Industrial RevolutionRenaissanceEnlightenment

RomanticismVictorian

Modernism

Copernican RevolutionFrench Revolution1848

Das KapitalLeviathan

The Descent of Man

Hegel

SchopenhauerNietzscheDecadencePostmodernPost-War/Post-Holocaust/Postcolonial

Part Two

Historical ContextsThe revolutions of 1848, World War I and its aftermath

The Revolutions of 1848Swept across Europe;

Voting rights extended to more men;

Austro-Hungarian Empire adopts constitutional government;

No more absolute monarchs in Europe.

The Empires Strike BackAustro-Hungarian Empire on verge of collapse;

Serbian nationalist assassinates Archduke Ferdinand, heir apparent to the Austro-Hungarian throne;

Austria-Hungary cannot declare war against Serbia without incurring the wrath of the Russian Empire;

The Hapsburgs enlist the help of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia;

War on Serbia declared;

Allies join forces against Central Powers;

By the war’s end, over 100 countries are involved.

Europe in 1914

World War I

Introduction of biological warfare, machine gun, tank, and ever-efficient ways to kill people;

Highest death toll of any war in the recorded history of wars until World War II:

9 million soldiers

10 million civilians

80% of France’s and Germany’s male populations, ages 15-49.

Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire.

1-1.5 million were murdered

Austro-Hungarian

Empire after World War I

Austro-Hungarian Empire divided into Austria, Hungary, and the Czech Republic; Serbia incorporated into the new “Yugoslavia,” sharing this nation with Croatians and Slovenes;

Those ethnic groups without a nation given “minority protections” within the newly-formed nation-states;

These “protections” were meaningless and prompted mass migrations across Eastern and Central Europe, especially to Germany’s Weimar Republic, which replaced Wilhelm II’s German Empire.

The Ottoman Empire after World War I

Sykes-Picot Agreement

France awarded influence over Syria and Lebanon;

Britain given influence over Palestine and what would become modern-day Iraq;

The Balfour Declaration of 1917

Arthur James Balfour (Britain’s Foreign Secretary) wrote a letter to Baron Rothschild expressing his desire to establish a Jewish nation-state in Palestine with “it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine…”

Despite anti-semitic propaganda, this “declaration” was not a promise; it was an expression of support…that’s all.

Germany after World War I

Wilhelm II was ousted and fled to the Netherlands where he lived out the rest of his life in comfort;

The Weimar Republic served as what would be the interim government between two absolute rulers (Wilhelm II and Adolph Hitler);

Due to a number of reasons, not the least of which were the stripping of Germany’s colonies, a global depression, mass immigration from Central Europe, and economic sanctions against Germany, the nation was basically on the verge of collapse;

The populations of the former Austro-Hungarian and German Empires were starving;

The people of these nations were desperate and frustrated; they hated the Weimar Republic for not bettering their lives more quickly and, in such dire conditions, began to hate their fellow citizens since all were competing for resources such as food and shelter;

The economy was in a shambles, and the German people were angry—very angry. They saw themselves as victims of the Allies and their excessively punitive measures taken after the war for the sake of their own greed.

ConspiraciesReal and Imagined

The Dreyfus AffairAlfred Dreyfus, obscure officer in French Army, convicted of sharing information with Germans;

Sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil’s Island in 1894;

Evidence surfaced exonerating Dreyfus, but French government wouldn’t listen;

The real culprit was acquitted;

Dreyfus finally given a new trial in 1899, given a ten-year suspended sentence (even though he was innocent)

Fully exonerated in 1906.

Why the Dreyfus Affair Matters

Dreyfus was Jewish;

The “Affair” bitterly divided France;

Lines were drawn according to citizens view of Jewish population;

Majority of “Anti-Dreyfus” contingency were also anti-semitic;

Prompted prominent novelist Emile Zola to write an open letter titled J’Accuse! to French government regarding their gross mistreatment of Dreyfus, and their attempts to cover up their racially-motivated persecution of the army officer.

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

Forgery cooked up in France by Russian officials and published as “authentic” in 1905;

Not only a forgery, but a plagiarism of Maurice Joly’s “Dialogues in Hell”— a satirical critique of Napoleon III;

Gained popularity in 1919 and translated from Russian into all Western European languages;

“It’s circulation thirty years later [1949] was second only to Hitler’s Mein Kampf” (Arendt 241).

The Popularity of the Protocols

“in their crackpot manner, they hit upon every important political issue of the time” (Arendt 358)

Protocols claim Jewish people are:

Anti-nationalist;

Will take over the world through organization alone;

Global conspiracy;

Take over will be economic.

