1117509

Word count : 3295

UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM
Undergraduate Division School of Government & Society (College of Social Sciences) STUDENT ID No. (srn): 1117509 PROGRAMME OF STUDY: Sociology YEAR OF STUDY: MODULE TITLE: 2 Ethnic Relations in Britain

MODULE BANNER CODE: CLASS TEACHERS NAME: SUBMISSION DATE: Clive Harris (Legend) 1/08/2012

ASSIGNMENT TITLE: Assess Zygmunt Bauman's (1989) claim that the Holocaust was a rare, yet significant and reliable test of the hidden possibilities of moderni ty

(Please Note -Module information required above can be found in your Module Handbook)

Penalties:
University policy requires that a penalty be imposed of 5 marks to be deducted from the actual mark achieved for each working day the assignment is late until 0 is reached. There is a strict deadline of 11:59pm on day of submission. A further 5 marks will be deducted for every 11:59pm deadline that is missed. Any written assessment that exceeds the stated word limit by more than 10% will receive a 5 mark deduction.

Extensions & Plagiarism Information:

Page 1 of 13

1117509

Word count : 3295

(Soc 203, 1117509) Assess Zygmunt Bauman's (1989) claim that the Holocaust was a rare, yet significant and reliable test of the hidden possibilities of modernity

The holocaust represents one of the darkest moments in modern European history. Conventional wisdom has narrated it as a deviation, an aberration, an atavistic abomination. In Modernity and the Holocaust, Bauman seeks to turn such wisdoms on their head. He posits that such explanations not only fail to adequately explain what occurred in Nazi Germany, but that the events which culminated in mass extermination on an industrial scale, exemplify some deeply modern traits. This denial, he argues, serves to hide the 'janus face' of modernity, whereby the horrors of this occurrence become excused not as the product of modernity, but its failure. Rather than interpret this brief as the task of assessing whether Bauman's overall thesis is correct in all of its assertions, this paper will take on the more narrow task of assessing whether Bauman is correct: existing within the canon of modernity 'hidden possibilities' lie, which make the abhorrence of the events of the holocaust not a deviation from the modern, but rather embodying some quintessentially modern characteristics. In so doing, some contact will necessarily be made with 'modernity'. Rather than provide an all-encompassing definition against which to test Baumans contention, it will be alluded to both through his explications, and supplementary examples, such as liberty. What will become apparent from this endeavour is a revealing understanding of less savoury possibilities, arguably hidden, that exist in every modern society.

In assessing the statement that the Holocaust "was a rare yet significant and reliable test of the hidden possibilities of modernity" (Bauman, 1989:12), we must understand his intended meaning. This assertion encapsulates the core thesis of the book; that the Holocaust is a product of modernity. However, it can be interpreted in various ways; the first, weak (Fine and Hirsch, 2001:190) reading can be gleaned from the statement modern civilization was not the Holocaust's sufficient condition; it was, however, most certainly its necessary condition (Bauman 1993: 13). This interpretation counters conventional wisdom of Nazism as 'anti-modern', emphasising that both in theory and practice, distinctly modern forces were at work (Fine and Hirsch, 2001). Fine and Hirsch explain the 'strong' interpretation as the dynamics of modernity push towards genocide, that there is nothing in modernity which pulls away from genocide, that even when genocide is not actual, its potentiality is ever-present (ibid:190). However, later there will be argued another means by which to interpret Bauman, less modest than the weak
Page 2 of 13

1117509

Word count : 3295

interpretation and less sensational than the strong, which here will be argued is Baumans position. This novel interpretation of Bauman is more nuanced and accommodating, and less open to destructive criticism.

For Bauman, the relationship between modernity and what he suggests is a new, modern genocide seen in the Holocaust, is made possible when two ordinary and common (1989:xiii) products of modernity intersect, and that fortunately it is only this meeting which has thus far, proved uncommon and rare (Bauman, 1989). These two modern inventions can be summed up as social engineering and instrumental rationality. Social engineering should be understood as the quest to create the good society, aided by science, the primacy to be seen inthe assertion the Holocaust was [a] by-product of the modern drive to a fully designed, fully controlled world (1989: 93). In the bureaucracy, Bauman (1989:) identifies the principle vehicle instrumental rationality by which the creation of the new, good society will be undertaken.

