Martin Wiener
Encyclopedia
Martin Joel Wiener is an American
academic and author
. He is currently the chair of the history department at Rice University
.
elite for its indifference to and wariness of industrialism and commercialism
. Although the commercial
and industrial
revolutions originated in England
, Wiener blamed a persistent strain in British culture
, characterised by wariness of capitalist expansion and yearning for an arcadian rural society, which had prevented England – and Britain as a whole – from fully exploiting the benefits of what it had created. He was particularly scathing about the self-made industrial capitalist
s of the 19th century who, from the middle of that century onwards, increasingly sent their children to public schools where "the sons of businessmen were looked down upon and science was barely taught".
Similar views had already been heard from the likes of Eric Hobsbawm
(Marxist) and Correlli Barnett
. The book inspired the New Right
of the Thatcher
government to move further away from the Old Right; specifically, for its first two years the Thatcher administration had held the view that Britain's industrial, economic and commercial decline was down purely to militant trade union
ists and to the fact that Britain effectively bankrupted itself winning the Second World War
. From 1981 onwards the faction in the party led by Keith Joseph
came more and more to believe that a wariness of capitalist and economic expansionist values held by the old guard of the party had done just as much damage, if not more.
Joseph gave a copy of Wiener's book to every cabinet minister. Quite apart from its importance in the development of the Thatcher government, Wiener's influence has been at least partially credited with (or blamed for) the general increased dominance of commercial and market values in Britain from the 1980s onwards, the way certain ancient Establishment institutions have become deeply concerned with "rebranding" and "modernising" themselves (for example the removal of ancient rituals and the increased emphasis on "young enterprise" in many public schools, or the British Royal Family
's "Party at the Palace" in 2002).
Among writers and movements of the British Right, there are those who accept Wiener's thesis and those who do not agree with it. Those who share Wiener's slant most prominently include Andrew Neil
(editor of The Sunday Times
in the 1980s and early 1990s), the American-based but British-raised Andrew Sullivan
, the Canadian
-born but U.S.-based Mark Steyn
, the Times
columnist and Tory MP Michael Gove
, and most writers associated with The Economist
(especially its Washington
correspondent Adrian Wooldridge
, who in 2004 likened the sort of British conservatives Wiener attacked to the leftist film-maker and polemicist Michael Moore
, saying that old-school Tories dislike George W. Bush
because he "represents an America where people believe in business, rather than dismissing it as a rather grubby pastime"). Among newspapers, The Sunday Times has been the most fervently Wienerite, very largely due to Andrew Neil's pervasive influence. Among Right-wing fringe groups, the Democracy Movement
and other groups of Tory modernisers share most of Wiener's ideas on capitalist expansion and much of his contempt for the old guard in the party.
Leading anti-Wienerites of the mainstream Right have included Peregrine Worsthorne
(former editor of the Sunday Telegraph
), the late Auberon Waugh
, Max Hastings
(former editor of The Daily Telegraph
and Evening Standard
) and Stuart Reid
(assistant editor of The Spectator
). Practically the entire British National Party
and the wider far-Right movement, who are strongly economically protectionist
, could also be described as anti-Wienerites (along with much else). The Conservative Democratic Alliance
, a fringe group of the Old Right, is often passionately and unashamedly anti-Wienerite. Some prominent Right-wing thinkers, notably Digby Anderson
, stand on the borderline.
English Culture has been attacked as selective in its use of evidence and partial in its conclusions; the historians David Edgerton and W. D. Rubinstein have been leading critics of the Wiener thesis. In Edgerton's case, Wiener is simply wrong; the British state and society more generally was remarkably consistent in its technocratic aims and objectives, and in the case of Rubinstein, Wiener is prone to "industrial fetishism", ignoring the true nature of the British economy during the period in which he writes, which is that of a consistently growing service-based economy. A standard criticism of the impressionistic nature of Wiener's work is that it relies heavily on quotations from literary sources and is barren of any quantitative analysis.
In 2004 a revised edition was published of English Culture and the Decline of the Industrial Spirit: 1850–1980, reflecting on the original debate surrounding the book and accounting related events of the last 20 years.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
academic and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. He is currently the chair of the history department at Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
.
English Culture and the Decline of the Industrial Spirit: The Wiener Debate
His main claim to fame lies with his 1981 book English Culture and the Decline of the Industrial Spirit: 1850–1980, which was a concerted attack on the BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
elite for its indifference to and wariness of industrialism and commercialism
Commercialism
Commercialism, in its original meaning, is the practices, methods, aims, and spirit of commerce or business. Today, however, it primarily refers to the tendency within open-market capitalism to turn everything into objects, images, and services sold for the purpose of generating profit...
