Instrument Of Domination Research Articles

Individual Freedom and State Intervention in East and West German Education

Communist writers have constantly stressed the role of education in the transformation of society. For Marx and Engels, it was through education that the worker could break free of the bondage that made him little more than an extension of the machine he tended. For Lenin, the school had to be transformed 'from an instrument of class dominance of the bourgeoisie . .. into an instrument of the communist restructuring of society' [1]. The processes whereby these precepts have been followed are particularly interesting when contrasted with the evolution of Western democracies. The legislation to engineer the changes considered necessary in Communist countries is generally justified on the grounds that the measures taken are for the collective good and that, initial conflicts notwithstanding, the interests of individuals will in time come to be in harmony with the interests of society as a whole. This process tends to be rejected in Western democracies on the grounds that the changes restrict the autonomy of individuals to an unacceptable degree: freedom from coercion is generally upheld as a fundamental constitutional principle. Now such concepts as the autonomy of the individual, on the one hand, or the 'comprehensive social system' in which collective interests are paramount, on the other, only begin to have meaning when they are analysed in their specific implications. Any organization of society must imply constraints on individual freedom. Education provides a useful context in which to study the communist and non-communist views of where the limits to such freedom should lie. As a specific example, the case of Germany is particularly appropriate, for the comparison is between two States making a fresh beginning after the Second World War, one on the basis of communist principles and one following the mainstream of development of Western democracy. When the aims of education are discussed in East Germany, the DDR, reference is often made to the 'socialist-humanist educational ideal' [2]. At the basis of this ideal is the view that the realization of a communist society is dependent on successful economic development through mastery of the 'scientific and technological revolution'. In accordance with the precept of Lenin, referred to earlier, the schools have been used as an instrument to this end, largely through the introduction of polytechnical education. As is well known, this has involved various elements including work experience designed to bridge the gap between theory and practice, between education and life. And beyond the polytechnical component alone, the curriculum of East

Modernism and History

poems, they persistently explore problem of whether aristocracy is a matter of birth or personal attributes; deciding, inevitably, on latter, they proceed to consider what personal qualities and experiences make a natural gentleman (and born lover), someone possessed of the gentle heart. Throughout Renaissance, issue was to be reopened in poetry, drama, and theoretical dialogues of all sorts, with advice and assistance being proferred from all sides to those attempting to make good without an aristocratic background. To be sure, there also was a blood-will-tell or you-can't-keep-a-trueborn-prince-under-a-bushel tradition, but it merely stated converse, that aristocrats did have true nobility, never that quality was restricted to them. In novel, which was to be bourgeois literary form par excellence, theme remained a central statement. Ironically, though perhaps not surprisingly, same assertions about class and individual that expressed aspirations of a bourgeoisie rising against aristocracy now serve to consolidate and preserve its power against incursions by proletariat. Although only one element in system of bourgeois ideology, these ideas reinforce claim to dominance of ruling class. The notion that certain people, whatever their class origin, have personal qualities necessary to success, and that such success is actually attainable, simultaneously justifies retention of a hierarchy and places blame on individual for failing I6 This grotesquerie occurs in Literary Guild account of K.B. Gilden's Between Hills and Sea (New York, 1971). Even in describing a novel about trade union struggles, it appears that blurb-writers are unable to acknowledge that its protagonists are members of working class. This content downloaded from 157.55.39.183 on Thu, 26 May 2016 05:47:53 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 190 NEW LITERARY HISTORY to rise in it. Once bourgeoisie is in control, even strongest anti-aristocratic statements in bourgeois literature become an instrument of domination and a weapon of reaction in class struggle.17

Developments in nuclear instrumentation

For some years the dominant instrument in nuclear structure physics has been the semiconductor counter of germanium or silicon (Gunnersen 1967, Taverndale 1967), and this is almost entirely due to its excellent energy resolution. Development proceeds; but before discussing it a brief description of the basic article might be in order.

Wire spark chambers

THE WIRE SPARK CHAMBER is emerging as one of the dominant instruments for high‐energy research. Usually a part of a larger system involving other particle detectors and computers, it is relatively inexpensive and can be easily replaced or exchanged in an experiment. The high rate at which it collects data permits the simultaneous study of several different reactions of similar topology. It is also being introduced into other fields where it is necessary to measure the trajectory of a charged particle quickly and accurately.

Mexico's One-Party System: A Re-evaluation

Because Mexican politics since the Revolution of 1910–17 have operated mainly within the framework of a one-party system and because in the past strong men have sometimes occupied the presidency, writers in the United States have tended to treat the system as authoritarian. Emphasis upon presidential rule and the corollary explanation of the role of the Revolutionary Party as nothing more nor less than an instrument of presidential domination have served to create an oversimplified picture of presidential power. It is the purpose of this paper to outline at least four checkpoints on which the authoritarian interpretation seems to have involved miscalculation of the realities of the Mexican political system. The nature of membership in the “official” party, the degree of centralization within and without the party structure, the threefold role of the party within the political system, and the ideological bias of the political elite all seem to indicate the necessity of a re-evaluation of the politics of the republic on our southern border.

Belgium and Germany in Africa

AYEAR ago, at nearly the same date and time, I left the Royal Geographical Society's house laden with docu ents and maps which the secretary of this illustrious Society had lent me, in order to prepare the mission which the Belgian Government had confided to me. I have brought you to-day, in a very brief risumS, the result of my work, in token of gratitude for the service rendered; and my gratitude is increased by the reception accorded me this evening. I am abashed at having to speak to you in a language which is as dear to my heart as it is rebellious to my tongue. My only fear is that it will require as much effort on the part of my listeners to understand as for the speaker to express his ideas. But I consider myself here in a reunion of friends, for is not a Belgian among friends everywhere in England? And this impression, which is my excuse, is also an encouragement to me. On the morning of 25 February 1917, the Aragon east anchor at Dar-es-Salaam. The journey had taken us sixty-six days for a passage which in normal times requires less than a month. The voyage had been marked by several incidents, of which the sinking of one of the ships of our convoy, the Tyndareus, was the most exciting. Leaning against the netting of the boat, I waswatching the gay outline of the coast, with its plains covered with palm-trees, and its ever-green grass, its coral reefs worn by the surf, and its little islands emerging like oases planted in the midst of the waters. But very soon, in spite of the charm of the scenery, which one would like to enjoy in true dilettante fashion, the obsession of the war haunted me afresh. This land which we are approaching, and which, at least from afar, looks so full of charm, this country which is to be my home for many long months, our enemies wanted to make an instrument of domination over the whole continent, adopting always the same tactics, and obeying everywhere the same instincts which, as far back as the Middle Ages, were well known in their war songs: Wir sind des Hammergottes Geschlecht und wollen sein Weltreich erobern.,,