Local Bourgeoisie Research Articles

Struggle of legalists to equalize the rights of Jews with other subjects of the Russian Empire at the end of the XIX – beginning of the XX century

In the Russian Empire, the problem of the «Jewish question» existed for a long time. The prevailing theory was about the «badness» of the Jewish people, their deceit, maliciousness and other negative qualities. Since 1880, anti-Semitism has gradually increased. At first it was fueled by the bureaucracy, then it was joined by the local bourgeoisie, and then by its minions, the marginal strata of the cities. Accordingly, after the liberal policies of Alexander II, an attack on the rights of Jews began. Updated anti-Semitic legislation was adopted, and old ones were updated. Hundreds of petty restrictions bound the Jews and hindered their development. Jews began to have a keen sense of their national identity, emigrated, joined socialist parties, corrupted officials, etc. The liberal public was dissatisfied with this government policy. In the public press, in meetings of government bodies, and in correspondence, conservative liberals energetically argued the absurdity of anti-Semitism, the injustice of claims against Jews, and demanded the liberation of the Jews. Accordingly, the subject of our research is the activities of liberal jurists (legalists) of the Russian Empire for the emancipation of Jews. We chose a problem-chronological approach as the main method. By highlighting the «Jewish problem», we trace the chronology of fluctuations in state policy on the Jewish issue and highlight the forms of struggle of legalists for the rights of Jews. This is the first time such a reconstruction has been carried out regarding the legalist movement and contributes to historical knowledge. A number of conclusions can be tentatively formulated. Through the press, liberals created a negative image of anti-Semitic policies. Sitting in meetings and commissions, they prevented the expansion of negative legislation. In the Senate, legalists defended the rights of Jews.

Burle Marx and his collaborations: micro-histories of modern dreams in design and of Brazilian micro-landscapes in small Uruguay

This paper is a preliminary inquiry into the work of Burle Marx in Uruguay between the decades of 1950 and 1980. In this period, he had some piecemeal collaborations with two pioneers of modern design in Uruguay: Luis García Pardo and Walter Pintos Risso. They attempted to materialize pragmatically the idea of Gesamtkunstwerk, i.e. of total artwork, produced for a local bourgeoisie. This was expressed through architecture, gardens, built-in works of art, such as sculptures and murals, designer furniture and advertising graphic design for their own products.
 
 As research methodology, primary sources were revised, such as document resource centers, which are still not public, press of the day and advertising brochures; the works under study were visited and interviews were conducted with people associated with the work of Burle Marx and the above-mentioned Uruguayan architects.

Entrepreneurship of Bukharan Jews during Economic Modernization of Central Asia in the Early XX Century: Yusuf Davydov Trading House

In the early XX century, Turkestan represented a remarkable model of economic modernization. Russian commercial banks and the local bourgeoisie welcomed the economic integration of the Central Asian periphery into the Russian Empire. Bukharan Jews had found their economic niche by the 1860s: they traded in cotton and acted as intermediaries between Turkestan cotton producers and Russian textile workers. However, the segregationist policy in the regional industry prohibited them to establish trading houses and, therefore, restricted their ability to obtain bank loans. Eventually, the liberal economic policy initiated by Prime Minister Sergei Yu. Witte facilitated the reorganization of Bukharan-Jewish enterprises. The patriarchal family businesses turned into modern trading and industrial companies, e.g., the Davydov Trading House, the Vadyaev Brothers, etc. The National Bank and the Russian Commercial Bank opened their outlets in the most important commercial and industrial centers of Turkestan, which was another important step towards economic modernization. This article focuses on the role of Russian commercial banks in the activities of Bukharan-Jewish business circles during the modernization of the Central Asian periphery of the Russian Empire in the early XX century. The Davydov Trading House was reorganized in 1906 and became a leader in the cotton trading market. It used the loans from Russian banks to build cotton ginning factories, breweries, and an internal network of seed-cotton suppliers. Unlike the Vadyaev Brothers, the Davidov family failed to create a stable family business model: in the summer of 1914, the Trading House and all its property were controlled by a committee board established by the major creditors from among the Russian commercial banks. In spite of the Great War, the board managed to save the Davydov Trading House from bankruptcy and modernized its operations.

