Ch 02 - Socialism in Europe and the Russian Revolution9th History
19th-Century Liberals: The Democratic Contradiction
Why are 19th-century 'Liberals' often described as 'not democrats', despite their strong advocacy for parliamentary governments?
Why are 19th-century 'Liberals' often described as 'not democrats', despite their strong advocacy for parliamentary governments?
The Liberal Limitation
- Their Goal: Liberals advocated for elected parliamentary governments and an independent judiciary to safeguard rights.
- The Contradiction: They fundamentally opposed Universal Adult Franchise (the right of all adult citizens to vote).
- Exclusionary Stance: They believed voting rights should be restricted exclusively to men of property, and actively opposed granting voting rights to women.
Prism Memory Hook
Liberals wanted Liberty for the Landed (Men with Property)
Ideological Divide: Radicals vs. Conservatives
How did the 'Radicals' differ from the 'Conservatives' regarding governance and social change in 19th-century Europe?
How did the 'Radicals' differ from the 'Conservatives' regarding governance and social change in 19th-century Europe?
Opposing Visions for Society
- Radicals:
- Advocated for a government based on the majority of a country's population.
- Actively supported women's suffragette movements.
- Strongly opposed the hereditary privileges of great landowners and wealthy factory owners.
- Conservatives:
- Initially opposed to any form of change.
- By the 19th century, they accepted that some change was inevitable, but insisted that the past must be respected and that social transformation should be a slow, gradual process.
Prism Memory Hook
Radicals want Rapid Rights | Conservatives want Cautious Change
Socialism's Stance on Private Property
What did early Socialists identify as the 'root of all social ills' in Europe, and what was their proposed solution?
What did early Socialists identify as the 'root of all social ills' in Europe, and what was their proposed solution?
The Anti-Property Ideology
- The Root Cause: Socialists firmly identified private property as the root of all social problems.
- The Reasoning: They argued that individuals who owned property were driven solely by personal profit, entirely neglecting the welfare and living conditions of the workers who actually made that property productive.
- The Solution: They proposed that if society as a whole (collectively) controlled property, broader social interests and equality would be prioritized over individual greed.
Prism Memory Hook
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Also in this chapter
32 more cards to study in Prism
- 4Early Socialist Cooperatives: Owen vs. Blanc
- 5Karl Marx and the Communist Vision
- 6Formation of The Second International
- 7The Russian Economy Pre-1914
- 8Social Hierarchy of Russian Workers
- 9Women in the Russian Industrial Workforce (1914)
- 10Economic Concept: The 'Real Wage'
- 11Russian Peasants and the 'Mir' System
- 12Pre-Revolutionary Parties: RSDWP vs. SRs
- 13The Split: Bolsheviks vs. Mensheviks
- 14The Catalyst: Bloody Sunday (1905)
- 15The Creation and Control of the Duma
- 16The Industrial Collapse During WWI
- 17The Trigger of the February Revolution
- 18The Formation of the Petrograd Soviet
- 19The Abdication of the Tsar
- 20Vladimir Lenin's 'April Theses'
- 21The Breakdown: Provisional Government vs. Bolsheviks
- 22The October Revolution (1917)
- 23Immediate Post-October Bolshevik Reforms
- 24Authoritarian Control: The Cheka
- 25The Russian Civil War Factions (1918-1920)
- 26Bolsheviks, Nationalities, and the Jadidists
- 27Centralised Planning and the Five-Year Plans
- 28The Catalyst for Stalin's Collectivisation
- 29Demographic Definition: The Kulaks
- 30The Structure of the Kolkhoz
- 31The Devastating Impact of Collectivisation
- 32Global Expansion: The Comintern
- 33The Ideological Impact on Modern India
- 34Primary Source: Tagore's Observations on Russia
- 35Primary Source: Shaukat Usmani on Soviet Society
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