Chapter XIV: European Civilization, 1871-1914

--Reached climax of the modern phase of its civilization, and exerted its maximum influence on peoples outside Europe.

--Unparalleled material and industrial growth, international peace, domestic stability, advance of constitutional, representative, and democratic government, continued faith in science, reason, and progress.

--But also, forces were operating that would undermine the liberal premises and tenets of this time.

#71: The "Civilized World"

Materialistic and Nonmaterialistic Ideals

--Europe = very divided politically, but unity lay in its common culture and outlook. Europe = inordinately proud of its civilization; all others = thought backward.

--Reasons for this arrogance: Europe = far better-off materially. Also, correct or truthful knowledge, like a scientific knowledge of nature instead of superstition, = thought a trait of civilization. "Relics of barbarism": polygamy, infanticide, leg alized prostitution, capricious divorce, sanguinary and immoral games, torture, castes, and slavery. Lower death rates, infant mortality, greater life expectancy, higher literacy rate, greater productivity of labor.

The "Zones" of Civilization

--Europe = then further divided into two zones: and inner and an outer.

--Inner: the "Europe of steam." Included GBr, France, Belgium, N.Germany, N.Italy, and western Austrian empire. Almost all heavy European industry, areas of densest railroads. Wealth of Europe = concentrated here: highest standards of living, accumula tions of capital. Science. Constitutional and parliamentary government, liberal, humanitarian, socialist, reformist. Low death rates, long life expectancy, good sanitation, high literacy and productivity of labor. Functionally included parts of USA too.

--Outer: rest of Europe. Agricultural, with less productivity per worker, poorer, less literacy, lower life expectancy. Wealthy = often landlords, usu. absentees. Often had to borrow to get capital. Social and political philosophies = often imported f rom West. Often imported engineers and technicians to help with local industry, sent youth to study in the inner zone. Included many European offshoots, colonies around the world.

--The rest = just backward, possibly with the exception of recently Europeanized Japan.

#72: Basic Demography: The Increase of Europeans

--All continents grew tremendously in population, with exception of Africa. But Europe grew the most.

--But certain factors must have operated worldwide to produce the observed worldwide growth: probably falling death rates rather than rising birth rates. Better preservation of civil order in Europe and Asia: greater peace, and less domestic violence during the peace.

--In Europe specifically, liberation from certain diseases like bubonic plague, smallpox. Increases in agricultural output. Better transportation ==> no more localized famines. Machinery.

Stabilization of European Population

--Drop in birth rates: France began to fall in 1830s, and so lost its population advantage to almost all the other European nations. Other nations, though, soon followed.

--Low birth rate = crucial to "modern life." A "European family pattern": marriage = later, so have smaller window in which wife can conceive, and in which young couples can gain skills to raise a family. More people never married at all. Thus, a less explosive population growth, less poverty, than in other parts of the world. Contraception spread to all classes from the top during the French Revolution. Code Napoleon required that inheritances be divided among all sons and daughters. Thus, French pea sants limited #'s of children so that they could live as well as their parents.

--In cities, once child labor = abolished, there = no more economic incentive to have many. Harder to raise children: compulsory schooling ==> longer years of economic dependency on parents. Ever rising idea of what parents had to do for their child ren, and parents' desire to give them every possible advantage in the world necessitated fewer children among which to distribute the given resources.

--But still, population did rise, and productivity faster than population. Thus, there was no problem of overpopulation.

Growth of Cities and Urban Life

--It = estimated that of every seven people added to the population at the time, only one stayed on the land, five went to cities, and the last left Europe altogether.

--Great cities = logistical children of the railroads.

--Cities set tone of modern society: impersonal, anonymous, people = uprooted and less tied to home and church. Urbanites lacked sense of self-help of older rural communities: poor and jobless could expect little help from his neighbors in a city. Dai ly newspapers, articulate public opinion. Urbanites = often disrespectful of tradition, having broken it by moving from the country to the city. Rise of nationalism as people in cities felt increasingly detached from all institutions except the state. Gre ater literacy also made for a more alert and informed public.

Migration from Europe, 1840-1940

--About 60 mill people left during this time, of which about 1/5 returned to Europe sooner or later. Most went to the USA.

--Reasons for the sudden exodus: before 1914, the new countries welcomed the migration. Labor = in demand. But after, many nations put up quotas. Within Europe, many forces pushed people outward. Steam made it easier to cross Atlantic. For the first t ime, most people could afford a long journey. People generally moved to improve their material circumstances, but crests of emigration coincided with crests of European business cycle (maybe dissatisfied people could afford to move only during these crest s). Some fled from economic ruin, starvation, as from Irish potato blights. Others fled political persecution, as after 1848.