Ivanovo-Voznesensk War Industry Committee in 1915–1917: Problems and Achievements

The article examines the activities of the Ivanovo-Voznesensk military-industrial committee in 1915– 1917. Close attention to the object of study is determined by the fact that Ivanovo-Voznesensk was the center of the largest textile region in Russia, and the local military-industrial committee united enterprises with a total number of more than 30 thousand workers. On the basis of the analysis of the archival documents of the committee, the author comes to the conclusion that the sole direction of its activity was the supply of the army with military equipment: the production of grenade and shell cases, and the production of asphyxiant gas. For this, special enterprises (shell and phosgene plants) were founded, generously financed by the members of the Committee. They regularly carried out deliveries for the military department. On the other hand, the local textile enterprises, which fulfilled large defense orders for the supply of fabrics, found themselves outside the sphere of influence of the military-industrial committee. All factories received orders and reported on them independently. Based on this, the thesis is confirmed that the military-industrial committees were not monopolists in the distribution of military orders. Even the attempts of local manufacturers, with the help of the military-industrial committee, to ensure the allocation of additional labor, raw materials, fuel and equipment were not very successful. As a result, no more than 40 % of the capacities of the Ivanovo-Voznesensk textile industry were mobilized for “defense production”. In addition, there is absolutely no trace of the role of the local military-industrial committee in the political organization of the bourgeoisie in Ivanovo-Voznesensk. This can be attributed to the fact that, on the one hand, the committee solved mainly economic problems, and, on the other hand — that the local bourgeoisie had other economic and political organizations that had operated long before the committee was created.

Morals of Precarity: Artistic Trajectories under the Orbán Regime of Hungary

This article analyses the career path of young cultural producers in Hungary. We show how they navigate in the everyday life of the Orban regime. We define the social and political formation emerging after 2010 as a form of semi-peripheral hegemony that supports certain factors of international capital and strengthens its allied local bourgeoisie. We investigate culture not merely as an ideological underpinning of this regime but also as a commodity that is integrated into its new economic mechanisms. By utilizing primary and secondary quantitative data as well as qualitative methods of interview and policy-analysis, we focus on how the hegemonic process of the Orban regime mingles incorporation and exclusion. We outline Janus-faced cultural politics and a policy that rules the heteronomous pole of cultural production by an “economic rationality”, while more direct forms of “ideological control” are employed on the autonomous pole. By showing how the previous decade was characterized by a precarization of cultural work, we argue that current artistic careers are highly reliant either on incomes from the creative industry or on the sphere of social reproduction. As we conclude, this vulnerability can open a path for a certain authoritarian deepening under the COVID-19 crisis.

Why have Anti-Offshore Tin Mining Movements Failed in Bangka but Succeeded in East Belitung? Political Opportunity Structures and Political Settlement in the Context of Indonesia's Democratic Future

Civil society movements have occupied an important position in Indonesia's democratisation. This article seeks to determine why anti-offshore tin mining movements in the post-authoritarian era failed in Bangka but succeeded in East Belitung, an area where tin mining has historically been important. By analysing the political opportunity structures and political settlement mechanisms involved, this article argues, first, that the movement's success in East Belitung can be attributed to open political access, fragmentation within elite circles, and alliances with influential elites; such political opportunities were not available in Bangka. Second, in Bangka, the local bourgeoisie and brokers used clientelistic approaches in their political settlement and prevented resistance by co-opting local communities within the extraction chain. In East Belitung, meanwhile, such efforts were stymied by the lack of local bourgeoisie, the strength of environmental awareness, and the availability of alternative economic resources. It may thus be concluded that, while a clientelistic approach to settlement may prevent conflict, it also limits the political participation of civil society movements—an important element of democracy.

Private surgery clinics in an open medical market: Barcelona, 1880s-1936

The main purpose of this article is to examine how a new medical technology – the operating room- resulted in the establishment of a model of private clinics in late 19th – century Barcelona. This research explains that this kind of private medical care happened in an open medical market and successfully met a growing demand. Since its origins in the 1880s, private surgery clinics rose to more than 50 in just half-a-century. Here, several business strategies put at work by those surgeons-entrepreneurs are considered, especially those related to publicity and the search of patients/customers. Several aspects played a paramount role in that success: medical technology, domestic comfort, and surgical efficacy. In a context where medical care delivered at hospital was provided by the city-state or the local bourgeoisie as a part of the medieval model of charity, a potential customer for the private surgery clinics was formed by the urban, popular and working classes through the model of mutual aid societies and health insurance companies. Moreover, private clinics also showed how the process of medical specialization was configured and what kind of relationships surgeons-entrepreneurs established with general practitioners to attract their patients. Here, medical directories and medical journals reveal as a useful source of information.

