In part one of this series I talked about how Victorian society enforced its values and sanctioned violators. Part two described how it transmitted those values. In this (I promise) last part, we’ll look at the outcomes. Who, whom? Lenin said we should always ask “who, whom?” Who did all this moralizing, and to whom? The classic Marxist answer was that Victorian morality was a trick by elites to create obedient, disciplined workers for the new capitalist market.
“We are worried that democratic institutions, which look great on paper, are threatened by collective mistrust and fanaticism.”
I think that the common wisdom was always Churchill's “democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” As a society we need a reminder that the alternatives are not so great, so we focus on the flaws.
Interesting read, thanks. One comment:
“We are worried that democratic institutions, which look great on paper, are threatened by collective mistrust and fanaticism.”
I think that the common wisdom was always Churchill's “democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.” As a society we need a reminder that the alternatives are not so great, so we focus on the flaws.