Untitled Flashcards Set

hi! im about to give you a supper long reading and I need notes on it and things that follow this prompt: read the 2nd and 3rd sections of Spielvogel Chapter 21, called "Ideologies of Change" and "Revolution and Reform". The first one introduces you to Liberalism, Nationalism, and early forms of Socialism. You really will want to know your ISMs tomorrow--Conservatism, Liberalism, and Socialism. Know these in their European sense, not their American one (an American liberal and a European liberal are NOT the same!). The second one explains the key takeaways of the completely bonkers year of 1848 throughout Europe. he Ideologies of Change Although the conservative forces were in the ascendancy from 1815 to 1830, powerful movements for change were also at work. These depended on ideas embodied in a series of political phi- losophies or ideologies that came into their own in the first half of the nineteenth century. Liberalism One of these ideologies was liberalism, which owed much to the Enlightenment of the eighteenth century and to the Ameri- can and French Revolutions at the end of that century. In addi- tion, liberalism became even more significant as the Industrial Revolution made rapid strides because the developing indus- trial middle class largely adopted the doctrine as its own. There were divergences of opinion among people classified as liberals, but all began with the belief that people should be as free from restraint as possible. This opinion is evident in both economic and political liberalism. economic liBeralism Also called classical economics, economic liberalism had as its primary tenet the concept of laissez-faire, the belief that the state should not interrupt the free play of natural economic forces, especially supply and demand. Government should not restrain the economic liberty of the individual and should restrict itself to only three primary functions: defense of the country, police protection of indi- viduals, and the construction and maintenance of public works too expensive for individuals to undertake. If individuals were allowed economic liberty, ultimately they would bring about the maximum good for the maximum number and benefit the general welfare of society. The case against government interference in economic matters was greatly enhanced by Thomas Malthus (MAWL- thuss) (1766–1834). In his major work, Essay on the Principles of Population, Malthus argued that population, when unchecked, increases at a geometric rate while the food supply correspond- ingly increases at a much slower arithmetic rate. The result will be severe overpopulation and ultimately starvation for the human race if this growth is not held in check. According to Malthus, nature imposes a major restraint with severe labor and exposure to the seasons, extreme poverty, bad nursing of chil- dren, excesses of all kinds, many common diseases, epidemics, wars, plague, and famine. Thus, misery and poverty were sim- ply the inevitable result of the law of nature; no government or individual should interfere with its operation. Malthus’s ideas were further developed by David Ricardo (1772–1823). In Principles of Political Economy, written in 1817, Ricardo developed his famous “iron law of wages.” Follow- ing Malthus, Ricardo argued that an increase in population means more workers; more workers in turn cause wages to fall below the subsistence level. The result is misery and starvation, which then reduce the population. Consequently, the number of workers declines, and wages rise above the subsistence level again, which in turn encourages workers to have larger families as the cycle is repeated. According to Ricardo, raising wages arbitrarily would be pointless since it would accomplish little but perpetuate this vicious circle. PoliTical liBeralism Politically, liberals came to hold a common set of beliefs. Chief among them was the protec- tion of civil liberties or the basic rights of all people, which included equality before the law; freedom of assembly, speech, and press; and freedom from arbitrary arrest. All of these freedoms should be guaranteed by a written document, such as the American Bill of Rights or the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. In addition to religious toleration for all, most liberals advocated separation of church and state. The right of peaceful opposition to the govern- ment in and out of parliament and the making of laws by a resentative assembly (legislature) elected by qualified voters constituted two other liberal demands. Many liberals believed, then, in a constitutional monarchy or constitutional state with limits on the powers of government to prevent despotism and in written constitutions that would help guarantee these rights. Many liberals also advocated ministerial responsibility, which would give the legislative branch a check on the power of the executive because the king’s ministers would answer to the legislature rather than to the king. Liberals in the first half of the nineteenth century also believed in a limited suf- frage. Although all people were entitled to equal civil rights, they should not have equal political rights. The right to vote and hold office should be open only to men who met certain property qualifications. As a political philosophy, liberalism was tied to middle-class men, especially industrial middle-class men who favored the extension of voting rights so that they could share power with the landowning classes. They had little desire to let the lower classes share that power. Liberals were not democrats. One of the most prominent advocates of liberalism in the nineteenth century was the English philosopher John Stuart Mill (1806–1873). On Liberty, his most famous work, published in 1859, has long been regarded as a classic statement on the liberty of the individual (see the box above). Mill argued for an t needed to be protected from both government censorship and the tyranny of the majority. Mill was also instrumental in expanding the meaning of liberalism by becoming an enthusiastic supporter of women’s rights. When his attempt to include women in the voting reform bill of 1867 failed, Mill published an essay titled On the Subjection of Women, which he had written earlier with his wife, Harriet Taylor. He argued that the legal subordination of one sex to the other was wrong. Differences between women and men, he said, were due not to different natures but simply to social practices. With equal education, women could achieve as much as men. On the Subjection of Women would become an important work in the nineteenth-century movement for women’s rights. nationalism Nationalism was an even more powerful ideology for change in the nineteenth century. Nationalism arose out of an awareness of being part of a community that has common institutions, historical traditions, language, and customs. This community constitutes a “nation,” and it, rather than a dynasty, city-state, or other political unit, becomes the focus of the individual’s primary political loyalty. Nationalism, however, did not become a popular force for change until the French Revolution. From then on, nationalists came to believe that each nationality should have its own government. Thus, a divided people such as the Germans wanted national unity in a German nation- state with one central government. Subject peoples, such as the Hungarians, wanted national self-determination, or the right to establish their own autonomy rather than be subject to a Ger- man minority in a multinational empire. r, both internationally and nationally (see Map 21.3). A united Germany or united Italy would upset the balance of power established in 1815. By the same token, an independent Hungarian state would mean the breakup of the Austrian Empire. Because many European states were multinational, conservatives tried hard to repress the radical threat of nationalism. At the same time, in the first half of the nineteenth century, nationalism and liberalism became strong allies. Most liber- als believed that liberty could be realized only by peoples who ruled themselves. One British liberal argued that the boundar- ies of governments should coincide in the main with those of nationalities. Many nationalists believed that once each people obtained its own state, all nations could be linked together into a broader community of all humanity. Early Socialism In the first half of the nineteenth century, the pitiful condi- tions found in the slums, mines, and factories of the Industrial Revolution gave rise to another ideology for change known as socialism. The term eventually became associated with a Marx- ist analysis of human society (see Chapter 22), but early social- ism was largely the product of political theorists or intellectuals who wanted to introduce equality into social conditions and believed that human cooperation was superior to the compe- tition that characterized early industrial capitalism. To later Marxists, such ideas were impractical dreams, and they con- temptuously labeled the theorists utopian socialists. The term has endured to this day. The utopian socialists were against private property and the competitive spirit of early industrial capitalism. By eliminating these things and creating new systems of social organization, they thought that a better environment for humanity could be achieved. Early socialists proposed a variety of ways to accom- plish that task. fourier One group of early socialists sought to create vol- untary associations that would demonstrate the advantages of cooperative living. Charles Fourier (SHAHRL foo-RYAY) (1772–1838) proposed the creation of small model communi- ties called phalansteries. These were self-contained coop- eratives, each consisting ideally of 1,620 people. Communally housed, the inhabitants of the phalanstery (fuh-LAN-stuh- ree) would live and work together for their mutual benefit. Work assignments would be rotated frequently to rel