--But one great factor = liberalism of the age: people = legally and politically free to move.

#73: The World Economy of the 19c

The "New Industrial Revolution"

--New sources of power = tapped, mechanized industries expanded, new industries appeared, industry spread geographically. Steam engine = improved. Electricity = coming into use. Internal combustion made oil a coveted resource. New chemical industries brought new fertilizers. Great tunnels and canals. Synthetic everythings. Telephone. Moving pictures, radio. Medicine. More steel, aluminum, other alloys.

--Geographic spread: In Europe, Germany = outstripping GBr in steel. But USA = outstripping both. Henry Ford and mass production.

Free Trade and the European "Balance of Payments"

--Although Europe = the most nationalistic ever, goods flowed easily across political lines. Economic activity = international.

--Great accomplishment of the age = that it created a system by which Europe could pay for its massive imports. Most major European countries imported more than they exported, with British leading the way. What helped Europeans maintain a favorable ba lance of payments with a bad balance of trade = the "invisible exports," or service industries: shipping, insurance, banking, all of which England = the leader. Thus, England could get much foreign currency with which to buy foreign goods.

The Export of European Capital

--English and other Europeans, rather than use wealth domestically, often reinvested it outside Europe, helped build up the rest of the world. Companies, rather than give their workers higher wages, would reinvest their profits. Thus, Europeans, and e specially, English, French, and Germans made much of their wealth vulnerable to international events, and thus lost much of it during World War I.

An International Money System: the Gold Standard

--In "civilized world," money = based on gold standard. Any major currency could = exchanged for gold at a fixed rate, and vice-versa. Thus, all major currencies = also interchangeable, facilitating trade.

--But also, gold standard = hard on nations that did not have much gold, and thus, could not back up their currencies. As gold discoveries lagged behind industrial production (until the 1890s), there was a steady deflation, which hurt people who borro wed regularly, but also helped wage-earners and those who lent.

--Center of the global economic and financial system = London, since others had been ruined by war.

A World Market: Unity, Competition--and Insecurity

--A true world market emerged: one could buy anything anywhere. Dealers bought where goods were cheapest, and sold where goods = in highest demand. Thus, goods ended up spread fairly evenly.

--But that meant that, if local manufacturers could not keep up internationally, they would perish. They = no longer protected by geographical or political boundaries. Now in competition with the rest of the world.

--Thus, the system, although helping consumers, hurt producers, who = now in a very precarious position. And producers, when hurt, hurt their workers. Thus, we have demise of laissez-faire capitalism.

Changes in Organization: Big Business

--Capitalism = increasingly characterized by large, impersonal corporations, rather than small businesses.

--"Limited liability" corporations, in which individual's liability in event of bankruptcy = limited to amount of stock invested, = made law in most countries during the 19c.

--Corporation = emerging as the useful form of industry and commerce as greater amounts of investment = required.

--Corporate organization made possible effective central control of huge operations. Vertical integration = that down the production line. Horizontal integration = that of several companies that produce the same things in alliance. Massive horizontal organization led to huge trusts and anti-trust laws.

--Huge corporations helped make business cycle more stable, and lower the costs of production: but whether savings went to higher profits, higher wages, or lower prices = choice of the management. Never before had such a small group of people held so much economic power. Not unlike the old feudal system, for middle-class salaried workers usu. felt some loyalty to their companies. But blue-collar workers often tried to organize unions to beat the corporations, and played growing roles in politics.

#74: The Advance of Democracy: 3rd French Republic, United Kingdom, German Empire

--Adoption of universal male suffrage and implications thereof: mass political parties, need for political leaders to appeal to public.

--Almost universal presence of mechanisms of democratic self-government by 1914.

--Government's increasing assumption of responsibility for social and economic welfare of its citizens: from humanitarian reasons and need to suppress socialism. Modern welfare state.

France: The Establishment of the Third Republic

--Bismarck permitted election of National Assembly by universal male suffrage so that someone could surrender France to Germany. Also, Assembly was to draft new French constitution. Republicanism = so discredited by its violence that French people ele cted a mostly monarchist Assembly.

--But Paris republicans would not accept Bismarck's harsh peace, and would not recognize Assembly's authority. Thus, set up a "Commune," went to war against the Assembly.

--Commune: Lasted from March to May, 1871. A revival of Jacobinism of 1793: fiercely patriotic, republican, anti-German, opposed to wealthy bourgeois, aristocrats, clergy, for government controls on prices, wages, working conditions. But still not so cialist, although many leaders = socialist. Marx, others, hoped this Commune = end to bourgeoisie. But this = just what conservatives feared: to them, "Communards" = savage destroyers of 19c civilization. Bitter fighting.