Agua, poder e industrialización en una ciudad del Mediterráneo: Las "Fábricas de Luz" y la primera electrificación (Elche, 1889-1910)

The driving force that drives the manufacturing and industrial development of Elche since 1890 is water. The appropriation and management of this scarce asset, characteristic of Mediterranean ecological systems, is the foundation of a new economic sector, that of "light factories". This business opportunity will attract a new local bourgeoisie that leads the transformation of the city, first by spreading electric lighting throughout the municipality, second, facilitating the machining of the industry, and third, enabling the lighting of homes, so that social change supposes the transformation of life and work.

Catalonia and Regional Self-Government in the First Quarter of the 20th Century

The Mancomunitat represents the first experience of self-government in Catalonia in the 20th century. This idea began to form among Catalan intellectuals in the second half of the 19th century, when the interests of the local bourgeoisie and the cultural elite of the region unexpectedly coincided in connection with the need to defend their interests before the central authorities. The Mancomunitat emerged at a time when the political system of the restoration was in crisis as the main monarchist parties were ousted from the political life of the region by Catalanists and Republicans. In these conditions, the Spanish government preferred to satisfy the demands of the nationalists, since they were a more conservative force and did not pretend to change the political system of Spain. As a result, the Catalan provinces were able to create the Mancomunitat, which allowed them to coordinate efforts to deal with administrative issues.

643. Diferencias territoriales, sostenibilidad y comunes inmateriales en las costas australes chilenas

Analizamos cómo la gestión de los recursos inmateriales comunes afecta el desarrollo sostenible de las zonas costeras. A partir de una investigación etnográfica, nos concentramos en el estudio de dos producciones marinas, el erizo y el chorito, en cuatro localidades representativas del espacio pesquero-artesanal del sur de Chile. Observamos dos pautas a través de las cuales las élites globales y/o locales cooptan el valor simbólico generado por las comunidades locales con un resultado común: la sobreexplotación de los recursos naturales, la degradación ambiental, el deterioro de las condiciones socioeconómicas de la población y un desempoderamiento de las comunidades en beneficio de las élites. Cuestionamos la retórica neoliberal sobre las ventajas competitivas de las diferencias territoriales en el marco de la globalización y concluimos que estos territorios sufren la depredación de sus recursos comunes (materiales e inmateriales) como resultado de las estrategias rentistas de las élites (burguesías locales y empresas transnacionales).

CASTALLA (ALICANTE, SPAIN) VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE: USE, LOSS, OBLIVION AND MEMORY

Abstract. Vernacular architecture is a reflection of the relationship established by human social structures with their environment and how they take advantage of it for different commercial, economic, productive, pleasure and symbolic-religious purposes. The municipality of Castalla, located in the north of the province of Alicante, is a good example. It is an enclave in which the land use took place from Prehistory thanks to the human communities that mould its landscape. This process was intensified since the eighteenth century with building of pleasure houses, yards, plaster kilns, country houses (in many cases with small chapels) and snow wells, among other constructions. All of them made up a well-preserved landscape until the end of the twentieth century. Its decline took place with the industrialisation of Castalla in the middle of the twentieth century and the emergence of new socio-economic conditions. Consequently, this fact caused the abandonment as well as the oblivion of the material and immaterial characteristics that led to its appearance. This paper will analyse the characteristics of one of these constructions: Casa de la Glorieta (nineteenth century), which is an interesting example of rural buildings in Castalla. In most cases, they are austere country houses aimed basically at the land use. Nevertheless, Casa de la Glorieta (neoclassical style) becomes an ensemble with a double function along with Mas de la Parrotja: to take advantage of the environment and to serve as a pleasure house for the local bourgeoisie.

