Blackburn believes it is not solely because of Junker domination that fascism took hold of Germany.
As peasants remained unhappy with their lives on the farm and at their attempts of moving up the social ladder in the cities, the next reich had less difficulty gaining power.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Blackburn's "Revolution from Below"
While it is easy for one to become distracted with contributions towards a revolution from the Parliament, the aristocracy, and middle class conflicts, it is important to take into account how German peasants led to the rise of fascism as well.
Blackburn discusses how the forces that are changing the lives of peasants are being determined beyond their control. For example, standardized school systems are taking away from the farm labor force and influencing children to do otherwise. At the same time, railroads enable easy access from villages to cities, so all of the new components to the city are going to the villages.
I think his point is the idea of the lives of peasants going unchanged (i.e. the notion of farmers standing out in a field unaffected by the political and industrial atmosphere) is no longer valid. Blackburn says we must take into account that these new factors are changing their lives. Thus, explaining his claim that "history is made from below, not just from above".
As attempts at peasant integration and the lives of peasants going without aide of modern innovations continue, these two factors will create discontent among peasants and would ultimately be an outlet for fascists to gain power.
Blackburn discusses how the forces that are changing the lives of peasants are being determined beyond their control. For example, standardized school systems are taking away from the farm labor force and influencing children to do otherwise. At the same time, railroads enable easy access from villages to cities, so all of the new components to the city are going to the villages.
I think his point is the idea of the lives of peasants going unchanged (i.e. the notion of farmers standing out in a field unaffected by the political and industrial atmosphere) is no longer valid. Blackburn says we must take into account that these new factors are changing their lives. Thus, explaining his claim that "history is made from below, not just from above".
As attempts at peasant integration and the lives of peasants going without aide of modern innovations continue, these two factors will create discontent among peasants and would ultimately be an outlet for fascists to gain power.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Anderson and the New Voting System
In preparation for tomorrow's exam, I reread Anderson's essay regarding Kulturkampf and the history that followed. Here is what I have interpreted.
(*In relevance to the upcoming exam, maybe you'll want to go on ahead and tell me if you agree.)
In a nation with a more democratic system of electing officials, allegations surrounding the motives and power of the Catholic church are likely to surface.
Non-Catholic districts fined public houses for holding discussions, outlawed open-air protests, debates, and political meetings, and placed physical boundaries and trespassing orders making it physically impossible for a poor male to vote (Because candidates still had to produce and distribute ballots themselves) for anyone other than the squire's choice. However, Catholic districts were just the opposite. The Catholic institutions that were already in place, namely the school system, allowed pastors and priests to expedite ballot distribution via teachers. While it was not a teacher's job to do so, it certainly turned out to be this way. This gave Catholicism's mass appeal towards this new democratic process (Because priests tended to be from their neighborhoods, new the issues at hand, and thus could easily be elected).
Obviously, conservatives took notice of this and Bizmarck would put into place the School Supervision Laws of 1872, in order to weaken the church's power by replacing religious supervisors with secular ones.
But, on a bigger level (And this is the point I'd like to see some kind of criticism or confirmation thereof), it seems like these factors come back to Anderson's argument that the new voting system is what caused the culture war to surface and really gain momentum.
Any thoughts?
JS
(*In relevance to the upcoming exam, maybe you'll want to go on ahead and tell me if you agree.)
In a nation with a more democratic system of electing officials, allegations surrounding the motives and power of the Catholic church are likely to surface.
Non-Catholic districts fined public houses for holding discussions, outlawed open-air protests, debates, and political meetings, and placed physical boundaries and trespassing orders making it physically impossible for a poor male to vote (Because candidates still had to produce and distribute ballots themselves) for anyone other than the squire's choice. However, Catholic districts were just the opposite. The Catholic institutions that were already in place, namely the school system, allowed pastors and priests to expedite ballot distribution via teachers. While it was not a teacher's job to do so, it certainly turned out to be this way. This gave Catholicism's mass appeal towards this new democratic process (Because priests tended to be from their neighborhoods, new the issues at hand, and thus could easily be elected).
Obviously, conservatives took notice of this and Bizmarck would put into place the School Supervision Laws of 1872, in order to weaken the church's power by replacing religious supervisors with secular ones.
But, on a bigger level (And this is the point I'd like to see some kind of criticism or confirmation thereof), it seems like these factors come back to Anderson's argument that the new voting system is what caused the culture war to surface and really gain momentum.
Any thoughts?
JS
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Did the radical attitudes leading up to German unification change how viewed?
Changes in the general trends of religion following the unification of Germany are lucid.
Unification led to the advancement of Judaism in Germany. Gradually, Jews would become more able to advance in society and are ultimately free to move up the social ladder. In time, Jews would become symbolic for social progress and modernity.
On a different note, religion was getting questioned by the rest of society. German culture was becoming more and more secular, as religion was now officially being challenged by the beliefs and studies of science. Overall, attached to religion is the question/ concern of whether one's faith will progress.
At the same time, some individuals felt alienated from their faith. Protestant workers, for example, truly felt as if they were in a separate class (possibly because of the social divide and changes in family life).
My question is, did the liberal ideas of the revolutionaries leading up to the unification of Germany play a major role in affecting the general views and trends of religion? Or, was it just partly a result of the general conflict between the reform and the orthodoxy?
Unification led to the advancement of Judaism in Germany. Gradually, Jews would become more able to advance in society and are ultimately free to move up the social ladder. In time, Jews would become symbolic for social progress and modernity.
On a different note, religion was getting questioned by the rest of society. German culture was becoming more and more secular, as religion was now officially being challenged by the beliefs and studies of science. Overall, attached to religion is the question/ concern of whether one's faith will progress.
At the same time, some individuals felt alienated from their faith. Protestant workers, for example, truly felt as if they were in a separate class (possibly because of the social divide and changes in family life).
My question is, did the liberal ideas of the revolutionaries leading up to the unification of Germany play a major role in affecting the general views and trends of religion? Or, was it just partly a result of the general conflict between the reform and the orthodoxy?
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