--Assembly won, purged Paris of revolutionism. Hence, 3rd Republic = born in violence and terror.

--Choice of forms of government: Conflict between Legitimists and Orleanists. Assembly passed constitutive laws establishing government with president, parliament in 2 chambers, council of ministers headed by premier. Senate = elected indirectly, Cham ber of Deputies by universal male suffrage.

--First president, MacMahon, tried to dissolve Chamber and hold new elections. But people, remembering Napoleon III, vindicated parliamentary primacy and responsibility of premier and his cabinet to the legislature, meaning the lower house. Acting ex ecutive = premier and cabinet, elected by majority of legislature. No president or premier could then dissolve Chamber to hold new elections.

--Many different parties, factions made majorities difficult to reach, and many decisions = made through tenuous party alliances.

--Despite superficial change, most of machinery of state = virtually untouched since Napoleon I. Thus, very little real organization.

Troubles of the 3rd Republic

--Governments had changed so often that all governments seemed transitory. What = party differences in other nations were questions of regime in France. Upper class, clergy, professional army officers = against republic. Some in middle class turned re publicans after Assembly's brutal repression of the Commune. Others turned republican for other reasons. But as Republicanism took in more people, it became less revolutionary and fearsome. Thus, when gained control of both houses of government in 1879, t heir radicalism only founded a democratic, compulsory school system, passed some anticlerical legislation.

--1886-1889: General Boulanger gathered a substantial, but incongruous following. Became a popular figure: attracted disgruntled workers and promised war with Germany. But on verge of taking dictatorship, chickened out and fled into exile.

--In 1880s, 90s, scandals and revelations of corruption gave ammunition to antirepublicans.

--Dreyfus affair: In 1894, Jewish Captain Dreyfus = found guilty of treason. But eventually, evidence accumulated that Dreyfus = innocent, and that a Christian = guilty. But army refused to reopen case, lest it admit error. Anti-Semites, royalists, tr aditionalists, "best people" fought reopening of case saying that it = unpatriotic to shake confidence in army, and to keep disgrace of Dreyfus' guilt on the Republic. Dreyfus' supporters wanted justice and disgrace of their advisaries. But in 1899, Dreyf us = pardoned, and in 1906, exonerated. Republicans and socialists completed defeat by blocking promotion of antirepublican officers and anticlerical legislation. In 1905, separated Church and state.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Republic

--Strengths: Now, had loyalty of great majority of French people: successfully implemented republicanism while keeping peace, parliamentary government, economic prosperity, class tolerance. France = doing well.

--Weaknesses: But France lagged behind Germany in industry. French entrepreneurs = unwilling to take the necessary large risks. Fragmentation of political parties and historic distrust of strong executive led to very short-lived ministries. But contin uity of government policy = maintained through stability of key ministries and permanent civil service. French labor = steadily dissatisfied, frustrated with failure to establish a social republic.

--The most important party, the Radicals or Radical Socialists, = actually radical republican. Did not support the advanced social legislation that labor expected them to. Sometimes, even tried to suppress labor. Since some Radicals = former socialis ts, many French came to distrust politicians in general.

The British Constitutional Monarchy

--Paradigm of reasonable, orderly, peaceable self-government through parliament. Under Queen Victoria. Material progress, literature, political stability. Liberals (Gladstone) and Conservatives (Disraeli) superseded Whigs and Tories, respectively.

--Slower advance toward equalitarian political democracy than France. In 1867, in response to continued demands for wider suffrage, 2nd Reform Bill = passed: extended suffrage to 1/3 of all adult males, including almost all male city workers. Later, v ote = again extended. In 1918, true universal male suffrage, and vote given to women over 30.

--But still leadership = in hands of wealthier classes. Members of Parliament had to = rich, since got no salaries. Attitude of sportsmanship between parties: each took power at regular intervals, bowed to the other. Carried over and built on policies of predecessors rather than reverse them. Parties paid increasing attention to people for support.

--Liberals: More industrial and commercial interests. More willing to pioneer: state-supported public education, secret ballot, legalized labor unions, competitive examinations for civil service, abolished religious tests.

--Conservatives: More labor legislation. Controls on public sanitation and working conditions. Safety measures for sailors. Workplace injury insurance.

British Political Changes after 1900

--Rise of labor as independent political force: great impact on Liberal party and liberalism itself. Liberals abandoned traditional position of laissez-faire and sponsored government intervention and social legislation for workers. Reasons for switch: humanitarian, and threat of new Labour party. Workers who once voted Liberal might transfer allegiance if Liberals did not move.

