(I got a little lost in your description of the lumpenproletariat, and I'm not sure if you're suggesting that they, or the working class, "were the people who aspired to escape the class hegemony of the bourgeoisie by creating their own political, educational, cultural and sporting institutions".
The "respectable" working class
or if it is qualitatively different from the English experience.
I think you have hit upon a really important difference. The English rural proletariat was, at least by mid 19th century, passive and deferential; certainly not a natural ally to the industrial working class. Nobody had to station the Norfolk regiment overseas for fear of miltary rebellion!
Oh, and the jibe at Burns night
OK I was taking the piss but, on a more serious note, is there a well articulated Scottish nationalism that isn't just tartan flummery crossed with a kind of gut anti-Englishmness? I know people like Tom Nairn have tried to articulate one but does it have any resonance at a mass level?
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2009-01-18 08:01 pm (UTC)The "respectable" working class
I think you have hit upon a really important difference. The English rural proletariat was, at least by mid 19th century, passive and deferential; certainly not a natural ally to the industrial working class. Nobody had to station the Norfolk regiment overseas for fear of miltary rebellion!
OK I was taking the piss but, on a more serious note, is there a well articulated Scottish nationalism that isn't just tartan flummery crossed with a kind of gut anti-Englishmness? I know people like Tom Nairn have tried to articulate one but does it have any resonance at a mass level?