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The Age of Capital, 1848-1875 QUOTES

The Age of Capital, 1848-1875 QUOTES

1 " The bourgeoisie of the third quarter of the nineteenth century was overwhelmingly ‘liberal’, not necessarily in a party sense (though as we have seen Liberal parties were prevalent), as in an ideological sense. They believed in capitalism, in competitive private enterprise, technology, science and reason. They believed in progress, in a certain amount of representative government, a certain amount of civil rights and liberties, so long as these were compatible with the rule of law and with the kind of order which kept the poor in their place. They believed in culture rather than religion, in extreme cases substituting the ritual attendance at opera, theatre or concert for that at church. They believed in the career open to enterprise and talent, and that their own lives proved its merits. "

― Eric J. Hobsbawm , The Age of Capital, 1848-1875

2 " History does not consult the convenience of historians, though some of them are not always aware of it. "

― Eric J. Hobsbawm , The Age of Capital, 1848-1875

3 " There may be a logical or historical reason why mid-Victorian English butchers should have been predominantly Conservative (a link with agriculture?) and grocers overwhelmingly Liberal (a link with overseas trade?), but none has been established, and perhaps what needs explaining is not this, but why these two omnipresent types of shopkeeper refused to share the same opinions, whatever they were. "

― Eric J. Hobsbawm , The Age of Capital, 1848-1875