Cargando…
The Politics of Sociability : Freemasonry and German Civil Society, 1840-1918 /
"The Politics of Sociability is Stefan-Ludwig Hoffmann's exploration of the social and political significance of Freemasonry in German history. Drawing on de Tocqueville's theory that without civic virtue there is no civil society, and that civic virtue unfolds only through the social...
| Autor principal: | |
|---|---|
| Otros Autores: | |
| Formato: | Electrónico eBook |
| Idioma: | Inglés Alemán |
| Publicado: |
Ann Arbor :
The University of Michigan Press,
[2007]
|
| Colección: | Book collections on Project MUSE.
|
| Temas: | |
| Acceso en línea: | Texto completo |
| Sumario: | "The Politics of Sociability is Stefan-Ludwig Hoffmann's exploration of the social and political significance of Freemasonry in German history. Drawing on de Tocqueville's theory that without civic virtue there is no civil society, and that civic virtue unfolds only through the social interaction between citizens, Hoffmann examines the critical link between Freemasonry and the evolution of German civil society in the late nineteenth century. The practice of Masonic sociability reflected an enlightened belief in the political significance of moral virtue for civil society, indeed, for humanity. Freemasons' self-image as civilizing agents, acting in good faith and with the unimpeachable idea of universal brotherhood, was contradicted not only by their heightened sense of exclusivity; Freemasons unintentionally exacerbated nineteenth-century political conflicts-for example, between liberals and Catholics, or Germans and French-by employing a universalist language. Using a wealth of archival sources previously unavailable, Stefan-Ludwig Hoffmann shows how Freemasonry became a social refuge for elevated and liberal-minded bourgeois men who felt attracted to its secret rituals and moral teachings. German Freemasons sought to reform self and society but, Hoffmann argues, ultimately failed to balance modern politics with a cosmopolitan ethos. Hoffmann illuminates a capacious history of the political effects of Enlightenment concepts and practices in a century marked by nationalism, social discord, and religious conflict"--From publisher's description. "The Politics of Sociability is Stefan-Ludwig Hoffmann's exploration of the social and political significance of Freemasonry in German history. Using a wealth of archival sources previously unavailable, Hoffmann shows how Freemasonry became a social refuge for elevated and liberal-minded bourgeois men who felt attracted to its secret rituals and moral teachings. German Freemasons sought to reform self and society but, Hoffmann argues, ultimately failed to balance modern politics with a cosmopolitan ethos."--Jacket. |
|---|---|
| Notas: | Translation of: Politik der Geselligkeit : Freimaurerlogen in der deutschen Bürgergesellschaft 1840-1918. |
| Descripción Física: | 1 online resource (424 pages): illustrations |
| ISBN: | 9780472125807 |