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What ideas, influences, and uses of language are present in radical writing the period 1790 - 1848, and how successful was in reshaping thepolitical context?

The period between 1790 and 1848was framed by revolutions. On one side the French and American Revolutionsmarked the rejection of absolutist rule, whilst on the other side therevolutions of 1848 showed the emergence of new movements such as socialism. Therewas a vibrant radicalism throughout the period, and this essay will focus ontwo works, The Rights of Man by Thomas Paine and Enquiry ConcerningPolitical Justice by William Godwin. These two works and their authorswere typical of radical writers during the period in their ideas, influences,and style. The essay will examine three important ideas present in thewriting, the role of the state, religion, and class. These ideas will beexplored both for their content and the language in which they are expressed,their influences examined, as well as assessing how successful they were inaffecting the political context.

Role of the State

Paine and Godwin's ideas on thestate were influenced both by a tradition of dissent and the French andAmerican Revolutions. The dissenting tradition is emphasised by Thompson, whodraws attention to the millenarian groups who emerged in the aftermath of theEnglish Civil War.These groups, such as the Quakers and the Diggers, opposed the interference ofthe state in their lives, and set up communes away from the rest of society.He also demonstrates the continuity of Paine's critique of the Britishmonarchy. This is seen in Paine's argument that the Norman Conquestrepresented an end to Anglo-Saxon liberty,a theme that had run through British dissent for centuries. Despite thesecontinuities it was the French and American Revolutions that were the mostinfluential events on the radical writers during the period. Paine and Godwinexplored the fractures that both revolutions caused in governments' relationswith their subjects. The tradition of dissent and a revolutionary spirit cametogether to create a vibrant and fierce critique of state power.

Paine and Godwin were united intheir loathing of monarchical and aristocratic government. Godwin said thatreverence to those who were superior in rank or station was contrary to reason.A government could only ever be justified if it pursued the aim of the generalhappiness of its citizens. Paine reinforced this by saying that a governmentcould either originate out of the people, through reason, or over it, throughconquest. Monarchy derived from the latter and was therefore neither just norfollowed reason.Paine's alternative to monarchy was constitutionalism. This would set down therights of the people and the duties of the state, thereby formalising thesocial contract.Despite his opposition to revolution, Godwin explicitly says that a governmentthat was not justified did not have to be obeyed. The radicalism in theirideas of the state was therefore both in rejecting the system that governed inmost of Europe, and legitimising popular opposition to it.

The state was viewed as aninherently bad thing, which should limited as much as possible. The progressof man was seen to lie in the advancement of reason. As man became lessignorant and more accustomed to reason there would be less need for the stateto intervene in the lives of individuals, as they would use reason in all oftheir decisions and actions. This can be seen when Paine said that 'the moreperfect civilization is the less occasion it has for government.However whilst Paine viewed a limited state as a necessary evil, Godwin wentfurther in seeing the advancement of reason as making the state unnecessary.'Immutable reason is the true legislator' Godwin said,and when every man had developed sufficient reason they could, in effect,become their own legislator. These views on the state shaped politics indiffering ways. Godwin's anti-state view was extended by Bakunin to developinto the anarchist school of thought. Socialism challenged the idea of a smallstate, arguing that it could be a positive force in bringing individualstogether in a common good. However the democratic message and refusal to bowto traditional authority continued to be a feature of popular politics, withgroups such as the Chartists continuing the ideas of the radical writers.

Religion

One of the features of radicalwriters in the period was their disdain for organised religion. The chiefinfluences behind these critiques were the Enlightenment thinkers such asLocke, but Godwin and Paine went further in their attacks. Whilst neither manwas an atheist, and Godwin had even been a religious minister for five years,their criticism was centred on the contribution of religion in public life.They argued that government should derive its principles from liberty ratherthan religion, and therefore the Church and state should be separate. Religiondid not contribute to the greater happiness, and therefore its role was seen tobe in the individual rather than public sphere

Reason was seen as the enemy ofreligion; Godwin and Paine assumed that when everybody became aware of reasonedargument then religion would simply be superfluous. Neither writer totallyrejected religion, but O'Flinn shows that they refused to submit to theauthority of the written word in the Bible, regarding it as a piece ofliterature rather than the Word of God.Similarly religious conformity was seen as 'blind submission' by Godwin,for its hindrance to free thinking and rationalism. This belief in the onwardmarch of reason, and with it progress, is typical of radicalism during theperiod. Their writing is optimistic, both Paine and Godwin see humanadvancement as inevitable once barriers to reason and free thinking arelifted. Religion was such a barrier, and once its power was stripped away itwould be the power of reason that would demonstrate its weaknesses.

