Although the term degeneration did not become popular until the fin de siècle, the fear of devolving into lower forms has been present since as early as the 1700s. In many cases, anxieties about degeneration acted as an impetus for progress. In other cases, people saw degeneration as an effect of progress. In these two manners, the tension between degeneration and progress largely influenced the events from 1750 to 1920.
In large part, the theory of degeneration draws its roots from Darwin and Spencer’s theories of evolution during the mid and late 1800s. Darwin proposed that animals evolved through natural selection from a more primitive ancestor, and that this evolution did not have a direction (Darwin). Meanwhile, Spencer’s theories used
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LeBon suggested that crowds acted like Rousseau’s primitive man because they were spontaneous, easily influenced, and liable to turn violent (LeBon, in L&L 60). The crowd was incapable of higher forms of thought like morality, leading to fears of moral degeneration (LeBon, in L&L 60). Chant described how new spaces that provided entertainment for the masses—like theaters—were riddled with prostitution, gambling, alcohol, and other sinful activities (Chant, in L&L 71). Although Engels also spoke about moral degeneration, he thought that it was caused by industrialization itself rather than new spaces. In Great Towns, poverty caused by industrialization made people to turn to thievery, prostitution, and “moral ruin” (Engels). However, industrialization did not only cause the poor to degenerate; it caused everyone to feel “brutal indifference,” become “monads” of “unfeeling isolation,” and to ultimately “sacrifice the best of human nature” (Engels). The Communist Manifesto reflects Engels’ fears of moral degeneration of the masses; it claims that capitalism is not only exploitative, but also “profane[s]” “all that is holy” (Marx and
The decade of the 1890’s in the United States was one of innovation and strife. The innovations involved many facets of life in America: industry, politics, economy, and society as a whole. The decade saw the emergence of multi-millionaires like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and J.P. Morgan, the rise in power of organized labor, the Progressive movement, and the expansion westward. It was also a time of unrest in America, pitting unions against corporations and reformers against corrupt politicians. All of this and more is what H.W. Brands tries to make sense of in his book, The Reckless Decade: America in the 1890's.
"Charles Darwin: The Father of Evolution." Darwin1. University of Missouri, n.d. Web. 04 May 2014.
Darwin: A Norton Critical Edition, Second Edition ; ed. by Philip Appleman; copyright 1979, 1970 by W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
Karl Marx 's writing of ‘The Communist Manifesto’ in 1848 has been documented by a vast number of academics as one of the most influential pieces of political texts written in the modern era. Its ideologically driven ideas formed the solid foundation of the Communist movement throughout the 20th century, offering a greater alternative for those who were rapidly becoming disillusioned and frustrated with the growing wealth and social divisions created by capitalism. A feeling not just felt in by a couple of individuals in one society, but a feeling that was spreading throughout various societies worldwide. As Toma highlights in his work, Marx felt that ‘capitalism would produce a crisis-ridden, polarized society destined to be taken over by
immigrants who intended to cross the plains. On May 24, John Brown and his son killed
Anyone with even a moderate background in science has heard of Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution. Since the publishing of his book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859, Darwin’s ideas have been debated by everyone from scientists to theologians to ordinary lay-people. Today, though there is still severe opposition, evolution is regarded as fact by most of the scientific community and Darwin’s book remains one of the most influential ever written.
Marx had rather extreme views on the extent to which nature in his time had become humanized as a result of human labor. He commented, “Even the objects of the simplest, “sensuous certainty” are only given to him through social development, industry and commercial intercourse. ”[2] "Throughout their labor, humans shape their own material environment, thereby transforming the very nature of human existence in the process. ”[3] One always seemed to know their role in society.
Keith Henson a writer in evolutionary psychology once said that “Evolution acts slowly. Our psychological characteristics today are those that promoted reproductive success in the ancestral environment.” Evolution was first introduced by a naturalist by the name of Charles Darwin. Darwin had written an autobiography, at the age of 50, On the Origin of Species (1859) explaining how species evolve through time by natural selection; this theory became known as Darwinism. “Verlyn Klinkenborg, who writes editorials and vignettes on science and nature for the “New York Times”” (Muller 706) questions Darwin’s theory in one of his essays he wrote called Darwin at 200: The Ongoing Force of His Unconventional Idea. Both articles talk about the theory of Darwinism, but the authors’ use different writing techniques and were written in different time periods. Darwin himself writes to inform us on what the theory is, where as Klinkenborg goes on to explain why Darwinism is just a theory. Today, evolution is still a very controversial topic among many. It comes up in several topics that are discussed everyday such as in politics, religion and education.