Believable because

“Secret” international organizations are always suspected of world domination (Freemasons?);

Jewish people are God’s “chosen ones” who will, according to the Bible, initiate the redemption (not destruction) of all humankind;

They had no “nation” and tended to isolate themselves from the mainstream cultures of the nations in which they resided (“Jews and their ‘clannish’ ways”—Eliot Borenstein).

Cult of Personality“Sell the sizzle, not the steak”

1. Present yourself as a “man of the people,” highlighting humble beginnings, hard work, a struggle against the more powerful elements of a society;

2. Embody the exact opposite of the hated government that went before you;

3. Encourage the people to “dream the dream,” playing up their underdog status and your ability to “show” whomever has been oppressing all of you who is boss now;

4. You cannot be divinely appointed in this day and age, so you will need to market yourself as the culmination of the culture’s history; symbolically, you are the descendant of some folk hero or god of the people; you are fulfilling the prophesy and your nation will rise again;

5. Insist and somehow prove your restless devotion to your people and nation;

6. Make sure everyone is absolutely clear regarding who the good and bad guys are; do not confuse folks with any gray areas; create a common enemy if you have to, but chances are there is one already in place

How to be a tyrant: acquiring popularity and power

1. Get rid of any opposing ideas by burning books and censoring other forms of media; in effect, do everything in your newfound power to erase history;

2. Gain control of the press and make sure it does your bidding; you will need plenty of photographs of your heroic exploits;

3. Have your minister of propaganda (don’t call him that, or folks will catch on) stage rallies, candlelight vigils, etc. to show the solidarity of the masses under your control;

4. Carefully rehearse your speeches and make sure you hit as many buttons in your audience as possible; we’re talking emotional frenzy here;

5. Take credit for every positive thing that happens in your country and blame the “enemy” for anything negative;

Exercising power

Hitler practicing gestures for his political speeches

1. Keep reminding the people who the enemies are—you will probably need more than one; make these enemies as threatening as possible while making yourself as menacing to these enemies as possible:

2. Do not associate yourself with the “baser” elements of your regime, even if you have given them the orders to commit unspeakable acts; key excuses:

1. You were completely unaware of and are now thoroughly outraged by your underlings’ disobedience;

2. You don’t recall giving any orders to do such a thing;

3. Scapegoat a few people in your party or massacre a whole handful to prove you do not approve of such shenanigans

3. Always remain kind, yet aloof—like a merciful god smiling down upon the people; after all, you are the nation-made-flesh;

4. Even if you can’t be everywhere physically, be there in statue, poster, art, books, films, music, etc. The people need to be reminded of their leader at all times; otherwise, they might forget that they are followers and, most important, what a fabulous and successful leader you actually are;

5. Do not fail once the novelty of your existence has worn off; the people are fickle and will turn on you in no time.

Maintaining Power

Advance your more “radical” (insane) views as positive rather than negative and be subtle about it

NO YES

Language, Emotion, “Reality”“No one in their right mind would try to grow grapes by the light of the word ‘day’.”

—Paul de Man, Blindness and Insight

“Politics and the English Language”

the English language is in a bad way…Our civilization is decadent, and our language—so the argument runs—must inevitably share in the general collapse…It [language] becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts…If one gets rid of these habits one can think more clearly, and to think clearly is a necessary step towards political regeneration: so that the fight against bad English is not frivolous and is not the exclusive concern of professional writers…if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought. A bad usage can spread by tradition and imitation, even among people who should and do know better. (Orwell 2384, 2391)

“Politics and the English Language”

In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defence [sic] of the indefensible. Things like the continuance of British rule in India, the Russian purges and deportations, the dropping of the atom bombs on Japan, can indeed be defended, but only as arguments which are too brutal for most people to face, and which do not square with the professed aims of the political parties. Thus political language has to consist largely of euphemisms, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness. Defenceless [sic] villages are bombarded from the air, the inhabitants driven out into the countryside, the cattle machine-gunned, the huts set on fire with incendiary bullets: this is called pacification…Such phraseology is needed if one wants to name things without calling up mental pictures of them. (2390)

Syria“Civil War” “Genocide”

Word choice, connotation, emotion, thought,

persuasion

Both sides are armed, can defend themselves, and follow the conventions of armed combat.

Racially motivated; only one side has arms and uses them to eliminate an unarmed group they have already disempowered through legislation, relocation, and draconian economic practices.

Guantanamo

“Enhanced Interrogation” “Torture”

ObamaCare

“End of Life Consultation” “Death Panel”

Political Ideologies

Totalitarianism Fascism• State holds complete

control over all resources;

• State forces the individual to conform to its ideology;

• Uses terror and hatred to persuade public to its opinions;

• May be called by various names and claim various origins, such as:

• Communism• Nationalism• Fascism• Socialism

• In the end, the state must have control over all resources (complete centralization) in order to exercise such control.

