THE AGE OF CAPITAL: 1848-1875

by Eric J. Hobsbawm ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 10, 1976

In this sequel to The Age of Revolution, which dealt with European history from 1789 to 1848, Hobsbawm comments that he has less sympathy with the period that followed, from the defeat of bourgeois insurrections to the 1873 depression. Despite the formation of working-class parties, revolutionary spirit was extinguished. The colossal economic gains made possible by capitalism were accompanied by the cramped, ornate character of bourgois family and civic life; the wars were uninspiring--with the exception of the American Civil War--and the political leaders who ruled on behalf of this confident new class were a rather tatty bunch--again, with exceptions like Lincoln and Bismarck. Hobsbawm, himself influenced by Marx, locates Marxist influence principally among the Russian intelligentsia, rather than the International Workingmen's Association. As for the influence of capitalism itself, which in effect took over the world during this era, Hobsbawm interestingly suggests that this was a matter of quantitative extension involving few fundamental inventions and discoveries: Other scholars will dispute whether, especially in post-1865 continental Europe, the threat of working-class revolution was actually as slight as Hobsbawm concludes; but Hobsbawm has admirably executed his main purpose of drawing vast layers of material into the shape of social institutions, political moods, and economic transformations. The handsome illustrations are largely chosen to point up the pretentiousness of the industrial aristocracy but also convey its genuine grandeur.

Pub Date: March 10, 1976

ISBN: 0679772545

Page Count: -

Publisher: Scribners

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1976

Categories: NONFICTION