The Role of Traditional Elders in the Establishment of the law and order in FATA, PAKISTAN

This study was carried out in Khyber Agency (FATA), with the main objective to determine the tribal thoughts towards the role of traditional elders in the establishment of law and order. The data was collected from randomly selected 380 sampled respondents, which includes people from commerce/trade community, students, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and representatives from political administration was randomly drawn. To see the association between independent and dependent variables chi square statistics was used. The study reveals that the local people were not happy with the Malaks’ role (traditional local leaders) for the reason of their personal interests which sustained their subjugation. It further indicates that the Malaks’ role was weakened by the stronger influence of insurgents and even their tax collection act in view of the prevalent poor law and order situation. However, the Malaks’ role was double-edged as they got benefits from the political administration on the one hand and looked for the insurgents’ help in different issues on the other. Tribal elders remained silent over misdeed in the area. The local Malaks are enjoying like bourgeoisie class as political administration and masses are bound to go in accordance with their directions. They are not facing any kind of accountability for the financial benefits awarded by the political administration. The locals were found with oppressed feelings caused by the suppressive role of Malaks. Frontier crime Regulation (FCR) which is a tribal law has enshrined power to the local Malaks and political administration. The state law, which is not in vogue in the entire tribal belt, was observed as the only mechanism to bring normalcy by narrowing the spectrum of the Malaks’ role and political administration. The local bourgeoisie (Malakān), operating around with all might’s being enjoyed and exercised on their parts through a strong endorsement from the administration needs not to be overlooked. Their role must be defined under the provision of state law enshrined through constitutional cover. This would make them accountable and sense of accountability always brings honesty, dedication and loyalty. Moreover, oppressed feeling surfaced during the study from the local masses regarding the role of these Malak would also brought under the umbrella of check and balance and thus a democratic norms would prevail in aftermath.

Conflicts in and around Space: Reflections on ‘Mosque Conflicts’

Abstract The 21st century has seen increasing attacks directed at Muslim places of worship, a social problem that has resulted in a whole array of investigations. This article suggests that the majority of this research on mosque conflicts fails to address the entrenched class dynamics and shifting geography of capitalist accumulation. Consequently, it complements this research by analysing the first mediatised conflict of its kind in Spain, the protest against the construction of a purpose-built mosque in Catalonia, Premià de Mar. The case demonstrates that the opposition was in fact a racist attack against Muslims answering to the economic interests of the local bourgeoisie. The ones acting it out, a section of the local working class, was convinced that this symbol of migrant presence would be a degrading feature that would jeopardise their recent social upward mobility. Hence it is fundamentally an expression of how racist logic is embedded in the spatial logic of capitalism in the 21st century.

The Second Scramble for Africa: A Cause for Afro-Pessimism

This paper argued that although the second scramble for Africa could be located within the broader neo-imperialist global strategy, nevertheless, it is quite different from the classic race for Africa in the 19th century, in terms of its approach, mechanism, timing and new participants. It is also new in some ways. Firstly, it has enlisted the rampageous United States of America, Russia and the ravenous new Asian entrants such as China and India, plus the Oil-rich Sheikdoms, while retaining a number of the European imperial powers in the affray. Secondly, it has created a local bourgeoisie that sees itself as the overseer of foreign interests on the continent. Thirdly, the ideology of the new scramble is based on quick-loot-fast-plunder and is derived from modern globalization imperatives. This study which adopted as its approach, a combination of descriptive, analytical, evaluative as well as historical perspectives insists that unless the second scramble is checked, it would consolidate Africa’s relegation to marginality, cultural irrelevance, and eventual recolonization. Through the test of series of hypotheses, the work exposed the major forces at work as it answered some basic questions of the research. It concludes that Africa needs a super power to provide it with a nuclear umbrella, and draw a marshal plan – the type America did for the war devastated Europe at the end of the Second World War, to assert itself.