--From 1906-16, Liberals put through massive program of reform. Sickness, accident, old-age, and unemployment insurance instituted. Moderate minimum wage law. Employment bureaus established. Restrictions on strikes, other union activities removed. Pr ogressive income and inheritance taxes: idea of tax as social equalizer.

--When aristocratic House of Lords opposed, its power = drastically cut down. Act of 1911 deprived it of most veto power on Commons legislation. Also, since court ruling that labor unions could not pay salaries of workers elected to Parliament (Osbor ne Judgement, 1909), government voted to pay salaries instead.

--Conservatives turned to party of industry, landed wealth, economic liberalism, and laissez-faire. Conservatives remained, but Liberals = outstripped by Labour party.

The Irish Question

--Ireland = united with GBr in 1801 to protect it from French influence during wars of French Revolution. But Irish representatives in Parliament = outnumbered, ineffective. Could not bring forth Irish grievances: Irish peasants = legally helpless aga inst mostly Protestant landlords, and Irish = forced to pay tithes to Church of Ireland.

--Liberals formally disestablished Church of Ireland. Conservatives gave Irish help in buying out their landlords. Gladstone, in trying to give Irish home rule, split the Liberals, part of which went to Conservatives, who wanted to maintain political integrity of British Isles.

--Home rule granted, 1914. But Ulstermen, or northern Protestants, objected vehemently. Backed by Conservatives, they started to arm to resist Parliament's act. During WWI, home rule suspended. Catholic Ireland = later given dominion status, and event ually dissolved all ties with GBr.

Bismarck and the German Empire, 1871-90

--German Empire = federation of monarchies with Prussia on top.

--To win support of people, Bismarck exploited democratic and socialist sentiment. Provided that Reichstag, or lower chamber, = elected with universal male suffrage. From 1871-1890, usually tried to have support of Reichstag, but conceded no dependenc e on it in principle. Also, legislative power of Reichstag = severely restricted, and upper chamber of princes = favored by government, more important.

--But still, Prussian conservatives, or the Junkers, = dissatisfied with Bismarck's unified Germany. Opposed his democratic concessions, and horrified with his 1872 destruction of their remaining manorial rights. Thus, Bismarck leaned in 70s to Nation al Liberals, not Conservatives. With their help, put through many economic and legal reforms to consolidate unity of Empire.

--First problem = with Church. In 1864, pope issued Syllabus of Errors, denouncing encroachment of all governments on educational and church affairs. In 1870, doctrine of papal infallibility. Thus, empire could not depend on total loyalty of its Catho lic members. To defend Catholicism, Catholics formed strong Center Party, which upheld Church decisions.

--In 1871, Bismarck launched Kulturkampf, or "battle for modern civilization." With help of eager liberals (generally anticlerical and against church intervention in public and private life), he issued many laws restricting Catholic worship and educa tion. But Bismarck later concluded that these laws = worthless, and that he overestimated the Catholic threat. Besides, he needed support of Center party.

--With Conservatives and Center, Bismarck abandoned free trade in 1879. Erected a tariff that gave $ to government, and helped agriculture and industry. But industrial expansion stimulated growth of German working class, in which socialism = spreading . Bismarck hated socialism to the extreme, feared it as anarchy.

--With 2 attempts on emperor's life, Bismarck had his excuse. He unjustly accused the socialists of the attacks, and passed antisocialist laws from 1878-90. Drove socialism underground. Also, initiated massive program of social legislation, years ahea d of any other European nation. But socialism = not dead, and Bismarck = more apprehensive than ever of social revolution.

The German Empire after 1890: William II

--William I died in 1888, succeeded by Frederick III, who also died soon from cancer. Son William II acceded. William soon resolved that he, not Bismarck, should rule, and soon forced his resignation. William now dominated policy.

--Germany = now on a new course: more aggressive and ambitious colonial, naval, and diplomatic policy. More conciliatory attitude to the masses. Antisocialist laws dropped. Social security enlarged and codified. But no democracy: he believed in divine right of Hohenzollern line.

--But Social Democrats = rising. Demanded reform of illiberal constitution of 1850, and for the Reich, real control of federal chancellor through majority party in the Reichstag <--- that is, themselves. But although largest single party, they = still excluded from highest posts of government.

Developments Elsewhere; General Observations

--Italy: From 1860s, a constitutional monarchy, and in 1870, got Rome. Politics characterized by unstable majorities and opportunistic maneuvering and manipulation by moderate liberal political leaders, who stayed in office for long times by shuffling political coalitions. This shuffling = called trasformismo. Liberal leaders = anticlerical. Popes refused to recognize Italian kingdom, forbade Catholics from participating in it. But Catholics participated, and ban = eventually relaxed.

