Right vs. Left

Introduction: For our final topic this semester we will investigate the ideological conflicts that divided European society in the 19th and 20th centuries.   The ideological positions we will discuss range from strongly conservative on the right to anarchistic on the left.  In between these two extremes, you will find an entire range of opinion about everything from politics, to religion, to the economy, to the arts.  Your task over the next few weeks will be to first come to grips with the most important trends in political thought and then to understand how the ideas of the various theorists we discuss were applied to specific circumstances and events from the early 19th century to the late 20th century.

As we discussed in class on Friday, your first assignment is to examine two essential documents of what, in the European context, is known as "Liberalism." Remember: European Liberalism and American Liberalism are two entirely different things!  These two sources are excerpts from Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations (1776), and Thomas Malthus' First Essay on Population (1798).   As you read them, I want you to keep several things in mind.  First, remember that these essays were written during a time commonly referred to as the Enlightenment (which we have already discussed in class).  Second, think carefully about how the ideas expressed in these documents can be applied beyond the narrow confines of the subject the author is addressing.   Ask yourself what the author's view of human nature is, what his view of the proper role of government in society is (or should be), and think about everything else we have been working on this semester and how what you find in these essays either reflects earlier thought (one hint: the scientific method), or seems to have influenced what came later.

For Monday, November 22:  As per our discussions in class on Wednesday, you should visit the Marx/Engels Internet Archive and read the Communist Manifesto.  As you read it, ask yourself the following questions:  What is the essential argument of this document; how does the scientific method inform the authors' analysis of European society and the remedies they propose; and, what do the ideas expressedin this document seem to have in common with those of the Liberals we have been discussing?  NOTE:  At the bottom of each section of the Manifesto is a link to the next section...there are several sections!  Once you have finished reading the Manifesto, write up your answers to these questions in a one page paper, which is due Monday.