Culture and Anarchy
Lecture 2
Matthew Arnold’s Culture and Anarchy is an extended essay reflecting on the aims
of culture and the dangers of the rising forces of industrialism, mercantilism
(Mercantilism is a nationalist economic policy that is designed to maximize the
exports and minimize the imports for an economy), and political agitation in
Victorian England. First serialized in 1867-1868 for Cornhill Magazine, a leading
monthly journal at the time, Culture and Anarchy later appeared as a complete
book in 1869.
Faced with the rapid political, economic, and cultural changes sweeping through
Victorian society, Arnold penned Culture and Anarchy in defense of what he
believed were the characteristics and aims of “true” culture. This essay contains six
chapters and these chapters gave us view of Arnold about Political and Social
issues.
Preface/introduction
The Preface is a lengthy and significant part of the text, as it expounds many of
Culture and Anarchy’s key ideas. He defines culture as total perfection on both
an individual and societal level and defends the importance of Establishments in
both religion and in the propagation of culture. He introduces several key concepts
that will play a greater role in later chapters: “sweetness and light” as the essence
of culture, the division of English society into “Philistines,” “Barbarians,” and
the “Populace,” and the contrasting influence of Hebraism and Hellenism. In his
Introduction, he acknowledges the critics of culture who accuse men like Arnold of
inefficiency and inaction. Arnold explains that his purpose in Culture and
Anarchy is to define culture, the good it can do, and why he believes in it.
Chapter 1 (“sweetness” of beauty and the “light” of intelligence and reason)
In Chapter 1, Arnold discusses how and why perfection is the essence of true
culture. He also describes true culture as working to perfect both individuals and
humankind at large. He argues that Victorian England’s obsession with
materialism and industrialism has led to a neglect of true culture. He portrays
Englishmen as fundamentally fixated on liberty and their own selfish pursuits
instead of caring for “sweetness and light.”
What is culture?
A culture is a way of life of a group of people.
Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs,
values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles,
spatial relations, concepts of the universe, and material objects and
possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations
through individual and group striving.
According to Arnold culture is “the study of perfection”
Culture is the systems of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of
people.
Arnold selected Philistines for the purpose of correcting a culture. Culture is a set
of regulation which perfects the society the way it runs. There are two ways to
create that culture or to seek
1. An eagerness to learn based on seeing things as they really are (study culture
by yourself, see what is happening in society by yourself, idealize what is
right and what is wrong in the society)
2. The effort to ensure that the rest of society is constructed upon this
knowledge and recognition. (show and teach these things to the other)
As a result the irony is that culture is never completed because perfection cannot
be attained. Culture is always in flux and adaptable. It is not directly pointed out by
Arnold but assumed by the readers that if we are talking about perfection and
Arnold is discussing culture as synonym of perfection then it means culture is
incomplete because we cannot achieve perfection.
Chapter 2 (doing as one likes;Anarchy)
In Chapter 2, Arnold speaks more about industrialism and its harmful effects on
the national psyche while also exploring the dangers of anarchy and unchecked
individualism.
What is anarchy?
Anarchy is a state of lawlessness or political disorder due to the absence of
governmental authority. It can also refer to a belief in freedom without
government or a state of disorder. The word has been used to describe a
society of individuals who enjoy complete freedom without government.
According to Arnold, anarchy is the prevalent mood of England's then-new
democracy, lacking standards and a sense of direction.
Anarchy is worshiping freedom itself as a god
Arnold defines “Anarchy” as the antithesis of true culture. For Arnold,
anarchy occurs when there is a lack of order and authority, and he warns that
a state of disorder can often lead to chaos and violence in both social and
cultural spheres. Arnold attributes anarchic impulses to the “multitudinous,
turbulent, and blind impulses of our ordinary selves” (419), which stands in
marked contrast to the “best self” (253, emphasis Arnold’s) that true culture
fosters. Arnold’s fear of anarchy is a defining characteristic of his political
beliefs, leading him to argue for the importance of a strong state power
while also denouncing demonstrations and mass movements.
This chapter is not a critical essay rather a response to the pervious chapter. He
discussed how democracy is making society anarchic. According to Arnold,
democracy induced this notion in people’s mind that you can get whatever you
want and if you are unable to get your rights then you have right to protest against
it which will bring anarchy. For him, in a perfect society, you get something, you
don’t get something or even you might lose something. This is a way to run a
perfect culture. You can’t get everything, something will be missing always. The
point which he is trying to assert is, with coming of democracy people will no
longer wants to sacrifices. They would want what they feel they deserve and this is
going to create anarchy.