--Industry = rising in northern cities. Italy, though, = still very poor, illiterate. Agrarian South = worst.

--By 1912, virtually universal suffrage. But because of illiteracy and political inertia, most people did not vote. Social problems boiled over, and radical unrest appeared in north. In 1900, Emmanuel's successor = assassinated. First manifestations o f antiparliamentary ideology, chauvinistic nationalism, explosive irrationalism. Violently nihilistic "futurism."

--Austria-Hungary: In theory, Joseph ruled through ministries responsible to legislature in each of Austria and Hungary. But in matters of whole empire, as foreign affairs or military, there was little parliamentary restraint. Had broad powers to rule by decree.

--Socialism repressed by law and social reform.

--Most serious problem = not socialism, but agitation of nationalities. To solve this, Austria instituted universal male suffrage in 1907. But even then, elected legislature = unable, as in Prussia, to actually control policy. In Hungary, Magyars kep t vote from other nationalities: they saw vote as Slavic weapon to outweigh the Magyars.

--Universal male suffrage instituted in much of rest of Europe. Only Hungary and Russia had highly restricted suffrage on eve of WWI.

--Spain and Portugal, although in civil war, instituted constitutions.

--Russia created a Duma or national parliament after Revolution of 1905. Elected on wide franchise but on indirect and unequal class basis, with few powers.

--Europe = still mostly monarchical. Parliamentary control = far from guaranteed. Only in USA, GBr, and France were democracy and popular control somewhat real. But new democracies = changing political structure everywhere. More popular parties, suppo rt = now necessary from a wider electoral basis.

--Most nations won written constitutions, guarantees of personal freedom, parliamentary and representative institutions, and limitations on absolutism.

#75: Advance of Democracy: Socialism and Labor Unions

--Worker methods of pressing for social legislation:

--Abolishing capitalism/Socialism: Marx, Engels, Louis Blanc, Lassalle, etc. Extinction of private employer as such. Preferred by intellectuals, who looked on workers as shortsighted and timid, although in need of help.

--Working with the capitalist/Trade Unionism: worker had every reason to keep employer prosperous to make bargaining with him easier. Preferred by actual workers, who would mostly prefer a higher wage now than some socialist utopia 100 years later. L ooked on intellectual socialists as outsiders, although helpful.

The Trade Union Movement and Rise of British Labor

--Labor unions = usually illegal or discouraged by French LeChapelier Act of 1791, British Combination Act of 1799. But "bourgeois liberalism" later made unions legal: in Britain, 1825, 1871; in France, after Commune and in 1884; in Germany, Bismarck used them to counter his opponents.

--Prosperity of 1850s conducive to union formation: employers = in need of their labor. Unions of skilled labor = usually first. Fullest form of this = achieved in the "new model unionism": took unions out of politics and abandoned vestiges of sociali sm and idea of one great union for all workers. Instead, these unions tried to help workers along trade lines. Try to be reasonable with employers, avoid strikes, gather union funds, and increase their membership. Parliament, encouraged with moderation of these unions, gave workers the vote in 1867.

--In 1880s, unskilled workers started to unionize. Industrial unionism: union of all workers of one industry, like steel, regardless of skill or job of individual worker. Huge memberships.

--Since British unions = so successful in negotiating with employers, workers had less incentive to form their own political party. Only later, in 1850s, was British Labour Party formed. Since labor unions made and led the Party, it = far less sociali stic than Continent counterparts. Indeed, Labour Party = formed mainly to defend the unions against legislation of Parliament: 1901 Taff Vale Decision that unions = financially responsible for industry losses during strikes. But this decision unified all ranks, precipitated formation of Labour Party. In 1906, Labour Party overran Parliament and overturned the decision.

European Socialism after 1850

--In 1850s, socialism seemed to be waning. In 1867, Marx's Capital published.

--1864: First meeting of International Working Men's Association, sponsored by motley group including Mazzinni and Marx. Marx got leadership of the Association, and used it to publicize his ideas in Capital. In subsequent meetings, Marx built up his p osition. Ostracized Mazzinians, denounced Lassalleans for cooperating with Bismarck. Argued with Russian revolutionary Bakunin. Bakunin thought that state = cause of human affliction, and as such must be destroyed: hence, anarchy. But Marx hated anarchy, and besides, for him, root of suffering = capitalist economic system, not state. Marx kicked Bakunin out.

