Modernism = America

The statement that modernism is Americanismopened the lecture. It is commonly thought that Europe is th eold world.
1849 was a significant year in European historty, Karl Marx had thought this was when the proletiarian revolt would occur finally and the poorer would rise up against the borgouisese. Then in 1849 the Gold rush in California happened. There was amss immigration from Europe to the North Americas. people from Irland, Austria, Hungry and places which were not doing os well economically and suppressed fled in order to start a wealthier life. The Europeans were also activally encouraged ot go as there was a supposed shortage of white people.
New York become something of a mongral city. It was the centre where all the fleeing people headed to. it was considered a city of cosomopolitan and forwards thinking. Due to the sudden influx of forgign people the language become muddled. A New York dialect was created, it is often said that English is a very hard language to use. It is nonsensical and many different forms of grammer.
When William Randolf Hurst was in San Fransico in 1849 there were 150 different languages in use.
The newspapers would fill their pages with stories of how much gold had been found and how easy it was to get to. The first tabloid newspaper was the San Fransico Examiner owned by Hurst. The Examiner was the paper of the gold rush. Tabloids still have much of the same tatctics as before. Sensationalist stories and product placement still happen frequently.
The 1850's Americas was the settlement of the west. Hurst became wealthy by using product placements such as a story about the ease of diggin gup the gold next to an advert for shovels which he also would sell.
Newspapers were used to create the identity of a town. the local press enjoyed creating great hype about even small stories.
Another journalst around at the same time as Hurst was Pulitzer whos paper, when in competition with Hurst's now 2 papers created yellow journalism. Pulitzer was an investigative journalist who examined areas such as the oil industry, the rail network and farming. He advocated paper money and he was not a socialst as Marx was.
Hurst was involved in the so-called newspaper wars. When he moved to New York he entered a newspaper'war' with Pulitzer. Hurst made a copy of Pulitzer's paper and called it the New York Sun. He used simplified headlines, he told his journalists that if they were to make a story longer than 250 words they woul dbe sacked. The civil war that had broken out was the first major event to be photographed and this was when poster style front pages were starting to be used. Cartoons were also starting to become a part of the newspapers regularly. Pulitzer had the most popular cartoon strip but Hurts then brought 'Yellow kid' and over took again as having the most sucsessful paper.
Hurts was an expert on distribution which also helped his circulation numbers greatly. It was not always a ethical way in which he sold papers though. There were rumours of him having thugs to beat up people who did not buy his paper. He was an imperilist, he belived that America should have lots of power. He thought that Cuba, Costa Rico etc. should all become part of the usa.
He drivied the a practical way of approaching tabloid jounalism and reporting: 1- think of a story, 2- stand it up (gain evidence).

The Communist Manifesto

Communism has been given the definition of classless political system the political theory or system in which all property and wealth is owned in a classless society by all its members.
the text opens with the statement that the spectre of communism is haunting all of Europe.it says how communism is already recognised by all European powers to be a power in itself.
The first paragraph exemplifies many historical power struggles. examples of freeman and slave, lord and surf and oppresser and oppressed are given. the thought that the modern bourgeois society has sprouted from the ruins of feudal society has not done away with the class system. this was true in 1848; i believe that still we have many unfair class systems and stereotypes which shape our society into the divisions it is at the moment.

By bourgeoisie it is meant the class of modern capitalists, owners of the means of social production and employers of wage labour. Proletariat is the class of modern wage labourers, who having no means of production of their own, are forced to sell their labour in order to live.

it is said in the text that the modern bourgeoisie is itself a product of a long course of development, a series of revolutions in the modes of production and of exchange. the more efficient the modes of production become the greater amount of product is available to be sold to increase their capital. there is a constant reliance on revolution of products and industry. it is submitted that there is need for international links and connections everywhere for a successful business. i believe this still to be true. the most prolific city people and companies are internationally recognised for their constant push forwards in development.

Marx believed that eventually the lower classes will gain enough power to override the higher and seemingly more powerful. he explains that because the rich constantly exploit the poor they will eventually revolt with riots and unions with great strength.

The main points of the communist form are outlined. it specifies that they have no interests separate and apart from those of the proletariat as a whole. The communists are distingusihed from the other working class parties by this only: 1, in the national struggles of the proletarians of the different countries, they point out and bring to the front the common interests of the entire proletariat, independently of nationality. 2, in the various stages of development which the struggle of the working class against the bourgeoisie had to pass through, they always and everywhere represent the interests of the movement as a whole.

they consider relationships and compare the social reasoning of of home schooling to social schooling, the relationship between husband and wife is looked at in a negative manner. it is said that men of the bourgeoisie see their wives as mealy an instrument of production. this is a cold view which i do sometimes think may be the case with today's business men. they must be cold hearted in order to carry out a successful deal sometimes yet they will generally do it for the good interest if his family.

i think the 10 point program of Communism proposed in the text shows a decent way of looking at the world but i do not think that a truly communist way of ruling a society will be for the best. if all wealth is shared and no one person can become better than the rest then the hunger to do better and better yourself will deteriorate vastly. In addition if there was no one person with a greater power then it may be thought that all would live in peace but if one was to murder for example it would be easy for another to then murder as they see it as they have the same power to do the same action.

therefore i believe that the current system of power and wealth being your own is the best way to run an ever growing and increasing population.