The only way to use it to your advantage is to study it

Weber claims that religion (Calvinism) played a role to bring capitalism into existence. 

Marx saw religion as a form of oppression for the working class. 

• How do Nietzsche’s concepts of language and truth relate to life today?

No original concept of truth - ex. Freedom distortion 

Words are being misused. e.g. Trumps use of words to impose power structures. 

The word ‘propaganda’, 

Mass Society I

Assignment 9 - Communication across Time & Space 

1. How did new communication impact time and space? 

2. How did fast communication change politics and society? 

3. How did fast communication change economics? 

4. How did telegraphs and telephones impact ideologies? 

5. How were these improvements received? What were the different reactions? 

6. What was the impact of telephony?

7. What are the technologies leading to those kinds of changes? 

8. How are we nowadays reacting to those kinds of changes, for example AI, in comparison to before?