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A review by dwcleno
The Invention of Tradition by Eric Hobsbawm
3.0
I find this to be a fascinating subject. The traditions that we follow offer clues as to which tribe we want to join or those to which we already belong; they also indicate which authorities we follow.
As pointed out in the excellent introduction, tradition is a different matter than customs. Tradition is what has become unvaried or fixed, while customs “serve the double function of motor and fly-wheel.” Customs have more to do with the delicate give and take of civil society, although can become tradition and often do. For example, the author points out that much of what judges do is included under customs, but what they wear is tradition.
This collection covers some great examples of invented traditions from different colonial systems, the British monarchy and the European industrial age after 1870 to the start of World War 1, with the last as my personal favorite piece in the book. As used here, it includes those constructed to assert authority or dominance, and those that simply emerged over a brief period of time. With those definitions, one can easily see how knowing how to untangle which is which (and devised by whom) is vital before adopting or defending them. For example, it seems that recently the singing of the national anthem has become a place of protest at sporting events. While writing about the issue, many reporters began to examine this tradition and found it only became the custom around WW2, with the song itself protested by citizens from its adoption as our anthem in 1931. Even Jackie Robinson wrote of his inability to stand and sing the song in his 1972 autobiography. No matter how one feels about the protesting, one can see how it has been hardened into tradition that is now so dearly held by some that the flouting of it is seen as an unpatriotic act.
So upon investigation, it may turn out that some of these dearly held traditions started from pure myth or even from the cooptation of another culture. But knowing which invented traditions are problematic in their origins may be difficult to uncover and in many cases, may not really matter. After all, all traditions are manufactured by people with their meanings changing with the times. This may be the main problem with this book; the editors or the authors just do not make a strong enough case that invented traditions are different in any meaningful manner to the users than "organic" traditions. This lack is apparent in the different essays covered which evade covering any customs or traditions NOT invented by an authority, either governmental or capitalistic in nature.
I certainly agree (as I have said elsewhere in this review) that simply understanding the origins of tradition is vital; that may be the true heart of this book.
For example, it seems important to know whether nationalist pride events are created and staged to support fascism; Hitler was such a master at staging and symbolism and intertwining the two together that it was difficult to separate Teutonic pride from Naziism before and after the war. It has been noted that Naziism was "the reductio ad absurdum of the German tradition of nationalism, militarism, worship of success, and force, as well as the exaltation of state." To me, it proves that the unexamined tradition can be the devil in the detail.
As pointed out in the excellent introduction, tradition is a different matter than customs. Tradition is what has become unvaried or fixed, while customs “serve the double function of motor and fly-wheel.” Customs have more to do with the delicate give and take of civil society, although can become tradition and often do. For example, the author points out that much of what judges do is included under customs, but what they wear is tradition.
This collection covers some great examples of invented traditions from different colonial systems, the British monarchy and the European industrial age after 1870 to the start of World War 1, with the last as my personal favorite piece in the book. As used here, it includes those constructed to assert authority or dominance, and those that simply emerged over a brief period of time. With those definitions, one can easily see how knowing how to untangle which is which (and devised by whom) is vital before adopting or defending them. For example, it seems that recently the singing of the national anthem has become a place of protest at sporting events. While writing about the issue, many reporters began to examine this tradition and found it only became the custom around WW2, with the song itself protested by citizens from its adoption as our anthem in 1931. Even Jackie Robinson wrote of his inability to stand and sing the song in his 1972 autobiography. No matter how one feels about the protesting, one can see how it has been hardened into tradition that is now so dearly held by some that the flouting of it is seen as an unpatriotic act.
So upon investigation, it may turn out that some of these dearly held traditions started from pure myth or even from the cooptation of another culture. But knowing which invented traditions are problematic in their origins may be difficult to uncover and in many cases, may not really matter. After all, all traditions are manufactured by people with their meanings changing with the times. This may be the main problem with this book; the editors or the authors just do not make a strong enough case that invented traditions are different in any meaningful manner to the users than "organic" traditions. This lack is apparent in the different essays covered which evade covering any customs or traditions NOT invented by an authority, either governmental or capitalistic in nature.
I certainly agree (as I have said elsewhere in this review) that simply understanding the origins of tradition is vital; that may be the true heart of this book.
For example, it seems important to know whether nationalist pride events are created and staged to support fascism; Hitler was such a master at staging and symbolism and intertwining the two together that it was difficult to separate Teutonic pride from Naziism before and after the war. It has been noted that Naziism was "the reductio ad absurdum of the German tradition of nationalism, militarism, worship of success, and force, as well as the exaltation of state." To me, it proves that the unexamined tradition can be the devil in the detail.