Across nineteenth-century Europe the bourgeoisie integrated into aristocratic regimes rather than overturning them
Evidence
Agriculture remained the principal sector of the European economy, underpinning the political dominance of the aristocracy and more generally of the landed classes across the continent — a state of affairs reflected in the monarchical character of every major state except France. The bourgeoisie, politically subordinate, adapted itself to the anciens régimes: instead of seeking to overthrow the old monarchies, rising industrial and financial magnates took on the colour of their surroundings, seeking to ape the lifestyle and buy into the landed estates of their aristocratic betters. No wonder, then, that the education system, especially in its emphasis on the Greek and Latin classics, still transmitted the values of Europe’s agrarian notables, and that ‘[i]n form, content and style the artefacts of high culture continued to be anchored and swathed in conventions that relayed and celebrated traditions supportive of the old order.’ — Alex Callinicos, Against Postmodernism, 183
Categorization
- XREF: This is the Mayer thesis on aristocratic persistence that Anderson generalizes and Callinicos ultimately opposes — connects to his broader argument in Chapter 25 and against Jameson. — connects to: England’s nobility absorbed bourgeois functions to preserve the ruling system; The proletariat’s backwardness enabled its integration into bourgeois society — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 977; Bourgeoisie rule can hide behind the facade of old aristocratic classes (+3 more)
- DEFINE: Establishes the notion of a ‘feudal/aristocratic’ European high culture as distinct from the later modernism and postmodernism Callinicos is theorizing.
Broader Connections
- England’s nobility absorbed bourgeois functions to preserve the ruling system
#expands(0.85) - Bourgeoisie rule can hide behind the facade of old aristocratic classes
#corroborates(0.85) - The proletariat’s backwardness enabled its integration into bourgeois society
#complicates(0.80) — Dirk Braunstein, Adorno’s Critique of Political Economy, 977 - Industrialization transferred economic and political power from aristocrats to the bourgeois.
#contradicts(0.75) — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 311