Randolph Bourne
Encyclopedia
Randolph Silliman Bourne (May 30, 1886 – December 22, 1918) was a progressive
writer and "leftist intellectual" born in Bloomfield, New Jersey
, and a graduate of Columbia University
. Bourne is best known for his essays, especially his unfinished work "The State," discovered after his death.
and The New Republic
.
World War I
divided American progressives, pitting an anti-war faction, including Bourne and Jane Addams
, against a pro-war faction led by the educational theorist John Dewey
. Bourne was a student of Dewey at Columbia
, but he took issue with Dewey's idea of using the war as a tool with which to spread democracy. In his pointedly-titled 1918 essay "Twilight of Idols" he invoked the progressive pragmatism
of Dewey's contemporary William James
to argue that America was using democracy as an end to justify the war, but that democracy itself was never examined. While he had been a follower of Dewey originally, he felt that Dewey had betrayed his democratic ideals by focusing only on the facade of a democratic government rather than on the ideas behind democracy that Dewey had once professed to respect.
Bourne was greatly influenced by Horace Kallen
's 1915 essay "Democracy Versus the Melting-Pot," and argued, like Kallen, that Americanism ought not to be associated with Anglo-Saxonism
. In his 1916 article "Trans-National America," Bourne argued that the US should accommodate immigrant cultures into a "cosmopolitan America," instead of forcing immigrants to assimilate to Anglophilic culture.
Bourne died in the Spanish flu
pandemic after the war. His ideas have been influential in the shaping of postmodern ideas of cosmopolitanism and multiculturalism, and recent intellectuals such as David Hollinger
have written extensively on Bourne's ideology. John Dos Passos
, an influential American modernist writer, eulogized Bourne in the chapter "Randolph Bourne" of his novel 1919
and drew heavily on the ideas presented in War Is The Health of the State in the novel.
Bourne's face was deformed at birth by misused forceps, and, at age four, he suffered tuberculosis of the spine, resulting in stunted growth and a hunched back. He chronicled his experiences in his essay titled, "The Handicapped."
He goes on in this article to say that America offers a unique liberty of opportunity and can still offer traditional isolation, which he felt could lead to a cosmopolitan enterprise. He felt that with this great mix of cultures and people, America would be able to grow into a Trans-National nation, which would have interconnecting cultural fibers with other countries. Bourne felt America would grow more as a country by broadening people's views to include immigrants' ways instead of conforming everyone to the melting-pot ideal. This broadening of people's views would eventually lead to a nation where all who live in it are united, which would inevitably pull the country towards greatness. This article and most of the ideas in it were influenced by the first world war, which was taking place during the time period the article was written.
.
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
writer and "leftist intellectual" born in Bloomfield, New Jersey
Bloomfield, New Jersey
Bloomfield is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 47,315. It surrounds the Bloomfield Green Historic District.-History:...
, and a graduate of Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. Bourne is best known for his essays, especially his unfinished work "The State," discovered after his death.
Life and works
Bourne's articles appeared in journals including The Seven ArtsThe Seven Arts
The Seven Arts was a literary journal which flourished briefly in 1916-1917. It was edited by James Oppenheim, Waldo Frank, and Van Wyck Brooks. The magazine featured new American writing by figures such as Sherwood Anderson, Amy Lowell, Robert Frost, Eugene O'Neill, and John Dos Passos...
and The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
.
World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
divided American progressives, pitting an anti-war faction, including Bourne and Jane Addams
Jane Addams
Jane Addams was a pioneer settlement worker, founder of Hull House in Chicago, public philosopher, sociologist, author, and leader in woman suffrage and world peace...
, against a pro-war faction led by the educational theorist John Dewey
John Dewey
John Dewey was an American philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. Dewey was an important early developer of the philosophy of pragmatism and one of the founders of functional psychology...
. Bourne was a student of Dewey at Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, but he took issue with Dewey's idea of using the war as a tool with which to spread democracy. In his pointedly-titled 1918 essay "Twilight of Idols" he invoked the progressive pragmatism
Pragmatism
Pragmatism is a philosophical tradition centered on the linking of practice and theory. It describes a process where theory is extracted from practice, and applied back to practice to form what is called intelligent practice...
of Dewey's contemporary William James
William James
William James was a pioneering American psychologist and philosopher who was trained as a physician. He wrote influential books on the young science of psychology, educational psychology, psychology of religious experience and mysticism, and on the philosophy of pragmatism...
to argue that America was using democracy as an end to justify the war, but that democracy itself was never examined. While he had been a follower of Dewey originally, he felt that Dewey had betrayed his democratic ideals by focusing only on the facade of a democratic government rather than on the ideas behind democracy that Dewey had once professed to respect.
Bourne was greatly influenced by Horace Kallen
Horace Kallen
-Biography:Born in the then German Bernstadt, Silesia to Jacob David Kallen and Esther Rebecca , an Orthodox rabbi and his wife, Kallen came to the United States as a child in 1887. He studied philosophy at Harvard University where he was a student of George Santayana, earning his B.A. in 1903...
