Anything taken to an extreme leads to profound effects and repercussions, the likes of which is usually more negative than positive. There are instances though when convergence, information censorship and dissemination of culture can benefit a country or society as a whole; however, this is only acceptable to the extent where lives are not lost in the process. Throughout history, societies, ideologies and cultures have evolved.
The role of French Salons during the Age of Enlightenment demonstrates the positive effects of convergence and dissemination of culture. This time period in Europe (1685-1815) was characterized by a rational way of thinking in regards to philosophy, ideologies about the state government, and the Church, a prevalent entity during that time. It was a time when there was increased access to information and reason and logic were advocated. This reorientation of ideas ultimately led to the French and American Revolutions. The oil painting by A.C. Gabriel Lemmonier (Document #1) displays a painting of a French salon in session. French salons were private social gathering where intellectuals, artists, philosophers and politicians met to discuss concepts such as human nature, social structure, and philosophies. The french salons helped to break down the social and intellectual barriers between the nobles and the common people, as well as between the two sexes. In these salons, women played a particularly prominent role. As the hostess, it was up to them to decide on the agenda (topics of discussion) and regulate the conversation. These intellectual gatherings played a huge role in the rapid dissemination of new ideas and rational thinking, paving the way for a newly reoriented European civilization.
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During Germany’s Third Reich (better known as the Nazi regime), the state attained and retained power through extreme censorship by controlling the media and the strategic use of propaganda. Germany’s Third Reich (1933-1945) refers to the period when Hitler and the Nazi Party took over the state and assumed a totalitarian rule, where Hitler was the dictator and the state controlled virtually all aspects of everyday life. During this time, the state’s use of propaganda posters and media to spark antisemitism against Jewish people resulted in the devastating event known as the Holocaust, where roughly 6 million Jews were annihilated. Hitler believed that Germans were the superior race. Combined with his idealistic vision of “the blonde Aryan race” and his belief that Jews were inferior, he effectively used propaganda and control over the media to aid him in carrying out his vision of an ethnically cleansed, “pure” Germany. The Poisonous Mushroom (Document #2) is a children’s propaganda book written by Ernst Heimer which demonstrates the essence of anti-Jewish propaganda. This book shows the extent to which the state attempts to influence the citizens, going so far as to educate the children about Jewish people, depicting them as swindlers and criminals. Propaganda such as this book, as well as posters and media ensured that all the Nazi ideals were glorified and convincing to the people of the country. Basically, freedom of information was nonexistent. To sum up, the systematic use of propaganda and the state control of the media promoted and achieved the state goals of Nazi supremacy and anti-semitism, which led to the mass genocide known as the Holocaust.
The infamous Reign of Terror (1793-94) and the promotion of a republic of virtue during the French Revolution (1789-1799) manifests an example of convergence among the people . The French Revolution was a period of social and political upheaval in France that spread to, and affected the rest of Europe. One of the most notable events was known as the Reign of Terror, where, massacres and executions took place daily. The republic of virtues was a political theory devised by one of the leaders of the Revolution, Maximilian Robespierre, who advocated for the use of terror to achieve democracy. The following quote by Robespierre (Document #3) captures the essence of the Reign of Terror: “If the basis of popular government in peacetime is virtue, the basis of popular government during a revolution is both virtue and terror; virtue, without which terror is baneful; terror, without which virtue is powerless. Terror is nothing more than speedy, severe and inflexible justice; it is thus an emanation of virtue; it is less a principle in itself, than a consequence of the general principle of democracy, applied to the most pressing needs of the patrie [country].” From Robespierre’s point of view, the idea that terror was needed to achieve the goals of the Revolution justified the 30,000-40,000 executions that took place from 1793 to 1794. However, most people who were executed were guillotined simply due to the fact that they were not supportive enough of the Revolution. Moreover, these executions were often carried out without a trial. It was after Napoleon Bonaparte took power and the Revolution ended that political reforms took place and led to what is now modern day France: a democratic republic with a Legislative Assembly. On the whole, the French Revolution brought an end to absolute monarchy and feudalism in France and more power to the people, but it came with a hefty human price.
A modern day example of information censorship taken to an extreme is the Stalinization of the Soviet Union and the cult of personality. Stalinization refers to the governing policies and ideologies of the Russian dictator Joseph Stalin. During his rule over Russia, he imposed his theory of socialism in one country by transforming Russia into a totalitarian state. Like Hitler, Joseph Stalin understood the power of propaganda and used it to his advantage accordingly. He orchestrated the cult of personality, a false persona which praised him as a perfect leader in the extreme by utilizing methods such as control of the mass media, propaganda, patriotism, and government based rallies. Like many of the propaganda posters created during his rule, the poster designed by Boris Feoktistovich Berezovsky (Document #4) portrays Stalin as the hero with the people of Russia supporting him with worshipful adoration. Media was restricted and manipulated so that the people believed what the state wanted them to believe: that their leader was all powerful and therefore the only one capable of making important decisions for the greater good of the nation. Under Stalin’s rule, Russia accelerated towards rapid industrialization, urbanization, and transformed into a major economic and military power. Joseph Stalin was also instrumental in helping defeat Nazi Germany during WWII. On the contrary, Stalin committed numerous crimes against his own people to achieve his doctrine, including the utilization of state violence to purge the bourgeoisie (upper middle class), forced deportations, and executions and murders of millions. As shown, the fact that Russia became a predominant entity thanks to Stalin counteracts against the evidence that he accomplished it all with extreme censorship, oppression of his people and the crimes that he committed.
The development and dissemination of scientific culture during the Age of Absolutism (approx. 1643-1715) challenged the supreme power of the monarchs. Scientific culture, also known as the Scientific Revolution was a series of events when there was significant development in virtually all areas of science: mathematics, physics, astronomy, chemistry and biology which changed societies’ views about nature. There was great emphasis on the recovery of the old, which refers to the technological and scientific accomplishments of the Ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. The Age of Enlightenment consequently followed the development of scientific culture. At the time, Europe was ruled by absolute monarchs who had unquestionable authority. In fact, it was believed that the ruler was granted divine powers by God. Louis XIV’s famous quote (Document #5), L’etat c’est moi (I am the state), demonstrates the all-encompassing power that the monarchs possessed. However as society became exposed to new scientific ideas, they began to question absolutism and its oppressing factors.
Although the five documents are from different locations and time periods in history, they all share the concept of convergence, information and dissemination of culture taken to an extreme. Firstly, the development of scientific culture during the age of absolutism is closely related to the Age of Enlightenment. In both cases, new intellectual and scientific ideas were discussed and logic and rational thinking were emphasized. Both represent the dissemination of culture, as the ideas spread across Europe. This can be thought of as a chain of events: scientific culture led to the Enlightenment, which in turn sparked the French Revolution. The Enlightenment and scientific culture are both cases where the effects were widespread but did not cost human lives. Therefore, it is safe to say that these two events are positive developments that benefited Europe as a whole. On the other hand, Stalinization of the Soviet Union and The Third Reich in Germany both constitute the negative repercussions of information censorship taken to an extreme. In both cases, information censorship was used to achieve state goals wherein the people had limited freedoms and millions were forcefully exterminated. Most importantly, all of these events transformed governments and reshaped societies, for better or for worse. The lasting effects of the extremities taken at the time are still felt today.
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