Democratic Passions: The Politics of Feeling in British Popular Radicalism, 1809-48

This book challenges the assumption that the political sphere
sphere was an arena of reason in which feelings had no part to play and shows that feelings were a central, albeit contested, aspect of the political culture of the period. It sheds new light on the relationship between protest movements and the state by showing how one of the central issues at stake in the conflict between radicals and their oppressors was the feelings of the propertied classes.

Format: Hardback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 21 June 2022
Publisher: Manchester University Press

This book challenges the assumption, as prevalent in the nineteenth century, that the political sphere was a realm of rationality where emotions played no role. It demonstrates that feelings were a crucial, albeit contested, aspect of the political culture of that era. Radical leaders were often accused of inciting passion, while the state and its supporters were criticized for their callousness. Radicals grounded their claims to citizenship on the universalist belief that workers possessed the same capacity for feeling as their social betters, a notion that was denied at the time. By shedding light on the relationship between protest movements and the state, the book reveals how one of the central issues in the conflict between radicals and their oppressors was the emotions of the privileged classes.

This book challenges the assumption, as prevalent in the nineteenth century, that the political sphere was a realm of rationality where emotions played no role. It demonstrates that feelings were a crucial, albeit contested, aspect of the political culture of that era. Radical leaders were often accused of inciting passion, while the state and its supporters were criticized for their callousness. Radicals grounded their claims to citizenship on the universalist belief that workers possessed the same capacity for feeling as their social betters, a notion that was denied at the time. By shedding light on the relationship between protest movements and the state, the book reveals how one of the central issues in the conflict between radicals and their oppressors was the emotions of the privileged classes.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781526137043