Why was the development of a modern urban mass society seen as a potential threat to the social order, to morality, and to the strength of nations?

Additionally, it was in fact the strong prominent trade unions in Germany that inadvertently allowed Hitler to rise to power. However, in France this was referred to as ‘syndicalisme’. These syndicates were referred to as France’s trade unions, however due to their strong power this often meant that the French government had to appease them to keep control of the masses. The rise of socialism however, was at times something that the government had to stop. Many socialist parties at the time, particularly after the Russian Revolution, were banned by these governments in order to quell the possibility of revolutions. However, all this actually did was ensure the survival of the trade unions or trade syndicates. This system operated like a stick and carrot metaphor; the stick represented the beating down on the parties that represented the worker, but the carrot represented economic and sometimes political bonuses which were seen to appease them. The crushing of socialist parties quite simply represented the fact that class divides needed to be quelled in order to promote the idea of a unified nation, which would thus contribute to the ideas and beliefs needed for the foundations of an Empire. It was therefore easier to give the working classes economic concessions, and to also ‘feed’ them an idea of a national identity. This would give greater control to the state, whilst not upsetting the social order. However, these concessions would later be seen by the same governments to be the result of the decay of the social order, which will be discussed in more detail later in the essay. Evidence in France to support this tendency of a ‘feeding’ of a national identity can be seen clearly in the Exposition Universelle in 1889. This exposition was similar to the Great Exhibition in Britain, and this promoted an idea of Empire that was unrivalled across the globe. These ‘shows’ also represented the last gasp of Empire due to the prestige on display desperately trying to cement the existing norms and customs to try and prevent change from occurring. Sadly, the prestige was short-lived as the First World War quickly eroded what was left of the idea of Empire.

When considering how the modern urban mass society became a threat to morality, one must consider the fact that for centuries, the upper echelons of society believed that the lower classes were a decay on society, even in rural areas. Thus it is no wonder that many viewed the urban environment as a place of squalor, crime, decadence and disobedience. This was merely reinforced when their worries became true. Furthermore, the impact of modernisation was also seen as a threat to morality. This was due to the fact that the somewhat explosive developments in infrastructure, weaponry and technology across Europe at the time meant that no-one knew what would be next. Jean Jaures, a socialist leader at the time, spent much time deliberating over what the affects of modernisation would be, declaring that modern warfare would have unparalleled destructive effects. This vision became somewhat true in the First and Second World Wars. Additionally, another interesting outcome of this so-called morality decline and decay was the debate between philosophers during this period. Nietzsche was seen as somewhat of an outcast among philosophers at the time, as he preached of progression and change to the philosophical approach. He claimed it was time that philosophers stopped discussing behind closed doors, and instead should spread their message to the people. This unsurprisingly was unpopular with other philosophers, and explains why Nietzsche is one of the most famous philosophers to date. Furthermore, it clearly represents how widely held this view of a decaying nation was, both morally and socially, in order for philosophers to get involved in an attempt to cure it.

The strength of a nation, as represented by nationalism and the nationalist sentiment felt and believed by the people of a particular nation is probably the factor that was considered to be the largest threat by the so-called rise of the mass urban society. There are two main reasons that a mass urban society affected the nationalist sentiment in a nation. The first is that due to the rise in socialism, there was a very real threat that the spread of working class politics would overtake the sentiment of feeling nationalist. Now, it is evident that while class was exclusionary, nationalism was inclusionary. This therefore meant that it was much easier for the rise of socialism to occur, despite the fact that none managed to achieve its eventual goals. The second was the real fear that the aim of socialism, and later communism, was to overthrow and revolt against the traditional elitist order. This, despite the view of hindsight, was a very real threat at the time, not only due to the Russian Revolution, but also as a result of the fact that Germany still lacked a major revolution, as arguably, did Britain. This threat to the ‘strength of nation’ was thus paramount for the governments of Europe to attempt to overcome.  

Conclusively, this essay has demonstrated that the development of a mass urban society was most definitely a threat to the existing social order, morality and the strength of a nation. However, it is evident that eventually this mass urban environment enabled the European nations to control their urban populations in the short term. In the long term however, the mass urban society did come to erode the social order and the strength of nationalism. Despite this, the hysteria associated with morality and the mass urban society has relatively little evidence to base a conclusion upon. Through further research, it would be extremely interesting to search further into the morality aspect of the question as the image of a typical urban environment in this period, from a philosopher’s point of view, would make for a rather interesting enquiry.

Bibliography

Bernheimer, C, Decadent Subjects: The Decline of Decadence in Art, Literature, Philosophy and Culture of the Fin De Siecle in Europe, (Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 2002).

Blackbourn, D, Populiusts and Patricians: Essays in Modern Germany History, (Allen and Unwin, 1987).

Burns, M, ‘Families and fatherlands: the lost provinces and the case of Captain Dreyfus’ from Robert Tombs (ed.), Nationhood and nationalism in France: from Boulangism to the Great War, 1889-1918, (Harper Collins, 1991); pp. 50-62.

Daly, N, Modernism, Romance & the "Fin de Siecle" : Popular Fiction & British Culture, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000).

Munholland, J.K, Origins of Contemporary Europe 1890-1914, (Harcourt Publishers Ltd., 1970).

Parlemo, L, ‘Representing the Colonies at the Paris ‘Exposition Universelle’ of 1889’ from Sue Peabody and Tyler Stovall (eds.), The Color of Liberty: Histories of Race in France, (Durham: Duke University Press, 2003); pp.285-301.

Reitter, P, Anti-Journalist : Karl Kraus and Jewish Self-Fashioning in Fin-de-Siècle Europe, (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 2008).

Tombs, R, To The Sacred Union, 1914: France 1814–1914, (London: Longman, 1996).

Weber, E, Peasants into Frenchmen: the modernization of rural France, 1870-1914, (Chatto and Windus, 1979).

Wohl, R, A Passion for Wings: Aviation and the Western Imagination, 1908-1918, (Yale University Press, 1994).

---