--But Association supported Commune of 1871, which they hoped = beginning of end of capitalism. But violence of Commune discredited itself and the Association. Marx even approved violence as foretaste of "dictatorship of proletariat," and scared away many potential followers. Association faded out in 70s.

--In 1875, Marxian and Lassallean socialists formed the German Social Democratic Party.

Revisionist and Revolutionary Socialism: 1880-1914

--Marx's socialism, because of its claim to "science," force of its social analysis, great mass of Marx's writings, and unyielding hostility to other doctrines, became the only widely accepted socialism. Strongest in Germany and France, weakest in Ita ly and Spain, where workers = illiterate and more prone to excitable insurrectionism.

--Also, failed in England. Workers = faithful to trade unions, and more intellectual middle class followed Fabian Society, established 1883. Fabians = very English, very un-Marxist. To them, socialism = inevitable outcome of political democracy. Throu gh reasonable and gradual conciliatory measures, a socialist state would be achieved without the class violence. Thus, Fabians, like unionists, = satisfied with immediate progresses. Joined with unionists to from the Labour Party.

--But on Continent, Marxist or Social Democracies = growing rapidly. Marxism evolved into less revolutionary "parliamentary socialism." Growth of socialist parties ==> workers as well as intellectuals = voting for socialist candidates for office. Thus , influence of unions on these parties = increased: since parties depended on unions for votes, unions could use parties to push for temporary economic reform in parliaments. Thus, there was a difference between ideals that parties professed and actual le gislation they passed to help the workers. Russian Social Democratic Party = the exception: there was no parliament to vote through in Russia.

--Marx's predictions = failing: bourgeois = getting richer, but poor are not getting poorer. Instead, real wages = increasing from greater efficiency through mechanization, growth of world economy, and accumulation of capital wealth.

--In 1890s, Marxism entered stage of revisionism under Jaur0s in French Chamber of Deputies and Bernstein in Germany's Reichstag. Revisionists held that class conflict = not inevitable; instead, capitalism could be made to suit workers' interests. And since workers could now vote and have parties, they could further socialism through democracy.

--This "opportunism" drove real revolutionaries to revolutionary syndicalism under Sorel. The idea = that workers' unions could = made into supreme authorities of the society, replacing even the government. This = achieved by massive general strike of ALL workers, paralyzing society and forcing its subjection to their will. Strongest in Italy, Spain, and France.

--Orthodox Marxists countered this revisionism with revival of Marxist fundamentals. Some organized the Second International, and persuaded it in 1904 to condemn the actions of revisionists. It ruled that socialists might use parliaments for forums of discussion, but anyone who took government offices joined the government, and betrayed the cause. Thus, no socialists joined the cabinet of any European country until WWI. In Russia, Lenin and supporters demanded that revisionism be stamped out of Russia n Social Democratic Party. Then uncompromising Marxists = called Bolsheviks, and revisionists = called Mensheviks.

--But in "inner zone," workers and most socialists = no longer revolutionary. Workers = willing for 3 reasons: capitalism worked well enough to raise their living standards to the highest levels remembered; workers had the vote and felt they stood to benefit by their governments; worker interests = watched over by increasingly powerful unions.

#76: Science, Philosophy, Arts, and Religion

--Faith in science the most widespread ever. Useful technological advances internationally.

--Basic fundamentals of science = changing: no more Newton or Euclid.

The Impact of Evolution

--Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species, 1859: Evolutionary everything became the order of the day. Philosophy: Hegel, Marx. The idea of progress of society, just like progress of organisms. History as a time process rather than static. Survival of th e fittest, and all its ramifications. Evolution = through blind chance: no room for a God. Fear that, because men came from monkeys, that all human dignity, morality would collapse. Darwin countered that such virtues = useful characteristics for survival, and so will survive themselves.

--vs religion: Greatest threat = not to Genesis, which = already thought largely allegorical. Instead, threat = to conception of nature. Nature = no longer a harmony, but a scene of struggle. Nothing = fixed or everlasting, but all = changing. No abso lute goods or bads: what = good = just what helped you survive. Realpolitik.

--Social Darwinists: certain races, classes, economic systems, or forms of government = "superior" to others. Social engineering.

Anthropology and Psychology

--Both accepted biological evolution, and to be truly scientific, excluded human standards of right and wrong from their analyses.

--Anthropology: study of the physical and cultural characteristics of all branches of mankind. Physical anthropologists = more concerned with races, some of which might be superior to the others. Public often took these ideas and ran, claimed that the ir race = superior to all others. Cultural anthropologists studied human cultures, generally thought that all cultures = equal as adaptations to their peculiar environments. This generated a kind of relativism or skepticism--negation of values, belief tha t right and wrong = function of social convention, point of view. This undermined traditional religious beliefs since it placed them on the level of adaptations to environment, mere opinion.

