Browning's Political Skepticism: Sordello and the Plays

PMLA ◽  
1973 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 260-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence Poston
Keyword(s):  
Political Action ◽  
Formative Period ◽  
The Political ◽  
Human Relationships ◽  
Human Love ◽  
The Relationship

Where they touch on political themes, Browning's early works—particularly Sordello and the plays—are reflective less of the kind of liberalism he derived from Shelley than of a growing skepticism as to the value of partisan commitments and a distrust of merely “political” solutions. In Strafford, Sordello, Pippa Passes, The Return of the Druses, Luria, and A Soul's Tragedy, Browning explores the relationship between a character or group of characters and a culture in turmoil. Virtually all the characters, in their limitations—whether imposed by blind idealism, indecision, or charlatanism—are unequipped to assume a truly heroic role, and they are frequently poised between two equally unacceptable political alternatives. The rare, truly heroic figures of Browning's poetry are those who transcend the political obsessions of their culture and decisively assert their own best selves. In his distrust of institutional machinery and his emphasis on personal salvation, Browning belongs with Victorians like Dickens and Carlyle; in the major monologues, most of which followed this formative period, he views religion, art, and human love, rather than political action, as the motivating forces in human relationships.

Political Regime and Economic Actors: The Response of Firms to the End of Colonial Rule

1981 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 383-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miles Kahler
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Economic System ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Political Regime ◽  
The Political ◽  
Colonial Rule ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Political Preferences ◽  
Political Perceptions ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between economic system and political regime has recently reemerged as a central issue in social science. An examination of the political perceptions and actions of individual firms and of sectors during the uncertainties of decolonization permits a new approach to this question, using the concept of political exposure. The firm or sector characteristics that are associated with greater political exposure are assessed. Political preferences cannot be equated with either political action or outcomes, however. The links between capitalism and political regime require further refinement and qualification.

Sir Simonds D'Ewes and the levying of ship money, 1635–1640

1994 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. P. Salt
Keyword(s):  
Political Action ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
Political Role ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Relationship

ABSTRACTThis paper investigates the relationship between constitutional ideas and political action during the 1630s by comparing the privately expressed ideas of Sir Simonds D'Ewes regarding ship money with his conduct regarding the levy, especially while he was sheriff of Suffolk in 1639–40. The first section investigates the constitutionalist views expressed in D'Ewes's ‘autobiography’, unpublished during his lifetime, and their relationship to D'Ewes's attitude to the political role of the levy. The second section studies D'Ewes's conduct as sheriff, in which he gave almost no expression to constitutionalist ideas, and suggests that he struck a middle course between neglect and zeal, while finding means to oppose the levy through his connections at court. The third section seeks to establish the reasons for the inconsistencies between D'Ewes's privately expressed ideas and his public conduct, which may have lain in a belief that, in the prevailing political situation, criticism of the levy had, in order to be effective, to be expressed in terms acceptable to potentially sympathetic courtiers; D'Ewes adapted the tone of his comments on ship money to his audience in order to achieve political ends, but had also to act in ways which would make that tone convincing. Participation in the collection of ship money was therefore not inconsistent with opposition to it.

Belief Systems of Colombian Political Party Activists

1979 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 481-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Hoskin
Keyword(s):  
Political Action ◽  
Belief Systems ◽  
Measurement Techniques ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Scientist ◽  
Robert Putnam ◽  
Party Activists ◽  
Cumulative Knowledge ◽  
Complex Phenomena ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between ideas and political action represents a continuing, albeit frustrating, point of contention among political analysts. Referring to the literature on ideology, Robert Putnam reflects this sentiment by noting, “Few concepts in social analysis have inspired such a mass of commentary yet few have stimulated the production of so little cumulative knowledge about society and politics. The lack of cumulation is due, above all, to recurrent confusion of empirical with definitional issues and of both with normative concerns” (Putnam, 1971: 651). The proliferation of definitions, measurement techniques, and frameworks for analyzing the concept should not be surprising because “for the political scientist the term ideology points to a cluster concept, i.e., belongs to the concepts that bracket a variety of complex phenomena about which one tries to generalize” (Sartori, 1969: 398).

Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Andrea F. Bohlman
Keyword(s):  
Political Action ◽  
The Political ◽  
State Socialism ◽  
International Perspectives ◽  
The Us ◽  
Solidarity Movement ◽  
Party Members ◽  
Political Agents ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Insight Into

The introduction defines “political action” and “solidarity” theoretically, as frameworks for organizing and dispersing the relationship between music and protest. It also introduces the Polish opposition to state socialism, giving an overview of the political agents (activists, critics, citizens, priests, bureaucrats, Party members, journalists) who are the main protagonists of this history and who guide the musics and scenes upon which the book focuses. One cabaret anthem, Jan Pietrzak’s “So That Poland Will Be Poland,” serves as an orientation point. The song’s text, key performances in Warsaw, and use by the US Information Agency for propaganda give insight into national and international perspectives on the Solidarity movement and its historiography from the 1980s into the present.

Understanding Integration from Rwanda to Iraq

2004 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 29-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Macrae
Keyword(s):  
Political Action ◽  
Humanitarian Assistance ◽  
The Political ◽  
Refugee Camps ◽  
Armed Groups ◽  
The Past ◽  
Political Determinants ◽  
Humanitarian Crises ◽  
Political Responses ◽  
The Relationship

The past decade has seen profound changes in the relationship between humanitarian and political action. The political determinants of humanitarian crises are now acknowledged, so too is their chronicity, and the limits of relief aid as a form of intervention are thus more fully understood. In 1994, in the refugee camps of Goma, Zaire, there was widespread manipulation of aid resources by armed groups implicated in the genocide in Rwanda. This experience highlighted a wider concern that, rather than doing good, emergency aid can fuel violence. The apparent consensus that humanitarian assistance can somehow stand outside politics gave way to calls for tighter linkage between aid and political responses to crises.

scholarly journals How social democrats may become reluctant radicals: Thomas Piketty's Capital and Wolfgang Streeck's Buying Time

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 118-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Ronzoni
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
Review Article ◽  
The Political ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Social Democrats ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship

The continuing ramifications of the financial crisis of 2007–2008 have forced social scientists to raise fundamental questions about the relationship between capitalism, democracy and inequality. In particular, Thomas Piketty’s Capital and Wolfgang Streeck’s Buying Time focus on, respectively, the economic and the political contradictions of capitalistic societies. Piketty argues that capitalism naturally tends towards the exacerbation of rent-based wealth inequality, whereas Streeck suggests that capitalism and democracy are ultimately incompatible. A striking feature of these two contributions is that their authors are social democrats, not Marxists or radical anti-capitalist thinkers. In this review article, I illustrate how the combination of social democratic convictions and the acknowledgment that capitalism cannot be tamed generates interesting tensions between the diagnosis offered by the two monographs and the solutions that are proposed. I end the piece by raising two remarks on the implications that this tension might have for normative political theory. On the one hand, it is time for theory to do more work on political action and agency. On the other, liberal egalitarian theorists might have to acknowledge that they are in the same predicament as Piketty and Streeck: social democracy is their ideal, yet it is perhaps unattainable. If this is the case, liberal egalitarians might be committed to adopt a more confrontational attitude towards capitalism: they might have to become reluctant radicals.

scholarly journals “I’m with her” or “we’re with her”? Personal versus group leader-based identities and types of political participation

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-79
Author(s):  
Emily B. Carty
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Group Leader ◽  
Personal Identification ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Leader ◽  
Collective Identification ◽  
Partisan Identification ◽  
Original Survey ◽  
The Relationship

In a region where personalistic politics and charismatic leaders have long been a characteristic of the political landscape, there has been little research exploring the relationship between individuals’ identification with leaders and its relationship with political participation. Using original survey data from Argentina in 2016, the findings from this study demonstrate a few key points. Firstly, that identities form around political leaders and that identification plays an important role in political participation. Secondly, while personal identification with a leader is related with atomized and collective participation, the relationship between collective identification that is shared with other supporters of the political leader and both types of participation is even stronger. Additionally, these identification measures are more strongly associated with political action in support of a leader than frequently used variables such as partisan identification and ideology. This suggests that the study of political participation, especially in those contexts with more personalized political systems such as are often found in Latin America, should not ignore the role of personal and especially group leader-based identity.

