The Monarchist 1.0
Defending the British Crown Commonwealth and the English-Speaking Peoples
[+] HONOURING OUR PATRON, SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL, VICTOR OF THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING PEOPLES
[+] HONOURING OUR QUEEN, ELIZABETH THE SECOND, ON THE 80TH YEAR OF HER BIRTH (1926 - 2006)
[+] HONOURING OUR KING, SAINT EDWARD THE CONFESSOR, ON THE 1000TH YEAR OF HIS BIRTH (1005 - 2005)
[+] HONOURING OUR HERO, LORD NELSON, ON THE BICENTENNIAL OF THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR (1805 - 2005)
[+] HONOURING OUR SONS, THE QUEEN'S COMMONWEALTH SOLDIERS KILLED IN THE 'WAR ON TERROR'
Chief Warrant Officer Robert Girouard, 46, Royal Canadian Regiment, Nov 27, 2006 (Afstan)
Staff Sergeant Sharron Elliott, 34, Intelligence Corps, Nov 12, 2006 (Iraq)
Private Jacob B. Kovco, 25, Royal Australian Regiment, April 21, 2006
[+] HONOURING OUR VETS ON THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE VICTORIA CROSS (1856 - 2006)
Monday, April 03, 2006
Andrew Carnegie: Failed Catalyst of the English-Speaking People
In his day, Andrew Carnegie was the richest man in the world. His story as a self-made man is a celebrated one: the son of a Scotsman weaver, who went from rags to riches in America, who spent part of his life amassing his fortune, and the other part giving it all away. He sold his Pittsburgh steel empire in 1902 to J.P Morgan for the then unheard of price of $480 million. And then burnished his legacy as the most famous philanthroper of all time.
Such success influenced him in ways that blinded him, however. He was part of that generation who witnessed the phenomenal rise of the United States: a nation that became politically united following its Civil War; its great expansion and reach westward; its burgeoning social democracy; its meteoric rise in industrial wealth. America was becoming a beacon to the world. By the 1880s, the British-born Carnegie, a friend of presidents and prime ministers, began to urge Great Britain to follow America's example, seeing himself as a catalyst for a closer association of the English-speaking peoples.
Carnegie's aim was to campaign, through a string of [purchased] regional daily newspapers, for the creation of a British Republic. His dream was to sack the monarchy, scrap the House of Lords and destroy every vestige of privilege in the land.
So says The Express & Star , which he founded in 1881 with a group of radical Liberal Party members. In 1886, Carnegie penned his most radical work, entitled Triumphant Democracy. From Wikipedia: "The work, liberal in its use of statistics to make its arguments, was an attempt to argue his view that the American republican system of government was superior to the British monarchical system. It not only gave a overly-favourable and idealistic view of American progress, but made some considerable criticism of the British royal family. Most antagonistic, however, was the cover that depicted amongst other motifs, an upended royal crown and a broken sceptre. Given these aspects, it was no surprise that the book was the cause of some considerable controversy in Great Britain."
Let's put this in some perspective. Andrew Carnegie saw himself as a human catalyst linking Victorian England to the Unites States, and the best way to accomplish this, he figured, was to become rabidly and outspokenly anti-monarchist? When the British Empire was at its zenith?? When Queen Victoria was the Empress of India?? When Prime Minister Sir John A. MacDonald was proudly telling United Empire Loyalists of Canada, "a British subject I was born, a British subject I will die"?? When all that was going on, dear Andrew Carnegie was feverishly working away to create a British Republic?? The mind boggles at the sheer naivety and absurdity of the task.
The extent of his failure in this regard, can perhaps best be summed up by his paper's editorial a couple of days ago, The Queen a beacon of honesty for all:
As MPs rub their hands over their pensions, there is one leader who has voluntarily given up a string of privileges and even agreed to pay more tax.
She is, of course, the Queen. Approaching her 80th birthday and yet seemingly as robust as ever, Her Majesty was in Stafford today and the streets were packed with well-wishers.
