The Chains of Conformity

On page 15 we are given the main goal of the situationist movement that being “to create situations in which powerless individuals have control over there daily lives.” This is obviously a very big goal to try to achieve. On page 8 there is a reference to the cult of celebrities and how we worship it as a way to fill holes in our own lives. In today’s society to you believe popular entertainment is still all encompassing in this way? Do you believe that some are powerless to change there situation in modern day society? It seems these problems are very relevant today but you will certainly get a different answer depending on who you ask.

The June Days

In Chapter 9, there is an interesting quote that caught my attention. Tocqueville says, “Another point that distinguished it from all other events of the same type during the last sixty years was that its object was not to change the form of the government, but to alter the organization of society” (136). Since this is a first-hand account, I don’t want to diminish or disregard this opinion, but I am not sure how much I agree with this. To me government is a part of “the organization of society.” Even if you argue against that idea, isn’t it safe to say that past conflicts in France were strongly influenced by class divisions. What are your thoughts on this?

Addressing the demands of the Hungarian People

For class we had to analyze the primary source regarding the Hungarian Government addressing the issue of demands by the Hungarian People. In this address, the issue of the Majesty refusing and or preventing the development of a constitutional system in Hungary is brought to light. One of the first tasks that is addressed is that the Hungarian Government needs to begin to “alleviate the burdens of the peasantry” (420). This includes granting political rights to Hungarian People and reforming the military as a whole. Given these measures that the Hungarian People have proposed, it is important to note that they are all considered to be aid to the constitutional progress of the country and the elevation of the moral and material condition of the country (420). Given these demands, the question that I would like to pose for discussion is that is it necessary for military reform to be at the front of constitutional progress? Is it because the military has established enough power over the peasantry and the country that it has begun to bring into question the safety of the country?

Another National Song!

We were given the lyrics of “The National Song of Hungary, 1848” for class this week, and I would like to take a moment and briefly compare the lyrics of this national song to “La Marseillaise” which we listened to in the second week. Here is a stanza from each:

La Marseillaise:

To arms, citizens!
Form your battalions
Let’s march, let’s march
That their impure blood
Should water our fields.

The National Song of Hungary, 1848:

A miserable wretch is he
Who fears to die, my land, for thee!
His worthless life who thinks to be
Worth more than thou, sweet liberty!
Now by the Magyar’s God above
We truly swear,
We truly swear the tyrant’s yoke
No more to bear!

Now, this might be obvious but what are the similarities of these pieces? I definitely notice that there is a call to action in both (To arms, citizens! / We truly swear the tyrant’s yoke
No more to bear!
). However, I think they are fundamentally very different. Do you agree? How do you think your interpretation is affect by revolutionary outcomes?

Here is another meme:

Address by the Hungarian Parliament

Do you think the demands of the Hungarian Parliament were too demanding? Too vague? Could they have listed specific ways on how to reach these demands? I am constantly ‘sitting on the fence’ during discussion, but I think that the majority of these demands were feasible, but they could have been clearer in the sense of having an actual plan. Does anyone agree? And if you don’t, why not?

The Revolution is “over” … so what now?

Chapter three had a lot of moving pieces as the author tries to layout all the dynamics of the 1848 revolutions. I know that I cannot keep all the moving parts organized, but I found the ending of this chapter fascinating. We are illuminated in Chapter 4 of what happens next, but I would like to take a moment and focus on the rhetorical questions begin asked:

Would the newly created regimes be liberal ones, that is constitutional monarchies with a limited, property franchise, or democratic – that is republics with universal manhood suffrage? Equally unresolved were key questions of political power. Who would command the National Guard, what weapons would it have, and who would be entitled to bear them?Where would the ultimate base of power lie, with government ministers responsible to an elected parliament, or with a royal or presidential camarilla? With an elected legislature or the radicalized masses of a capital city? (155-156)

Imagine you are a middle-class worker or peasant in Europe at the end of these revolutions. How would you feel about all of these unanswered questions? Now, how are we supposed to think about the emergence of a “free press” and public “political organizations”? These are super difficult cultural shifts for me to wrap my head around because I have always had these rights. What is everyone else thinking about all of these moving pieces?

Everyone Else European Monarchies the Revolutions of 1848 Colorized |  History Meme on ME.ME
Here is a meme since it is the end of week six, midterms are near, and everyone is exhausted.

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