Hobsbawm Chapters 5-8

Chapter 5 of Eric Hobsbawm's book The Age of Empire describes the proletariat class as the workers of the world. They were the class who's numbers were most visible in the age of industrialization. Their class consciousness was also the most threatening to the social, economic, and political systems. As western capitalism grew, so did the amount of people that earned their living by manual labor. Marxism was the doctrine adopted my the majority of the working force as they battled for their rights against the capitalists.

Chapter 6 deals with the subject of nationalism. The rise of nationalism came from the politics of democratization. As an ideology, it saw both an increase and transformation during the period of 1880-1914. It came to embody all movements where the "national cause" was foremost in politics, where the right for self determination existed, and the ability to form and independent state for a nationally defined group was possible.

Chapter 7 focuses on the bourgeoise. The bourgeoise was the middle class which for the most part were comfortable and free from financial difficulties. The lifestyle that it embraced was that of the suburban house and garden, which was developed in the capitalist Great Britain. The line between the bourgeoise and upper and lower class was hazy, as an increasing amount of individuals classified themselves in that group. This made it difficult for them to find a political voice however, because they were not as well defined as the working class or aristocracy.

Chapter 8 is about the emancipation of women. It was a movement confined mostly to the bourgeoise, and produced some very active women. Birth rates dropped due to woman marrying later, working more, and using birth control. They acquired greater freedom and movement in society, both in their individual rights and their relationship with men.

The thing I found most interesting about these 4 chapters was reading about the various class structures, ideologies, and social movements through the eyes of a socialist writer. Someone coming from a socialist perspective will have an obvious bias for the working class. It was interesting to see the working class described through his words, however, because I was able to gain a clear understanding of their marxist philosophy, as well as their feelings on the bourgeoisie and the nationalist movement.

My discussion question would be follow up on what I found interesting. What does class descriptions from a self proclaimed socialist author add or subtract from the book? Is their too strong of a bias? How does his believes affect his descriptions of nationalism and the emancipation of women?