--Psychology: new, upsetting conclusions on the nature of man. Pavlov showed how animal, and by implication, human action could be explained as conditioned behavior. Freud founded psychoanalysis, explored the role of the unconscious, stressing the sex ual drive. Upshot of all this = that humans = not totally rational, contradicting the beliefs of the past Enlightened age. Instead, much of human thought and behavior = function of environment.

The New Physics

--New light on the theory of matter and energy: Newton's mechanics and theory of atoms as billiard balls = shot. Becquerel: radioactivity, unstable atoms. Thompson and Rutherford: atom structure. Planck: quantized energy. Bohr: Bohr model of the atom. Einstein: transmutability of matter, space-time, unified theories. Non-Euclidean geometries. Nuclear physics.

Trends in Philosophy and the Arts

--Widely held that science = the only true way to knowledge. Belief that what = unknowable through science can never be known is agnosticism, or the acknowledgement of ignorance.

--Spenser: brought Darwinism into philosophy, thought it a sort of panacea or answer-all in philosophy. Evolution of society = toward greater personal freedoms. Governments = merely to maintain freedom and justice, not to interfere with natural social and economic processes, or help the weak. But charity, altruism = for him advantageous traits.

--Neitzche: unsystematic and unclear thinker. Low opinion of mankind. Developed a doctrine of the Superman, who, in the final triumph of world history, would come from, lead, dominate, and dazzle the multitude. Christian virtues of humility, meekness, etc., = a slave morality concocted by the weak to disarm the strong. Courage and personal valor, intellectual excellence, and beauty of character = much better. Although rejected by most of his contemporaries, he expressed with great frankness many ideas implied in the doctrine of his day.

--Literature: the contemporary age. Portrayal of social problems. Novels more lifelike than the old, generally showed little optimism about human nature.

--Arts: reflected relativism, irrationalism, social determinism, subconsious. Society and the artist = moving apart. Art on its extreme fringe = becoming incomprehensible but to a select "in" group. This change in the arts represents society-wide prob lem of communication. As artist = less a collective spokesman for entire society and more a specialist pursuing his own concerns, society itself = increasingly divided into busy, self-centered groups, able to communicate among each other only on superfici al matters.

The Churches and the Modern Age

--Religion increasingly displaced by science as science tried to answer many of the questions once reserved for religion. Increasing treatment and critisism of Bible and related texts as secular documents. Doubt of validity of Old Testament prophecies and inconsistencies in the New Testament. Bible dismissed as "myth." Entire attitude of age = areligious: absorption in material progress, wholesale uprooting and movement from country to city broke religious ties.

--Protestant: Church attendance = increasingly lax. Protestants traditionally trusted their own private judgement; clergy = just spiritual advisors. Division into modernists and fundamentalists. Fundamentalists tried to defend written word of the Bibl e, often denied indisputable discoveries of science. Modernists explained much of Bible as allegory, but often lost much of spirituality and urgency of the faith. Protestant churches = slow to face social problems and injustices of the economic system. Pe ople's minds = increasingly elsewhere.

--Roman Catholic: more resistant to change.

--1864 Syllabus of Errors denounced as erroneous many widely held ideas, like faith in rationalism and science, liberalism. Syllabus = general warning, though, not a dogma incumbent on them to believe. In 1950, announced the bodily assumption of Mary into heaven. Thus, Catholic church reaffirmed the belief in the supernatural and miraculous in a skeptical age.

--In 1870, announced the doctrine of papal infallibility.

--As world grew more secular and national, Church became more international, looked to Rome for protection against secular forces. Thus, by 1870, Catholics = under control of the Holy See. In 1870, Rome = annexed to Italy, pope's temporal powers = go ne. Widely agreed, though, that this loss enhanced the papacy's spiritual role. But until foundation of independent Vatican in Lateran Treaty of 1929, papacy officially refused to recognize the Italian state.

--1891 Rerum Novarum acknowledged private property as a right, but criticized capitalism for its poverty, insecurity, and degredation of the working classes. Also declared that much in socialism = basically Christian, but criticized it as materialist ic and antireligious. Church recommended that Catholic socialists form socialist parties of their own, and that Catholic workingmen form labor unions under Catholic auspices. Thus, R.C. Church made itself independent of capitalism and tried to ensure its survival in a possibly socialist future.