The Express & Star was founded in the 1880s to campaign for the abolition of the monarchy. We are glad to have failed.
In theory, the monarchy is an anachronism in a progressive democracy. But the reality is that the Queen is a beacon of honesty and good manners in a political scene dominated by boorishness and sleaze.
She has little power but enormous influence. In an age when politicians act like presidents, it is good to be reminded that she, not the Prime Minister, is our head of state.
Long may it remain so.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 1:05 a.m. | LINKS |
In his day, Andrew Carnegie was the richest man in the world. His story as a self-made man is a celebrated one: the son of a Scotsman weaver, who went from rags to riches in America, who spent part of his life amassing his fortune, and the other part giving it all away. He sold his Pittsburgh steel empire in 1902 to J.P Morgan for the then unheard of price of $480 million. And then burnished his legacy as the most famous philanthroper of all time. Such success influenced him in ways that blinded him, however. He was part of that generation who witnessed the phenomenal rise of the United States: a nation that became politically united following its Civil War; its great expansion and reach westward; its burgeoning social democracy; its meteoric rise in industrial wealth. America was becoming a beacon to the world. By the 1880s, the British-born Carnegie, a friend of presidents and prime ministers, began to urge Great Britain to follow America's example, seeing himself as a catalyst for a closer association of the English-speaking peoples.
Carnegie's aim was to campaign, through a string of [purchased] regional daily newspapers, for the creation of a British Republic. His dream was to sack the monarchy, scrap the House of Lords and destroy every vestige of privilege in the land.
So says The Express & Star , which he founded in 1881 with a group of radical Liberal Party members. In 1886, Carnegie penned his most radical work, entitled Triumphant Democracy. From Wikipedia: "The work, liberal in its use of statistics to make its arguments, was an attempt to argue his view that the American republican system of government was superior to the British monarchical system. It not only gave a overly-favourable and idealistic view of American progress, but made some considerable criticism of the British royal family. Most antagonistic, however, was the cover that depicted amongst other motifs, an upended royal crown and a broken sceptre. Given these aspects, it was no surprise that the book was the cause of some considerable controversy in Great Britain."
Let's put this in some perspective. Andrew Carnegie saw himself as a human catalyst linking Victorian England to the Unites States, and the best way to accomplish this, he figured, was to become rabidly and outspokenly anti-monarchist? When the British Empire was at its zenith?? When Queen Victoria was the Empress of India?? When Prime Minister Sir John A. MacDonald was proudly telling United Empire Loyalists of Canada, "a British subject I was born, a British subject I will die"?? When all that was going on, dear Andrew Carnegie was feverishly working away to create a British Republic?? The mind boggles at the sheer naivety and absurdity of the task.
The extent of his failure in this regard, can perhaps best be summed up by his paper's editorial a couple of days ago, The Queen a beacon of honesty for all:
As MPs rub their hands over their pensions, there is one leader who has voluntarily given up a string of privileges and even agreed to pay more tax.
She is, of course, the Queen. Approaching her 80th birthday and yet seemingly as robust as ever, Her Majesty was in Stafford today and the streets were packed with well-wishers.
The Express & Star was founded in the 1880s to campaign for the abolition of the monarchy. We are glad to have failed.
In theory, the monarchy is an anachronism in a progressive democracy. But the reality is that the Queen is a beacon of honesty and good manners in a political scene dominated by boorishness and sleaze.
She has little power but enormous influence. In an age when politicians act like presidents, it is good to be reminded that she, not the Prime Minister, is our head of state.
Long may it remain so.
POSTED BY: The Monarchist AT 1:05 a.m. | LINKS |
Comments:
Can't see the comments?If you are unable to see the comments, your browser may have javascript turned off or may not support javascript. Check your security settings. Otherwise you can click here to access to comments in regular HTML from the TheirSay! Comment Server.
.gif){kind=small}
.gif){kind=small}