The attempt to control the world more fully can be seen as emerging from the Enlightenment notion of the natural world being something to be conquered, to benefit man in aid of progress (Evans, 2005). Taken a step further, the engineering of the natural world could be adapted onto the social world. A belief in the perfectibility of man can be seen in the work of Rousseau (Boucher, 2009) and was a key characteristic of the Enlightenment movement (Bauman, 1989). The engineering of society was seen as a means by which to facilitate increasing perfectibility through the rationalisation of society. Utilising the metaphorical imagery of the garden, Bauman, shows how in creating the perfect, harmonious garden, inconsonant features would be removed or destroyed. The purpose of this analogy, as Fine and Hirsh elucidate:

In this scenario, the gardener sees the elements of nature instrumentally, in terms of how they effect him and may be affected by him, rather than as things endowed with intrinsic value of which he is guardian Fine and Hirsch, 2001:185

Being perceived as a weed in these grounds would have ominous implications. In understanding what could constitute a weed in this figurative garden, Bauman next draws our attention to some other deeply modern components...

Page 3 of 13

1117509

Word count : 3295

Central to explaining how the notion of a good, rationally designed society could become entangled in modern genocide, Bauman (1989) identifies a key strand of modernity racism. Bauman (1989) expounds the view shared widely that racism is characterised by its essentialism that certain racially defined groups have intrinsic qualities, or defects, and that these cannot be altered, effectively rendering some weeds. Rozat and Bartra (1980), in explaining the modern notion of race as a product of modern science, lend support for Baumans belief that modernity made racism possible (Bauman, 1989:61). From the various forms of scientific racism whose aim was to prove white superiority and in the case of Germany, the inferiority of Jews (Mosse, 1978), one can identify influences on Nazi ideology and policy, such as Gobineau; whose notion of a struggle for racial superiority and use of the term Aryan are most striking (Bay, 2008; Mosse, 1978). Moreover Keyes (2006) argues that Nazi Germany was the most committed nation to the ideology of racial science, further enforcing the substantive relationship between racism and the Nazi social engineering policies. The state played the role of gardener, weeds were identified through racial science and through the technical rationality of bureaucratic apparatuses, the garden was remade. This reading supports Bauman contention that social engineering, in the Nazis case, racial purity, is a key component.

Returning to Baumans first product the redesign of society, a clear path can be seen to Baumans vehicle. Mannheim explains: the problem *for Democracy]. . . of a planned society mainly consists in avoiding bureaucratic absolutism (quoted in Mazower, 1999:207). Bauman himself argues, the collapse or non-emergence (1989:111) of pluralist political democracy, which could act as a mitigating safeguard was absolutely vital in facilitating the subsequent events. If we take Mannheims assertion as valid, we see support for Baumans theory the Nazi design precipitated bureaucratic absolutism, which aided in creating conditions which nullified an essential structural safeguard against authoritarianism, which we now shall see, enabled further implementation of the Nazi design.

Having addressed the theory behind Baumanian genocide, we will now view its praxis, identifying instrumental rationality present in science and key to Baumans argument located in the modern rational bureaucracy. Baumans critique of the bureaucratic organisational model is ostensibly Weberian, seeing bureaucracy as a generalised condition of modernity. This view can be seen in Ritzers (2000) The McDonaldisation of Society, serving to drive home the persuasive nature of this understanding of modernity.
Page 4 of 13

1117509

Word count : 3295

For both Bauman and Weber, the notion of the bureaucracy extended beyond the narrow understanding of state run, public services, but rather, the model by which all organisations operate. The reason this approach became so prevalent can be glimpsed in the following:

"The decisive reason for the advance of bureaucratic organization has always been its purely technical superiority over any other form of organization" (Weber, 1978:973)