's 1915 essay "Democracy Versus the Melting-Pot," and argued, like Kallen, that Americanism ought not to be associated with Anglo-Saxonism
Anglosphere
Anglosphere is a neologism which refers to those nations with English as the most common language. The term can be used more specifically to refer to those nations which share certain characteristics within their cultures based on a linguistic heritage, through being former British colonies...
. In his 1916 article "Trans-National America," Bourne argued that the US should accommodate immigrant cultures into a "cosmopolitan America," instead of forcing immigrants to assimilate to Anglophilic culture.
Bourne died in the Spanish flu
Spanish flu
The 1918 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus . It was an unusually severe and deadly pandemic that spread across the world. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin...
pandemic after the war. His ideas have been influential in the shaping of postmodern ideas of cosmopolitanism and multiculturalism, and recent intellectuals such as David Hollinger
David Hollinger
David Hollinger is the Preston Hotchkis Professor of History at the University of California, Berkeley. His specialty is in American intellectual history. His source book, The American Intellectual Tradition, is amongst the most widely used textbooks in college undergraduate courses focusing on...
have written extensively on Bourne's ideology. John Dos Passos
John Dos Passos
John Roderigo Dos Passos was an American novelist and artist.-Early life:Born in Chicago, Illinois, Dos Passos was the illegitimate son of John Randolph Dos Passos , a distinguished lawyer of Madeiran Portuguese descent, and Lucy Addison Sprigg Madison of Petersburg, Virginia. The elder Dos Passos...
, an influential American modernist writer, eulogized Bourne in the chapter "Randolph Bourne" of his novel 1919
U.S.A. trilogy
The U.S.A. Trilogy is a major work of American writer John Dos Passos, comprising the novels The 42nd Parallel ; 1919, also known as Nineteen Nineteen ; and The Big Money . The three books were first published together in a single volume titled U.S.A by Harcourt Brace in January, 1938...
and drew heavily on the ideas presented in War Is The Health of the State in the novel.
Bourne's face was deformed at birth by misused forceps, and, at age four, he suffered tuberculosis of the spine, resulting in stunted growth and a hunched back. He chronicled his experiences in his essay titled, "The Handicapped."
"Trans-National America"
In this article, Bourne rejects the melting-pot theory and does not see immigrants assimilating easily to another culture. Bourne's view of nationality was related to the connection between a person and their “spiritual country”. This spiritual country referred to a person's culture rather than where they lived. He argued that people would most often hold tightly to the literature and culture of their native country even if they were living in another. He also felt this held true for the many immigrants that lived in the United States. Therefore, Bourne could not see immigrants from all different parts of the world assimilating to the Anglo-Saxon traditions, which were viewed as American traditions.He goes on in this article to say that America offers a unique liberty of opportunity and can still offer traditional isolation, which he felt could lead to a cosmopolitan enterprise. He felt that with this great mix of cultures and people, America would be able to grow into a Trans-National nation, which would have interconnecting cultural fibers with other countries. Bourne felt America would grow more as a country by broadening people's views to include immigrants' ways instead of conforming everyone to the melting-pot ideal. This broadening of people's views would eventually lead to a nation where all who live in it are united, which would inevitably pull the country towards greatness. This article and most of the ideas in it were influenced by the first world war, which was taking place during the time period the article was written.
Randolph Bourne Institute
The Randolph Bourne Institute seeks to honor his memory by promoting a non-interventionist foreign policy for the United States as the best way of fostering a peaceful, more prosperous world. It publishes the website Antiwar.comAntiwar.com
Antiwar.com is a website devoted to opposing aggressive war, imperialism, and assaults on freedom associated with both. The editors describe their politics as libertarian. Their stated motiviation is, "to show how the imperialistic tendencies of the American government lead to a loss of civil...
.
Writing Online
- The State (1918)
- "War is the Health of the State" (1918), excerpted from The State
- "Law and Order", from Masses (March 1912)
- "The Price of Radicalism", from The New Republic (March 11, 1916). 161.
- Trans-National America, from Atlantic Monthly, 118 (July 1916), 86-97
- "What is Exploitation?" from The New Republic (November 4, 1916). 12–14.
- "The War and the Intellectuals", from Seven Arts II (June 1917), 133-146.
- "A War Diary", from Seven Arts II (September 1917), 535-547.
- "H. L. Mencken", from The New Republic (November 24, 1917). 102–103.
- "Columbia Students Pity Workers", from the New York Times (February 26, 1913). Article at bottom of PDF.
External links
- Bourne's obituary, from The New Republic (1919-01-04), by Floyd DellFloyd DellFloyd Dell was an American author and critic.-Biography:Floyd Dell was born in Barry, Illinois on June 28, 1887....
- Randolph Bourne 1886-1918 includes links to writings by and about Bourne
- Randolph Bourne Page from the Anarchist Encyclopedia
- "Bourne Yet Again: Errors of Geneaology," by Christopher Phelps
- "The Brilliance of Randolph Bourne" by Jeff Riggenbach