Marx’s idea of the estrangement of man from the product of his labor described the suffering of countless hours or work by the laborer, contributing to the production of a product that he could not afford with the wages he made. He helped to produce a product that only those wealthier than he could afford. As the society around him became more object-oriented, he became increasingly more alienated. In the lager, one factor that distanced the laborer from his product was that he no longer worked for a wage, but for survival. In a description of his fellow worker, Levi wrote, “He seems to think that his present situation is like outside, where it is honest and logical to work, as well as being of advantage, because according to what everyone says, the more one works the more one earns and eats.” Levi pitied his fellow worker for his naivety, as the Lager was not a place of labor for prosperity, but strictly a place of labor by force. One worked in order to live, focusing more on the uncertainty of their next meal, day, or even breath than the product of their l...
In Marx’s opinion, the cause of poverty has always been due to the struggle between social classes, with one class keeping its power by suppressing the other classes. He claims the opposing forces of the Industrial Age are the bourgeois and the proletarians. Marx describes the bourgeois as a middle class drunk on power. The bourgeois are the controllers of industrialization, the owners of the factories that abuse their workers and strip all human dignity away from them for pennies. Industry, Marx says, has made the proletariat working class only a tool for increasing the wealth of the bourgeoisie. Because the aim of the bourgeoisie is to increase their trade and wealth, it is necessary to exploit the worker to maximize profit. This, according to Marx, is why the labor of the proletariat continued to steadily increase while the wages of the proletariat continued to steadily decrease.
Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection explains the general laws by which any given species transforms into other varieties and species. Darwin extends the application of his theory to the entire hierarchy of classification and states that all forms of life have descended from one incredibly remote ancestor. The process of natural selection entails the divergence of character of specific varieties and the subsequent classification of once-related living forms as distinct entities on one or many levels of classification. The process occurs as a species varies slightly over the course of numerous generations. Through inheritance, natural selection preserves each variation that proves advantageous to that species in its present circumstances of living, which include its interaction with closely related species in the “struggle for existence” (Darwin 62).
In his Manifesto of the Communist Party Karl Marx created a radical theory revolving not around the man made institution of government itself, but around the ever present guiding vice of man that is materialism and the economic classes that stemmed from it. By unfolding the relat...
The Communist Manifesto was published in 1848, a period of political turmoil in Europe. Its meaning in today’s capitalistic world is a very controversial issue. Some people, such as the American government, consider socialism taboo and thus disregard the manifesto. They believe that capitalism, and the world itself, has changed greatly from the one Marx was describing in the Manifesto and, therefore, that Marx’s ideas cannot be used to comprehend today’s economy. Others find that the Manifesto highlights issues that are still problematic today. Marx’s predicative notions in the Communist Manifesto are the key to understanding modern day capitalism.
In stark contradiction to pre-industrial capitalistic characteristics, were those conditions that were endured by workers under capitalism and its emphasis on modern industrialized manufacturing. To Marx it seemed as if the ordinary factory worker was viewed as being no more than a replaceable cogwheel in an enormous and emotionless machine driven only by quotas and greed.
It is this notion which gives the capitalists the opportunity and the means to exploit people in the society, through their wants and needs for an easy, nonchalant lifestyle. The problem arises when we start seeing these capitalists as saviors - as rescuers, and sometimes even incarnations of God - who save the people under them, from the hardened, miserable, and volatile life which they may have lead otherwise. It is at this moment where we commit our biggest mistake: put in our trust, faith and our life in the hands of these capitalists. They hardwire such people - make them feel like a prince, where in reality all they are, are peasants being manipulated and controlled to fulfill the personal objectives of these capitalists. It is in moments like these, where a person must realize, that all these comforts - these resources, these status privileges, the capitalists trust in them - are all but ‘baits’, intricately thought of and designed to ‘lure’ an individual into the trap from which - despite tremendous efforts - if caught, it is extremely difficult to escape from. It is, in moments like these, where one must develop and possess the mental