. Although the commercial
Commercial Revolution
The Commercial Revolution was a period of European economic expansion, colonialism, and mercantilism which lasted from approximately the 16th century until the early 18th century. It was succeeded in the mid-18th century by the Industrial Revolution. Beginning with the Crusades, Europeans...
and industrial
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
revolutions originated in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Wiener blamed a persistent strain in British culture
Culture of the United Kingdom
The culture of the United Kingdom refers to the patterns of human activity and symbolism associated with the United Kingdom and its people. It is informed by the UK's history as a developed island country, major power, and its composition of four countries—England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and...
, characterised by wariness of capitalist expansion and yearning for an arcadian rural society, which had prevented England – and Britain as a whole – from fully exploiting the benefits of what it had created. He was particularly scathing about the self-made industrial capitalist
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
s of the 19th century who, from the middle of that century onwards, increasingly sent their children to public schools where "the sons of businessmen were looked down upon and science was barely taught".
Similar views had already been heard from the likes of Eric Hobsbawm
Eric Hobsbawm
Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm , CH, FBA, is a British Marxist historian, public intellectual, and author...
(Marxist) and Correlli Barnett
Correlli Barnett
Correlli Douglas Barnett CBE FRSL is an English military historian, who has also written works of economic history, particularly on the United Kingdom's post-war "industrial decline".-Personal life:...
. The book inspired the New Right
New Right
New Right is used in several countries as a descriptive term for various policies or groups that are right-wing. It has also been used to describe the emergence of Eastern European parties after the collapse of communism.-Australia:...
of the Thatcher
Thatcherism
Thatcherism describes the conviction politics, economic and social policy, and political style of the British Conservative politician Margaret Thatcher, who was leader of her party from 1975 to 1990...
government to move further away from the Old Right; specifically, for its first two years the Thatcher administration had held the view that Britain's industrial, economic and commercial decline was down purely to militant trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
ists and to the fact that Britain effectively bankrupted itself winning the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. From 1981 onwards the faction in the party led by Keith Joseph
Keith Joseph
Keith St John Joseph, Baron Joseph, Bt, CH, PC , was a British barrister and politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served in the Cabinet under three Prime Ministers , and is widely regarded to have been the "power behind the throne" in the creation of what came to be known as...
came more and more to believe that a wariness of capitalist and economic expansionist values held by the old guard of the party had done just as much damage, if not more.
Joseph gave a copy of Wiener's book to every cabinet minister. Quite apart from its importance in the development of the Thatcher government, Wiener's influence has been at least partially credited with (or blamed for) the general increased dominance of commercial and market values in Britain from the 1980s onwards, the way certain ancient Establishment institutions have become deeply concerned with "rebranding" and "modernising" themselves (for example the removal of ancient rituals and the increased emphasis on "young enterprise" in many public schools, or the British Royal Family
British Royal Family
The British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
's "Party at the Palace" in 2002).
Among writers and movements of the British Right, there are those who accept Wiener's thesis and those who do not agree with it. Those who share Wiener's slant most prominently include Andrew Neil
Andrew Neil
Andrew Ferguson Neil is a Scottish journalist and broadcaster.He currently works for the BBC, presenting the live political programmes The Daily Politics and This Week...
(editor of The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
in the 1980s and early 1990s), the American-based but British-raised Andrew Sullivan
Andrew Sullivan
Andrew Michael Sullivan is an English author, editor, political commentator and blogger. He describes himself as a political conservative. He has focused on American political life....
, the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-born but U.S.-based Mark Steyn
Mark Steyn
Mark Steyn is a Canadian-born writer, conservative-leaning political commentator, and cultural critic. He has written five books, including America Alone: The End of the World As We Know It, a New York Times bestseller...
, the Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
columnist and Tory MP Michael Gove
Michael Gove
Michael Andrew Gove, MP is a British politician, who currently serves as the Secretary of State for Education and as the Conservative Party Member of Parliament for the Surrey Heath constituency. He is also a published author and former journalist.Born in Edinburgh, Gove was raised in Aberdeen...
, and most writers associated with The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
(especially its Washington
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
correspondent Adrian Wooldridge
Adrian Wooldridge
Adrian Wooldridge is the Management Editor and 'Schumpeter' columnist for The Economist magazine. Until July 2009 he was The Economist's Washington Bureau Chief and 'Lexington' columnist....
, who in 2004 likened the sort of British conservatives Wiener attacked to the leftist film-maker and polemicist Michael Moore
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore is an American filmmaker, author, social critic and activist. He is the director and producer of Fahrenheit 9/11, which is the highest-grossing documentary of all time. His films Bowling for Columbine and Sicko also place in the top ten highest-grossing documentaries...