Weber was not alone in his assertion, with the scientific school of management and the work of Henri Fayol displaying the spirit of the time. Fayols hierarchical unity of command model gives insight into the top-down autocratic approach typical of rational bureaucracy (Wren et al, 2002). This we shall see, is of critical importance to Bauman. Every action becomes rationalised through the separation of tasks, with orders assuming a top down, autocratic style, with orders filtering down the chain of command (Lewin, 1939). This serves to stymie individual creativity and autonomy, and for Bauman (1989) even agency itself. In so doing, individuals become locked in an ethically blind, Weberian iron cage, whereby the controlling systems of bureaucratic efficiency trap the individual within their internal logic, leading to humans devoid of humanity, or as Weber put it:

specialists without spirit, sensualists without heart; this nullity imagines that it has attained a level of civilization never before achieved Weber, 1998 :182.

This is certainly the case for Bauman (1989), who argues the functional dissection and separation of tasks (Bauman, 1989:100), produced distancing (Ibid:26) of the task from its purpose, and consequently, the task or means, became an end unto itself. As Franken (2012:37) puts it: In this modern model, there is no room for personal morality you do your job, and you do it well. This is important for Bauman, he argues distancing aids to create conditions akin to a moral sleeping pill (Bauman, 1989:26). The other critical feature Bauman identifies is the substitution of moral responsibility for technical responsibility, which is made possible through task separation. For Bauman (1989), moral responsibility became outsourced; as orders filtered their way down the chain of command, responsibility would ascend to the top.

Page 5 of 13

1117509

Word count : 3295

Having considered the silencing effects of bureaucracy on individual moral autonomy, it is worth noting the Baumanian position on morality, which departs from more orthodox sociological accounts. Bauman's conception of morality appears a derivation of Rousseau's contention that morality is an essentially pre-social condition or a form of human nature, which had been compromised by modern society (Bauman, 1989). For Rousseau; it is through the corrupting effects of private property (Boucher, 2009) and for Bauman; by the morality-eschewing processes implemented through application of instrumental rationality. If we ignore the problematic of an ostensibly post-modern commentator seeking refuge in essentialist explanations, we might consider alternative sociological accounts of morality, as seen in Durkheim, to be of particular interest. In so doing, we can assess whether such a position undermines Baumans assertion, that the Holocaust represents a test of modernitys hidden possibilities.

In Durkheims view, morality emerges from the moral milieu of social life, that social structures were all in a sense, moral structures (Fenton, 1984, Giddens, 1971; 1978). For Durkheim, in modern times the traditional, mechanical solidarity which fostered moral behaviour becomes eroded by the primary tendency of increasingly complex and bureaucratic, modern societies toward the progressive emancipation of the individual from the subordination to the conscience collective (Giddens, 1971:101). What interests us here is how Durkheim foretold moralitys erosion as occupational division increased with organic solidaritys emergence (for a detailed explanation of Durkheims thought, see Morrison, 2006). This can be seen in Baumans (1989) arguments concerning bureaucracy, allied to the modern rise of occupational specialisation had led to a loss of individual morality, with technical, bureaucratic responsibility replacing personal responsibility. What is hoped from this elaboration, is that an alternative standpoint on moral origin could still be accommodated by the general thrust of Baumans (1989) argument, as both show modernising forces which had the effect of compromising moral structures, and for Bauman (1989), a loss of agency.

This leads us on to another feature of modernity which Bauman is familiar human agency. In The Individualised Society, Bauman (2001) identifies the core feature of modernity is individualisation, whereby the individual becomes freed from the fixed, inherited determinations of their social character. Put another way, central to modernity is the surfacing of free will, or human agency, which he attributes to the Enlightenment movement, which we see is very similar to Durkheims explanation; that emancipation
Page 6 of 13

1117509

Word count : 3295

from the conscience collective the structures which socialise the individual is central to modernity (Giddens, 1971). The notion of human agency, is inextricably bound up in the notion of liberty, or freedom, and indeed is prevalent in the canon of Enlightenment literature, which can be characterised by the words of Thomas Jefferson in the American Constitution, a document which should be seen as deeply rooted in the traditions of the Enlightenment:

all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness Jefferson et al, 1776

However within the Enlightenment, Fine and Hirsch (2001) find grounds for a refutation of Baumans thesis. They argue that in the emergence of Humanism we find a very modern trait which drives us away from racism and the genocide that their strong interpretation suggests is inevitable (Ibid), leading to its dismissal. Returning to Durkheim, we find an alternative reading of the same features: Durkheim linked the moral individualism that emerges in organically solidary or instrumentally rational modern societies, to the same Enlightenment traditions that Fine and Hirsch allude - humanism (Giddens, 1972).

