Decadence
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Decadence generally refers to the alleged decline of a society because of moral weakness. The favorite example of this is ancient Rome, where, the story has it, a great empire was laid low by wicked emperors like Nero. However, the more dissolute emperors (Caligula, Nero, etc) ruled hundreds of years before the end of the empire (see also Roman decadence).
In modern use, decadence is often defined as a decline in or loss of excellence, obstructing the pursuit of ideals. It is typified by the elevation of cleverness, education, and intellectual pretension over experience and tradition, and is often considered materialistic.
In literature, the Decadent movement—late nineteenth century fin de siècle writers who were associated with Symbolism or the Aesthetic movement—was first given its name by hostile critics, and then the name was triumphantly adopted by some writers themselves. These "decadents" relished artifice over the earlier Romantics' naive view of nature (see Jean-Jacques Rousseau). Some of these writers were influenced by the tradition of the Gothic novel and by the poetry and fiction of Edgar Allan Poe.
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[edit] Leninist use
Vladimir Lenin continued and extended the use of the word "decadence" in his theory of imperialism to refer to economic matters underlying political manifestations. According to Lenin, capitalism had reached its highest stage and could no longer provide for general development of society. He expected reduced vigor in economic activity and a growth in unhealthy economic phenomenon, because society was ripe for socialist revolution in the West. Politically, World War I proved the decadent nature of the advanced capitalist countries to Lenin, that capitalism had reached the stage where it would destroy its own prior achievements more than it would advance.
Followers of Trotsky have split over the extent to which to uphold Lenin as against Trotsky's theory of permanent revolution. However, followers of Stalin have generally defended the "decadence" thesis of Lenin's theory of imperialism against Trotskyists. Trotskyists tend to stress that capitalism in the West is still progressive and marching forward technologically with the steady accumulation of capital. Followers of Lenin such as Mao and Stalin have argued that there is nothing left for imperialism to do but die, because it has nothing progressive to contribute anymore.
One who directly opposed the idea of decadence as expressed by Lenin was José Ortega y Gasset in The Revolt of the Masses(1930). He argued that the "mass man" had the notion of material progress and scientific advance deeply inculcated to the extent that it was an expectation. He also argued that contemporary progress was opposite the true decadence of the Roman Empire.
[edit] See also
Thinkers of decadence:
- Boulainvilliers
- Louis de Bonald
- Joseph de Maistre
- Friedrich Nietzsche
- Oswald Spengler's The Decline of the West (1918)
[edit] Pop Culture and Decadence
- The novels Brideshead Revisited and Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh examine the decandence of the British aristocracy in the 1920s and 1930s.
- The British pop group Pet Shop Boys wrote a song called and about "Decadence". Originally it was a b-side on their 1994 single "Liberation", but can now be found on the b-side collection Alternative and the 2001 2-disc release of their album Very.
- The American band Disturbed released a song called "Decadence" on their album "Ten Thousand Fists"
[edit] Further reading
- Richard Gilman, Decadence: The Strange Life of an Epithet. ISBN 0-374-13567-3
- Matei Calinescu, Five Faces of Modernity. ISBN 0-8223-0767-7
- Mario Praz, The Romantic Agony (1930). ISBN 0-19-281061-8
- Jacques Barzun, From Dawn to Decadence (2000). ISBN 0-06-017586-9
- A. E. Carter, The Idea of Decadence in French Literature (1978). ISBN 0-8020-7078-7