--Judaism: In 19c, basic trend = to "emancipation" and "assimilation." Science also has its impact on Judaism: Reform Judaism = counterpart of Modernism in Christianity. Individual Jews increasingly gave up their distinctive way of life, and liberalis m eased their acceptance.

--But by end of the century, 2 tendencies = increasingly evident. First = cultural and political nationalism, which arised with Jews themselves, who wanted their own Jewish state to prevent full assimilation, and thus, dissappearance, of Judaism. Sec ond = anti-Semetism: racist theories like Neitzche's, dislike for Jewish competition and capitalists, upper-class fears of Jewish revolutionaries and Marxists, growth of ethnic nationalism. Rise of pogroms in Russia. In response, Herzl founded modern, or political Zionism: objective = to establish a Jewish state in Palestine where Judaism could = safe. Others, though, insisted that Judaism = a religious faith, not to be mixed with nationality.

#77: The Waning of Classical Liberalism

--A simultaneous implementation of liberal ideas into society and an undermining of the very foundations of those ideas. Even where liberalism persisted, its classical form = waning.

--Classical Liberalism: as enumerated by John Locke and philosophes in 18c, and Mill and Gladstone in 19c. Central principle = the liberty of the individual person; and by person, meaning any member of the race Homo sapiens, although some meant just t he males. But the very principle of self-determination and autonomy of the individual helped the women's rights movement.

--Individual = not formed by race, class, church, nation, or state, but = ultimately independent of all such things. Individual did not think in a predetermined way because of his membership in certain groups, but could use reason to transcend enviro nment, self-interest, prejudice, or subconscious drive. Thus, people of different interests and backgrounds could discuss their differences, compromise, and find solutions in peace and reason. Favored education as vehicle for reaching this plane of though t. Opposed all imposition of force on the individual.

--In religion, each individual should choose faith or no faith as he or she chose. Government should be constitutional and limited in power; individuals should rule themselves through elected representatives. Will of the majority = thought decisive. Increasing liberal acceptance of universal male suffrage in 19c. Business should be conducted independent of government, religion, or politics, even during war.

--Summary: toleration, constitutionalism, laissez-faire, free trade, international and non-national economic system.

The Decline of 19c Liberalism: Economic Trends

--Problems of the free market: workers = subject to vagaries of the labor market; business cycle. Local producers who could not compete with foreign producers demanded tariff protection. Revival of tariffs began with protection of local agriculture. I ndustry soon demanded the same favors.

--Industrial Revolution = now beyond Britain. Increasing resistance to buying English manufactures. German Friedrich List called free trade a system mainly advantageous to the British, declared that no nation could become strong and independent or eve n fully civilized unless had its own industry. Nationalist competition for world markets. Rise of Imperialism. Division between politics and economics = fading: instead, neomercantilism, subordination of economic activity to political ends. Economic natio nalism.

--This movement to economic self-protection revealed itself domestically too. Worker labor unions. Rise of big business and organized labor, which further undermined the principle of individual competition of classical liberalism. Socialist parties, universal male suffrage, sensitivity to social problems made politicians intervene more in economic matters. Social insurance. Purity of food and drugs. Welfare state. The "new" liberalism accepted the new role of government as social guardian. Generally favored workers and oppressed over large business.

Intellectual and Other Currents

--Man = not a rational animal. For Darwin, he = just a highly evolved organism. By psychology, his reason = just rationalization for his material needs and desires, sexual drive, or man = just a bundle of reflexes accumulated through conditioning. Inc reasing belief in politics that conflicting parties could never find a program common to both, since each = bound to its own outlook. No more willingness to compromise, settle matters by persuasion. Prevailing thought = not far from a complete rejection o f reason and acceptance of irrational will, intuition, impulse, and emotion. New value on violence and conflict.

--Thus, in midst of peace, philosophies abounded glorifying struggle. Struggle not only existed, but also was a positive good. All continental European states kept largest armies ever maintained in peace. Thus, Europe = ready for war.

--Even in England, signs of liberalism's demise: movements toward return to tariff protection. Liberal party abandoned laissez-faire, sponsored labor laws. Labour party required members to vote along party lines, thus initiating party solidarity that hardened lines of opposition, reduced practical use of parliamentary discussion. Women's suffrage protesters resorted to increasingly irrational methods. Great railway and coal strikes.

--But although tariffs existed, goods still ciculated freely. Nationalism = heightened, but not yet totalitarianism. Racism not yet important. Laissez-faire disappearing, but social legislation continued the humanitarian spirit that = core of liberali sm. Social democrats and laborers = overwhelmingly revisionist, loyal to parliamentary system and their own states. All governments in 1914 tried to stop the war. Still, supreme faith in progress.