Considering the apparent compatibility present in many of the thoughts of Bauman and Durkheim, we find in Durkheims explanation compelling grounds on which to question Fine and Hirschs assertion. Considering Bauman is acutely aware of the primacy of individualisation to modernity, it is asserted here that Bauman, in the multitudinous elements contained within the canon of modernity saw the inherent tensions many of these offered. With that thought in mind, we shall briefly address another quintessentially modern concept liberty, to demonstrate its myriad possibilities, in the hope it is understood as a microcosm, which writ large gives real insight into the constitution of modernity.

Liberty should be seen as synonymous with modernity. From Hobbes (2007:77) the absence of external impediments to the infamous forced to be free (Rousseau 2008: ), it can be seen as a deep facet of the Enlightenment. However, this concept of liberty should not be taken as objective and neutral. In his influential essay Berlin characterised the various forms of liberty (for a discussion of these freedoms see Swift, 2006) as either
Page 7 of 13

1117509

Word count : 3295

positive or negative (Berlin 2002). The liberty of interest to this assessment, is positive liberty, which Berlin characterises as a view which prioritises an idealised transformative abstraction for what freedom and society should be, and can be seen in Rousseaus general will and the notion of being forced to be free, in the Fascism of Germany racial purity and in Soviet Russia communist utopia (Berlin, 2002; Boucher, 2009; Curtis, Swift, 2005). The fundamental danger for Berlin was that such a view could justify any means in achieving its ends (Berlin, 2002). This notion of positive liberty perfectly summarises Baumans interpretation of genocides design the drive toward the good society (1989: 92).

OKane reasonably questions whether it was sponsored terror of the totalitarian state which is more responsible for *the+ most massive moral failure of the century (Bergen 1998:ix). In so doing, OKane (2006) points to commentators such as Friedrich and Brzeziski, and Arendt, who attribute the notion of genocide to the rise of totalitarianism, itself argued to be a retrograde concept (OKane, 2006). Another view of totalitarianism evinced by Talmons (1952) influential work, might lead to a reconsideration of OKanes position. In similar fashion to Popper, Talmon traces the genesis of nationalism and totalitarianism to Rousseaus, The Social Contract (Boucher, 2009; Talmon, 1952). If we take this assertion to be correct, then we are left in the paradoxical position of claiming that the holocaust, a thoroughly modern product, to simultaneously be anti-modern. Moreover its relative, nationalism, is based upon the very modern notion of the nation. Casting aside the philosophical consequences of this paradox, one is still left questioning the validity of OKanes position.

Returning to Arendt, while her earlier study of totalitarianism offered a Kantian, radical evil explanation (Arendt, 1961), her later work, based upon the trial of Nazi bureaucrat Adolf Eichman tellingly demonstrates a reconsideration compatible with the Baumanian explanation. Witnessing Eichmans trial led to her consider what she termed the banality of evil an unthinking, mundane complicity seen in Eichmans protestations that he was simply behaving as a good bureaucrat ought (Arendt, 1963), displays similarity to Baumans morality-quashing effects. It is reflective of Baumans own case study example SS Commander Ohlendorf, who stated: I surrender my moral conscience to the fact I was a soldier, and therefore a cog in a relatively low position of a great machine (Bauman, 1989: 22). Through the words of Herman, we see how this banal evil was a product of the aforemention rationalising processes, whose effect was to normalise the unthinkable
Page 8 of 13

1117509

Word count : 3295

(Herman, 1995:97) to manufacture consent (Chomsky and Herman, 1988). One can see how it suggests Arendts banality of evil was the by-product of Baumans moral sleeping pill.