• All fascist governments are totalitarian, but

• not all totalitarian governments are fascist.

• Mussolini sold fascism to the people (even the Catholic Church) by marketing it as a “spiritual,” not economic or social, doctrine.

• Mussolini himself defined fascism as “totalitarian”; however, it differs from other totalitarian regimes in its ideology and, in some ways, practice.

• Fascism is the total indoctrination of the individual;

• The individual sees him or herself not as an individual but as an emanation of the state’s will ;

• Differs from being an “instrument of God” in that the State’s aims are to improve life on earth, not to achieve the rewards in Heaven;

• Thus, Fascism respected and encouraged religious worship (this is why the Catholic Church was ok with it);

• Not opposed (at least in word) to free trade and competition, and defined the state as a corporation;

• As a corporation, the state must expand and diversify;

• It does this through imperialism;

• Perpetual global war is the best way to ensure civil peace.

Nationalism, Essentialism, and Anti-SemitismPennsatucky: What’re you doing?Nicky: Playing the oldest game in the world.Pennsatucky: Oh! Really? What’s it called?Nicky: Exclusion.

—Orange is the New Black, 2014

I am who I am because I am not youWe compare/contrast ourselves with others to form an identity;

Example: four-year boys tend to be obsessed with their difference from girls and women and often speak of how they are “boys” because… and girls are “girls” because…

Comparison results in identifying with a group (family, church, etc.);

Contrast results in seeing one’s “group” as distinctly different from other groups;

Group may manipulate individual’s deep-seated anxieties to promote hatred of another group;

Anxiety usually arises from individual’s identification and subsequent denial of his/her similarities with the other group;

Must have a “them” in order to be an “us”;

Group identity tends to flare up during moments of crisis that affect a group as a whole (example: aftermath of 9/11).

Example

Syllogism

Americans are not communists;

Communists are un-American;

Anyone in America who is a communist is not an American.

Major premise is invalid;

Nothing in our constitution requires our country to operate its economy according to capitalist principles;

In fact, our constitution is set up to allow any economic system to exist.

Word Play: Capitalizing on Confusion

“American” a metonym for democracy (a governing system);

Communism is an economic system;

Because there is a communist party, people believe communism is a governing system;

Thanks to Bolshevism (Stalin’s brand of communism), Americans equate communism with totalitarianism;

There is nothing inherently totalitarian about Marxist socialism.

NationalismResult of imperialism;

Austro-Hungarian Empire made up of multiple nationalities (Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Austrian, Hungarian, Czech), all of whom were united by two things only: language and a common ruler;

Stemmed from a desire of the oppressed national groups within an empire to govern themselves and to follow their own cultural traditions and enforce their own cultural values;

All well and good until those (like the ones in Pan movements) started believing their ethnicity set them apart from and above others.

“The heights of popularity and patriotism are still between the roads to power and tyranny”

—David Hume

Pan Movements

Movements among intellectuals in Russia, Germany, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire before and after WWI that believed one need not live in a particular nation to be a member of that ethnicity;

Stressed there was something essentially “German” in being German, so on and so forth to make one’s nation of residence one’s “race”;

Used the Jewish population as an example of the maintenance of a national identity without a physical nation;

Oddly enough, were extremely anti-semitic, believing the Jewish population and their claim as God’s chosen people would stand in the way of the Pan movement’s declaring their God-appointed function of saving the human race (Arendt).

“There are some ideas so absurd that only an intellectual could believe them”

—George Orwell

Outrage, Frustration, and Abjection

Anti-Semitism was rampant in interwar Europe and America and used in political propaganda worldwide;

Westerners needed someone to blame for their misery;

Germans needed someone to blame for their own country’s devastating defeat in World War I and its aftermath;

Since Jewish population had no nation to protect them, they were an “easy” target;

Nazis basically took all the ills of Europe, assigned them to the Jewish population, and set out to destroy them as a result;

Abjection is projecting everything a group fears about itself or sees as a threat from the outside and projects it onto another group, then either outcasts and/or demonizes the abjected group (Julia Kristeva).

The Power of Propaganda

Nazis scapegoated Jewish population; blamed them for the global depression of the interwar period in general and that of Germany in particular;

Could do so because Jewish populations in most countries were involved in banking and other areas of finance;

They were often financial advisors to the monarchs, especially the Hapsburgs;

Used the “landlessness” of the Jewish population to characterize them as “parasites” who lived on and basically stole from the “rightful” citizens of a nation;

Were able to cast Jewish population as communist in Hitler’s campaign against Thalmann, his communist opponent in the election.