scholarly journals "Quem" ou "o que" são os animais? Um estudo sobre como os defensores dos animais (re)definem sua natureza

ILUMINURAS ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (42) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Paula Perrota
Keyword(s):  
Animal Rights ◽  
Rio De Janeiro ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Field Work ◽  
The Political ◽  
Study Group ◽  
Research Topics ◽  
Research Interview ◽  
Ontological Turn ◽  
The Relationship

Atualmente observamos no Brasil as ações dos chamados defensores dos direitos dos animais, que lutam para que humanos e animais sejam igualmente considerados sujeitos de direitos. A partir da ação política dos defensores dos animais, podemos problematizar outras formas de expressão de mundo, inserindo essa discussão nos temas de pesquisa da antropologia sobre a relação entre humanos e animais. O objetivo desse artigo é levar a sério os defensores dos animais e refletir sobre como constroem os fundamentos para a emergência desse novo animal, detentor de direitos e não objeto passível das ações humanos. Para a realização dessa discussão, foi utilizada consulta bibliográfica, entrevista, trabalho de campo em congressos realizados por esses agentes, bem como no grupo de estudo levado a frente pelos defensores na Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Foi possível observar que os defensores identificam nos animais competências que são compartilhadas com os humanos. E por meio delas reafirmam outro entendimento ontológico dos animais, que não repousa na separação radical da natureza humana.Palavras chave: Política multiespécie. Virada ontológica. Antropologia. Sociologia da moral."Who" or "what" are the animals? A study on how animal defenders (re)define its natureAbstractCurrently we observed in Brazil the actions of so-called defenders of animal rights, claiming that humans and animals are also considered as subjects of rights. From the political action of animal defenders, we can discuss other forms of expression world, entering the discussion on research topics of Anthropology on the relationship between humans and animals. The aim of this article is to take seriously the animal advocates and reflect on how to build the foundations for the emergence of this new animal, subject of rights and not amoral object. For the purposes of discussion, I used bibliographical research, interview, field work in congresses held by these agents, as well as in the study group directed by advocates at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. It was observed that defenders identify animals competencies that are shared with humans. And reaffirm through them another ontological understanding of animals, which does not rest on the radical separation of human nature.Keywords: Multispecies politics. Ontological turn. Anthropology. Sociology of moral. 

On the political aspects of Agnes Heller’s ethical thinking

Human Affairs ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-71
Author(s):  
Vlastimil Hála
Keyword(s):  
Human Life ◽  
A Priori ◽  
The Political ◽  
Human Relationships ◽  
The Social ◽  
Ethical Thinking ◽  
Political Model ◽  
Equality Of Opportunities ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Ideal

AbstractThe author describes Heller’s concept of ethics as a “quasi-sphere” intersecting with various fields relating to human relationships. Special attention is paid to the axiological aspects of her concept of ethics and the relationship between virtues and responsibility. The author also seeks to show how Heller integrated a traditional philosophical question—the relationship between “is” and “ought to be”—into her concept of “radical philosophy” at an earlier stage in the development of her philosophy. She initially considered the relationship between “is” and “ought to be” to be contrasting. Later, when she had come to accept the political model of liberal capitalist society, the ideal of all-compassing equality became the ideal of “equality of opportunities”. The author interprets this shift as one in which the relationship becomes continual. He is also critical of Heller’s underestimation of the effect the “social a priori” has on the possibilities of human life.

1. Music in the moment

2021 ◽  
pp. 4-28
Author(s):  
Nicholas Cook
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Classical Music ◽  
Social Bonding ◽  
The Political ◽  
Continuous Forming ◽  
Human Relationships ◽  
Protest Songs ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter focuses on music’s existence in real time. On the printed page, music is a series of notes fixed in the same relationships for all time. But as played and heard, music is a world of ‘endless movement, not discrete “forms” but continuous “forming”’—a world of lived experience that expresses human relationships in their most essential, stripped-down form. The chapter discusses the role of improvisation in both jazz and classical music, and the relationship between knowledge and practice as illustrated by historically informed performance (HIP); it also considers music’s ability to bring about social bonding and the political significance it acquires from this, whether in national anthems or protest songs.

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