Finally, a consideration of the notion of consent is now addressed, drawing on the work of Frankfurt scholars. Bauman (1989), in explaining how it was public indifference rather than widespread anti-Semitism that morally inoculated Germanys citizens, highlights the modern condition, the centralization of coercion (1989:96); of state monopoly over the apparatuses of coercion. Echoing Foucault (1991) he argues society has hidden its violence, portraying itself as the holy battle of humanity against barbarism (1989:96). The effect is the modes of violence and coercion become legitimising tools in the validation of the states agenda in the eyes of its subjects. While this can be seen to be the case in Germanys extensive use of propaganda, Bauman argues it is so for all modern civilization. In critical theory we find support for this position. Adorno and Horkheimer (1973) identify the culture industry as being a normalising force quelling the capacity of those spellbound through the control of the individual consciousness (Ibid). This has the effect of engineering a false consciousness which has bought out the masses.

Marcuse, in very similar fashion, explains the human condition becomes onedimensionalised, undermining his/her capacity for critical thought and dissent (1963). Bearing the above in mind, one could argue that a reifying process was implemented in Germany, facilitating indifference to the plight of Jews, enacted through a Gramscian cultural hegemony that the centralisation of coercion made possible. The outcome, was in effect, an example of Baumans sleeping pill, fostering indifference, inaction or simply, moral ambivalence. These notions, carry a similar theme to Arendts unthinking. This interpretation is useful for a reinterpretation of Baumans notion of the moral-vacuum that existed. The moral indifference can be seen as inaction. This assertion can be seen in Burkes aphorism The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil, is for good men to stand by and do nothing (Quoted in Palmer, 2003:316). Before concluding, another pertinent example of the sentiments of Burkes saying can be seen in the words of German pastor Martin Niemollers First they came poem (see http://www.ushmm.org/)

By taking onboard the thought of the Frankfurt Scholars, and contemplate the dangers of our time, seen in Arendt (1963), a new reading of Modernity and the Holocaust is made possible. This reading goes much further than Fine and Hirschs (2001) weak
Page 9 of 13

1117509

Word count : 3295

interpretation, consistent with much of Baumans content, yet is similar but less vulnerable, than their strong interpretation. Bauman, (1989) makes the analogy between couples whose experience of kidnap led them to see an ugly side in their spouse, leading to separation. This suggests individuals themselves have hidden possibilities. In the same sense, an important message of Arendts (1963) later work can be seen: that we all have an Eichman inside us (Bergen, 1998). In the same way, Bauman makes this assertion on a societal as well as individual level. These didacticisms, can be seen in the reading of Bauman as

All modern societies are janus faced; inside all is the potential for a holocaust. Modernity itself offers the capacity, and the means to prevent a genocide; its key constituents are without moral value. It is in their wielding that they undertake outcomes seen as good or evil. They simply facilitate it to new extremes.

In this alternative reading, we clearly see the presence of hidden possibilities. Bauman offers a frightening account, but one which cannot be ignored.

