Roman - Age of Empire 5-8

Chapters 5 to 8 of Hobsbawm's book focus on the new social groups that were born out of the progression of society from 1875 to 1914. Chapter 5 discusses the importance of the working class. With the world rapidly industrializing more and more people flocked to cities to work in factories. These souls soon made up the massive, and initially unorganized, labor force. By their sheer numbers they became a political asset, and as Chapter 6 shows they became strong nationalists. With their old way of life obsolete, they turned to nationalism to fill the void. As seen in the Great War of the early 1900's, nationalism can have very violent consequences. Chapter 7 goes on to talk about another emerging social group of the time, the bourgeoisie. These were people in the comfortable middle class who valued education and leisure. Again, their growing numbers made them a political asset and unified the middle class. Finally, Hobsbawn speaks of the importance of women in this time period and how they were beginning to change. The very roots of the feminist movement started between 1875 and 1914 as women across the world to varying but noticeable degrees started to appreciate themselves more as equals. Half of the population of the earth was becoming much more self aware, and the results of this awareness were far reaching especially in the years following the Great War (American women getting the right to vote).

Interesting to me are the stories of nationalism and patriotism. The men of the time were actually eager to go to war because they put their nation before themselves, basically believing that their nation was what gave them worth as a human being. Nowadays, you don't see people this eager to fight for their country. Maybe its because war is starting to be hated more, or maybe its that we take for granted what our countries afford us. I think this is most notable in the United States but existent elsewhere, too. It's strange that our country offers us more opportunities and freedoms today than ever, and yet we are less eager to defend our country than we were at the turn of the 20th century. It's really a testament to how forceful patriotism was in the early 1900's.

As a discussion point, I'd like to mention the role of women. Why do you guys think women finally exploded onto the social and professional seen in this time period? What about the time period made it so ripe for feminist action? Let me know what you think was the most important factor allowing for the rise of feminist ideals.

-Roman