Senior Seminar
...protect people's rights.
· Conservatives the leveling of the masses
· Populism arises in the 1890's disaffected farmers come together as the People's party
· Granger movement and Alliance movement oppose railroads and threatening corporate power want gov't control of railroads, gov't control of warehouses, and want to make it easier for farmers to get loans
· 1891 farmers frustrated form Populist Party
· Dem. William Jennings Bryan tries to co-opt populist party
· Christopher Lasch died in mid 90's argues that Pop. Tradition goes deep into American history it has endured varying strength roots lie in Calvinist theology (especially Puritanism) key ideas from Calvinist:
· Belief in human limits
· Distrust of materialism
· Belief in the power of the work ethic
· Lasch, Tom Paine, Cabbett, Brownson, Ralph Waldo Emerson form of populist radicalism, highly democratic skeptical of capitalist notions of progress high value that comes from working the land accused of being "hayseed socialists" says it's most concerned with virtue of the small producer attacks capitalism not because it produces poverty or want to destroy ownership but b/c they think it destroys PRIVATE property undermines the regime of small producers (small farmers, mom and pop stores) not a form of socialism
· Capitalism squeezes out all but the biggest fish in the pond
· Socialism focuses on poverty on working class Populism more concerned with loss of independence
· Lasch thinks consumerism is a big problem okay if we have enough money to buy cheap products
· John Locke a lot of emphasis placed on work it makes you who you are
· More concerned with comfort than freedom
· "Culture of narcissism" self love to the point of pathology Lasch thinks it's a modern characteristic of Americans
· Lasch "Revolt of the Elites" today...
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