The Disciplinary Revolution
Calvinism and the Rise of the State in Early Modern Europe
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Introduction
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The subject of this book is the early modern state – what it was and how it came to be.
This book focuses on the impact of that the disciplinary revolution unleashed by the Protestant Reformation. In particular, it focuses on the role that Calvinism played in this revolution. By refining and diffusing a panoply of disciplinary techniques and strategies, it is argued, Calvin and his followers helped create an infrastructure of religious governance and social control that served as a model for the rest of Europe – and the world.
Like the industrial revolution, the disciplinary revolution was driven by a key technology: the technology of observation -self observation, mutual observation, hierarchical observation. For it was observation -surveillance- that made it possible to unleash the energies of the human soul -another well-known but little-used resource -and harness them for the purposes of political power and domination.
By “disciplinary revolution” I mean a revolutionary struggle, whether from below or above, which has, as one of its chief ends, the creation of a more disciplined polity.
Hier lê die outeur basies uit wat hy gaan bespreek in die boek. Eintlik ‘n “abstract” vir ‘n groot artikel in die vorm van ‘n boek. Hy stel sy sake, hoe hy dit gaan benader, en bespreek ‘n paar basiese begrippe,
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Dit was dan Introduction
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