The radicals' views on religiondid reshape the political context, but not always in the ways that theyexpected or desired. The arguments of Paine and Godwin were taken to theirlogical conclusion by the next generation of radicals. Religion was seen asshielding the working class from the squalor of their situation, a view summedup by Marx's comment that religion was 'the opium of the people'.Hobsbawn commented on the 'secular faith of the new labour movement',and the radical writers of the period contributed to this process. In contrastto this though was a backlash to the reason espoused by Paine and Godwin.Non-Conformist Churches became increasingly popular, with Non-Conformist Churchattendances rising and new Churches erected across the cities. Reason did notmake religion wither away as Godwin so confidently expected, but religion didbecame the focus for the wrath of much of the radical movement.

Class

The ideas of the radicals werethe inspiration for the movements that followed, even though they were notthemselves explicitly class-based. By grounding their theories in the rightsof man they were showing their belief in the equality of mankind. Godwindemonstrated this when he said 'our senses and faculties are of the samedenomination'.Through this reasoning factory workers could see themselves as the equal ofaristocrats. In addition to this was the internationalism in radical writingduring the period, which continues in radical politics to the present day.Whilst Paine was born in England, he was elected onto the National Assembly inFrance and regarded Benjamin Franklin and George Washington as friends. Thisknowledge of life outside Britain radiates throughout his work, and brings toit a sense of solidarity and camaraderie that cut across national boundaries.Neither Paine nor Godwin were socialists but both writers saw the need forsocial welfare. Paine called for the free education for the poor, pensions,and a progressive taxation system.Thompson describes this link between political and economic demands as'phenomenal'.The radicals were therefore sowing the seeds for a mass working class movement.

It was not just their ideas butthe ways in which they presented them that led to the mass appeal of theirwork. Most of the radicals did not come from the elite, for example Paine hadbeen a corset-maker, and their style and audience was a reflection of this.The language that they used was intended for a relatively uneducated audiencerather than the traditional academic and aristocratic readership that readpolitical philosophy. This often horrified the elite; Horace Walpole commentedthat Paine's language was 'so course, that you would think he means to degradethe language as much as he does the government'.Their belief that reason could only be victorious over ignorance if people hadaccess to their ideas also made them excellent publicists. Paine refused totake any royalties for The Rights of Man, allowing it to be copied andsold cheaply. This mean that despite the many official attempts to ban thebook the readership was huge. The effect was that millions of people becameincreasingly politically conscious during the period.

Conclusion

Radical writing during the periodwas characterised by its anti-authoritarian ideas and emphasis on freethinking, which it was assumed would lead to reason. This led to Paine andGodwin's attacks on religion and the state. There was also a linkage between thepolitical and economic in the work of Paine, and more generally a concern forthe welfare of the working man. Added to this was an optimistic view of thefuture, secured by the onward march of reason. Whilst in many ways these ideasfollowed on from previous generations of thinkers, they were given new energyand vibrancy from the American and French Revolutions. Radical writers wereattempting to apply the results of these events to other political systems andsituations. The radical writers helped shape the political situation byallowing their ideas to be read and understood by relatively uneducated people,and therefore increasing the political consciousness of the emerging workingclass. As the consequences of the Industrial Revolution became clear theemerging new radical movements reaped the benefits of this, as well asfurthering many of the ideas that had emerged from their work.

Bibliography

Adams I. and Dyson R., Fifty Major Political Thinkers(Routledge, London, 2003)

Boulton J., The Language of Politics in the Age of Wilkesand Burke (Routledge, London, 1963)

Briggs A. and Clavin P., Modern Europe 1789 - 1989 (Longman,London, 1997)

Godwin W., Enquiry Concerning Political Justice (3vols., University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1946)

Hobsbawn E., The Age of Revolution (Weidenfeld,London, 1962)

Jones C., Radical Sensibility: Literature and Ideas inthe 1790s (Routledge, London , 1993)

Jones P., The 1848 Revolutions (Longman, London, 1991)

O'Flinn P., Beware of Reverence: Writing and Radicalismin the 1790s in Lucas J., Writing and Radicalism (Longman, London,1996)

Paine T., The Rights of Man (Everyman, London, 1994)

Rosen F., Progress and Democracy: William Godwin'sContribution to Political Philosophy (Garland, New York, 1987)

Thompson E., The Making of the English Working Class(Pantheon, New York, 1964)

Websites

http://www3.baylor.edu/~Scott_Moore/texts/ (Accessed 2August 2005)

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