, saying that old-school Tories dislike George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
because he "represents an America where people believe in business, rather than dismissing it as a rather grubby pastime"). Among newspapers, The Sunday Times has been the most fervently Wienerite, very largely due to Andrew Neil's pervasive influence. Among Right-wing fringe groups, the Democracy Movement
Democracy Movement
The Democracy Movement is a crossparty Eurosceptic pressure group in the UK with around 150 local branches.-History:The Democracy Movement was founded by Lady Annabel Goldsmith in January 1999. She became its President and her son, businessman Robin Birley, served as the organisation's chairman...
and other groups of Tory modernisers share most of Wiener's ideas on capitalist expansion and much of his contempt for the old guard in the party.
Leading anti-Wienerites of the mainstream Right have included Peregrine Worsthorne
Peregrine Worsthorne
Sir Peregrine Gerard Worsthorne is a British journalist, writer and broadcaster. He was educated at Stowe School, Peterhouse, Cambridge and Magdalen College, Oxford. Worsthorne spent the largest part of his career at the Telegraph newspaper titles, eventually becoming editor of The Sunday Telegraph...
(former editor of the Sunday Telegraph
Sunday Telegraph
The Sunday Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961. It is the sister paper of The Daily Telegraph, but is run separately with a different editorial staff, although there is some cross-usage of stories...
), the late Auberon Waugh
Auberon Waugh
Auberon Alexander Waugh was a British author and journalist, son of the novelist Evelyn Waugh. He was known to his family and friends as Bron Waugh.-Life and career:...
, Max Hastings
Max Hastings
Sir Max Hugh Macdonald Hastings, FRSL is a British journalist, editor, historian and author. He is the son of Macdonald Hastings, the noted British journalist and war correspondent and Anne Scott-James, sometime editor of Harper's Bazaar.-Life and career:Hastings was educated at Charterhouse...
(former editor of The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
and Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
) and Stuart Reid
Stuart Reid
Stuart James Reid is a former rugby union footballer who plays in the back row. He won 8 caps for Scotland between 1999 and 2004 and played for Edinburgh and Narbonne.-Notes:...
(assistant editor of The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
). Practically the entire British National Party
British National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
and the wider far-Right movement, who are strongly economically protectionist
Protectionism
Protectionism is the economic policy of restraining trade between states through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, restrictive quotas, and a variety of other government regulations designed to allow "fair competition" between imports and goods and services produced domestically.This...
, could also be described as anti-Wienerites (along with much else). The Conservative Democratic Alliance
Conservative Democratic Alliance
The Conservative Democratic Alliance was a United Kingdom pressure group. The CDA referred to itself as the "authentic voice of conservatism"...
, a fringe group of the Old Right, is often passionately and unashamedly anti-Wienerite. Some prominent Right-wing thinkers, notably Digby Anderson
Digby Anderson
Dr. Digby C. Anderson is the founder and former Director of the Social Affairs Unit, a public policy organization/economic think-tank created in 1980...
, stand on the borderline.
English Culture has been attacked as selective in its use of evidence and partial in its conclusions; the historians David Edgerton and W. D. Rubinstein have been leading critics of the Wiener thesis. In Edgerton's case, Wiener is simply wrong; the British state and society more generally was remarkably consistent in its technocratic aims and objectives, and in the case of Rubinstein, Wiener is prone to "industrial fetishism", ignoring the true nature of the British economy during the period in which he writes, which is that of a consistently growing service-based economy. A standard criticism of the impressionistic nature of Wiener's work is that it relies heavily on quotations from literary sources and is barren of any quantitative analysis.
In 2004 a revised edition was published of English Culture and the Decline of the Industrial Spirit: 1850–1980, reflecting on the original debate surrounding the book and accounting related events of the last 20 years.
Selected bibliography
- Between two worlds : The political thought of Graham WallasGraham WallasGraham Wallas was an English socialist, social psychologist, educationalist, a leader of the Fabian Society and a co-founder of the London School of Economics....
, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1971. - English culture and the decline of the industrial spirit 1850-1980. Cambridge: Cambridge U.P., 1981.
- English culture and the decline of the industrial spirit 1850-1980. Paperback edition. Harmondsworth: Penguin books, 1985.
- English culture and the decline of the industrial spirit 1850-1980. New edition. Cambridge: Cambridge U.P., 2004.
- Reconstructing the criminal : culture, law and policy in England, 1830-1914. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
- Men of blood : violence, manliness and criminal justice in Victorian England, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
- An empire on trial: race, murder and justice under British rule 1870-1835, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
- Edgerton, D. (2006) Warfare State: Britain, 1920 - 1970. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Edgerton, D. (1991) England and the Aeroplane - An Essay on a Militant and Technological Nation.