Page 10 of 13

1117509

Word count : 3295

Bibliography Adorno, T, and Horkheimer, M. (1973) Dialectic of Enlightenment (Allen Lane:London) Arendt, H. (1961) On The Origins of Totalitarianism (Faber: London) Arendt, H. (1963) Eichman in Jerusalem: a report on the banality of evil (Faber:London) Bauman, Z. (1989) Modernity and the Holocaust (Cambridge: Polity) Bauman, Z. (2001) The Individualized Society (Cambridge: Polity) Bay, M (2008) Anthropology, history of in Moore, J. (ed) Encyclopaedia of Race and Racism: A-F (Thomson Gale: Farmington Hills MI) Bergen, B. (1998) Hannah Arendt and The Final Solution Oxford:Rowman & Littlefield Berlin, I. (2002) Two Concepts of Liberty in Hardy, H. (ed) Liberty Oxford University Press: Oxford Boucher, D. (2009) Rousseau in Boucher, D. And Kelly, P. (eds) Political Thinkers: From Socrates to the present (2nd edition) Oxford University Press: Oxford Chomsky, N, and Herman, E. (1988) Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of Mass Media (Pantheon: New York) Evans, M. (2005) A short history of society Open University (Press: Maidenhead) Fine, R. & Hirsh, D. (2001), The decision to commit a crime against humanity in M. Archer & J. Tritter eds., Rational Choice Theory: Resisting Colonisation (London: Routledge), Franken, L. (2012) Evil Morality and Modernity [online] available from: http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CFAQFjA A&url=http%3A%2F%2Fscholar.sun.ac.za%2Fbitstream%2Fhandle%2F10019.1%2F20262% 2Ffranken_evil_2012.pdf%3Fsequence%3D2&ei=BRsTUKP8G_OR0QWlkIC4CA&usg=AFQjC NGCoQVgFyzwg3yicLiVBWABUW3z0A&sig2=RNQImUWR1NGUfd_BJFo9lw [accessed 20/0712] Fenton, S. (1984) Durkheim and Modern Sociology Cambridge University Press: Cambridge Foucault, M (1991 first published 1975) Discipline and Punish (Penguin: London) Giddens, A. (1971) Capitalism and Modern Social Theory Cambridge University Press: Cambridge Giddens, A. (1978) Durhkeim Fontana Press: London Herman, S. (1995) Triumph of the Market: Essays on economics, politics and the media (South End Press: Boston)
Page 11 of 13

1117509

Word count : 3295

Hobbes, T. (2007 first published 1651) Leviathan (Wilder Publications: Virginia) Jefferson, T et al. (1776), United States Declaration of Independence (www.archives.gov) [online] available from: http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/declaration_transcript.html [accessed 29/07/12]

Keyes, D. (2006) Race Science and Nazi Germany: Its influence on Hitlers Ideology and Euthanasia Programme (http://euclid.colorado.edu/ ) [online] available from: http://euclid.colorado.edu/~keyesd/FinalHistoryThesis.pdf [accessed 25/07/12]

Lewin, K. et al, (1939) Patterns of aggressive behaviour in experimentally created social climates, Journal of Social Psychology, [10:2], (pp.271-299) Marcuse, H (1968) One Dimensional Man (Sphere Books: London) Mazower, M. (1999) Dark Continent: Europes Twentieth Century Penguin: London Morrison, K. (2006) Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Formations of Modern Social Thought (2nd edition) (Sage: London) Mosse, G. (1978), Towards the Final Solution: A History of European Racism (J.M. Dent: London) OKane, R. (1997), Modernity, the Holocaust and politics, Economy and Society [1997 26/1], (pp43-61) Palmer, M. (2003) Breaking the Axis of Evil (Rowan & Littlefield: Oxford) Ritzer, G (2000). The McDonaldization of society: an investigation into the changing character of contemporary social life (Pine Forge Press: London) Rozat, G. & Bartra, R. (1980) Racism and Capitalism, in UNESCO, Sociological Theories: Race and Colonialism, UNESCO, Rousseau, J. (2008 first published 1762) The Social Contract (Cosimo Publications: New York) Swift, A. (2006) Political Philosophy: A Beginners Guide for Students and Politicians Polity: Cambridge Talmon, J. (1952) On the Origins of Totalitarian Democracy (Secker & Warburg: London) The Trap. (2007) We will Force you to be Free (part three). Directed by Adam Curtis. London. BBC. [live broadcast] available online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nH8wMBGZ9o
Page 12 of 13

1117509

Word count : 3295

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (http://www.ushmm.org/ ) [online] Moller poem available from: http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10007392 [accessed 30/07/2012] Weber, M. (1978 first published 1922) Economy and society (Berkeley: University California Press) Weber, Max. (1998 first published 1905). The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism Translated by Talcott Parsons. (Roxbury: Los Angeles) Wren, A. Et al (2002) The foundations of Henri Fayols administration theory, The journal of management decision [2002 20/9] (pp. 906-918)

Page 13 of 13