La cornisa cantábrica como región turística en las primeras décadas del siglo XX (1902-1931)

espanolEl objetivo de este trabajo es estudiar la conformacion de la cornisa cantabrica como un espacio turistico de elite durante el primer tercio del siglo xx, en torno a la figura de Alfonso XIII. Desde mediados del siglo xix varios miembros de la familia real habian tomado banos de ola en las playas de San Sebastian y Santander, pero fue durante el proceso de modernizacion social y economica del primer tercio del siglo xx cuando el territorio de ambas provincias, al que se habia incorporado el litoral de Vizcaya, termino configurandose como una autentica region turistica para los grupos mas privilegiados de la sociedad espanola. A ello contribuyo la figura del monarca, pero tambien la creciente oferta y demanda de atractivos turisticos y en particular de determina-dos deportes, como las regatas, las carreras de caballos o el golf, entre otros, impulsados por los empresarios y la burguesia local. Englishhis paper studies the configuration of the Cantabrian cornice as an elite tourist space during the reign of Al-fonso XIII. Since the middle of the nineteenth century, members of the royal family had taken the waters on different beaches in Guipuzcoa and Santander, but it was during the process of social and economic modernization in the first third of the twentieth century that these provinces, to which Vizcaya was added, conclusive-ly formed an authentic tourist region for the most privileged social groups. The figure of the king contributed towards this, but also the growing offer and demand of tourist attractions, particularly certain elite sports, such as regattas, horse races and golf, among others, promoted by business owners and local bourgeoisie.

The Emergence of Patronage and Changing Forms of Rent Seeking in East Central Europe

ABSTRACT The foreign direct investment (FDI)-led development path of the East-Central European (ECE) countries has been queried most recently. Using mainly the evidence of Hungary and Poland the paper analyses one of the potential reasons of this strategic turn: the struggle between political elites. One elite was bound to the strong presence of multinational business and the institutions of the ‘competition state’. Their positions were challenged by another political elite that allied mainly with local bourgeoisie. One main arena of conflicts is the economy where political elites try to widen their influence in order to gain financial support. New forms of rent-seeking and corruption became possible after the V4 accession to the European Union (EU) when the flow of financial aid increased. Aid was channelled to partisan firms in public procurement tenders that made legal corruption possible. Political and social control over this practice declined with the demise of classic program parties’ role in politics and the raise of populist ‘business firm’ political parties.

Pink Tide, Muddy Waters

A wide-ranging study on Latin America’s “pink tide” governments, and the social formations underpinning them, raised again the debate on 21st Century socialism. If the period 1990-2010 saw renewed popular insurgency after the Soviet bloc collapse, progressive forces have lately been confronted by low intensity reaction from the combined might of local and imperial bourgeoisies. US hegemony faces renewed anti-neoliberalism, but now assails popular regimes viaconstitutional rather than military coups.

Actores económicos y medios de comunicación. El golpe parlamentario a Fernando Lugo (2012)

El golpe de Estado parlamentario consumado en Paraguay al presidente constitucional Fernando Lugo, en junio de 2012, puso en escena el rol la prensa paraguaya como actor protagónico en los nuevos formatos destituyentes en la región, mostrando su capacidad para coagular un discurso en torno a los sentidos que venían a justificar el juicio parlamentario. Este trabajo parte de la hipótesis de que la prensa hegemónica, perteneciente a una burguesía local altamente diversificada, con el fin de abrir un ciclo de reestructuración de la economía nacional vinculada a la nueva dinámica global de acumulación del capital proveyó de una narrativa de la crisis y construyó las representaciones e ideología para legitimar el juicio político.

Irradiación, destino y profecía: la representación de Bahía Blanca como centro cultural de la Patagonia Argentina (1940–1970)

Fil: Lopez Pascual, Juliana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - Bahia Blanca; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Humanidades. Centro de Estudios Regionales; Argentina

Managing collective symbolic capital through agro-food labelling: Strategies of local communities facing neoliberalism in Spain

This paper explores the strategic relevance for communities of properly managing collective symbolic capital under a neoliberal context, focusing on the impact of neoliberal policies in the capacity of communities to control the appropriation of value of their agro-food productions. The current economic crisis in Spain increases the pressure on the social and economic reproduction of the lower classes within local communities, and threatens the virtuous balance between the management of common resources and the collective symbolic capital associated with them. Entrepreneurial and institutional logic favors the capturing of collective symbolic capital by local bourgeoisies and transnational companies, while depleting the local common resources that had been exploited sustainably by local communities for centuries. The case study of the cultivation of clams in Carril, Spain, illustrates this process, while the conclusions from previous research on other Spanish agro-food systems are presented to provide a comparative analysis and potential development alternatives based on different strategies for the management of collective symbolic capital.