LSE Public Lecture: "Trails of the Great War 1914 – 2014 – Session 5"

Date: October 3, 2014

Featuring: Professor Zygmunt Bauman
Host: LSE Film and Audio Team / Chair
Theme: Reflections on the Moral Fallout of the Great War

Overview

In this thought-provoking final session of the conference, world-renowned sociologist Professor Zygmunt Bauman delivers a lecture exploring the moral and political legacy of the First World War (“the great seminal catastrophe of the 20th century”). Bauman traces the origins and consequences of territorial sovereignty, considering its links to earlier European wars of religion, colonialism, and the ongoing tension between security and freedom. Through historical and philosophical reflection, he questions whether the structures born out of the Great War and its aftermath are adequate for today’s global interdependencies—and invites the audience to engage with the unresolved dilemmas these issues present.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. From European Wars of Religion to the World Wars

• Historical Continuum: Bauman draws a direct line from the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648) and the ensuing Peace of Westphalia to the First World War. Both conflicts, he asserts, represent "the entrenchment of the principle of territorial sovereignty" ([03:10]).
• Religious to National Sovereignty: The principle "cuius regio, eius religio" (who rules, chooses the religion) established in 1555, is traced forward as a root of modern territorial/national sovereignty ([04:59]).
• Devastation Repeated: He quotes from a famine-stricken Swabian village during the Thirty Years' War to show the cyclical, tragic nature of European conflict ([07:08]).

2. Nationalism and Its Competing Forms

• Two Nationalisms: Bauman contrasts the nationalist currents of Treitschke (aggressive, survivalist, "Lebensraum") and Mazzini (liberal, cooperative, pursuing rational negotiation among nations), noting both influenced the shape of modern Europe ([13:36]).
• Borders as Double-Edged: He describes how borders both separate and facilitate exchange—an idea present in historical negotiations ([15:09]).

3. Sovereignty: From Sacred Principle to Problematic Concept

• League of Nations & United Nations: Bauman links the legacy of Wilson's League of Nations (Article 10) through to the UN Charter (Article 2), noting both enshrine non-interference, yet struggle with global interdependence ([21:29]).

• Calls for Change Ignored: He cites Jacques Maritain and Bertrand de Jouvenel, who called for the diminishment or moral limitation of sovereignty—but the world, Bauman argues, remains bound by it ([24:45]).

  "Nothing happened. We are still in the grips of the principle of territorial sovereignty..." ([28:14])
  – Zygmunt Bauman

• Globalization’s Challenge: Despite globalized flows of finance, information, and crime, institutions to manage transnational realities remain weak ([28:42]).

• “Interregnum”: Bauman uses the idea of an interregnum—a time between reigns—to describe the current moment. Old ways no longer function; new ones are yet to be invented ([30:48]).

4. The Enduring Security vs. Freedom Dilemma

• Civilizational Trade-off: Citing Freud, Bauman discusses how humanity endlessly negotiates between the need for collective security and individual freedom ([32:12]).

• Hegelian Synthesis?: He proposes we are searching for a new balance—a synthesis—between these values in an era of global interdependence, but offers no easy answers ([33:44], [34:49]).

  "I am terribly sorry, Mr. Chairman, perhaps you hope that I bring some answers. But I'm bringing all the questions." ([34:49])
  – Zygmunt Bauman

5. Experimentation and the Role of the European Union

• Necessity to Try: Responding to an audience comment on needing new forms of international mediation (an “international marriage guidance service”), Bauman insists the difficulty or impossibility of the task is no excuse for inaction ([36:50]):

  "The fact that something is very difficult or even impossible is not an argument for not trying." ([36:50])
  – Zygmunt Bauman

• Europe as Laboratory: He posits the EU as a global experiment in balancing national security and collective good ([37:22]).

• Cities as Alternatives: Citing Benjamin Barber, Bauman discusses the provocative idea that cities, not nation states, could pioneer planetary cohabitation—a "world parliament of mayors" for shared problems ([39:33]).

• Skepticism & Search for New Solutions: He expresses both hope and caution about “collaborative commerce” and grassroots transformations, referencing historical hindsight’s role in revealing categorical change ([45:29]).

6. Structural Change, Mass Culture, and the Persistence of Exclusion

• State Evolution: The wars of the 20th century expanded the concept of the state’s responsibility for its citizens, moving beyond traditional sovereign prerogative ([48:13]).
• Exclusion as Cultural Norm: Bauman critiques mass media (e.g., reality TV’s “weakest link”) for embedding the logic of exclusion and survivalism into everyday ideology ([51:13]).

7. Universal Rights Beyond the Nation?

• Audience Q&A: John Horn asks if post-WWII international rights (e.g., UN Declaration of Human Rights) mark an advance over the nation-bound rights that failed minorities after WWI ([53:27]).

• Bauman’s Response: He notes these rights still lack effective realization and the principle of self-determination has now produced similar conflicts globally as Europe experienced last century:

  "We have very poor experience in preventing the outbreak of wars... At this moment, there are 66 wars going on around the world... The only point is that about most of them we never hear." ([54:20])
  – Zygmunt Bauman

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Repetition & Causality
  • "History repeats itself. But it's not just a repetition. It is. One is the cause, the other is the effect." ([11:11])
    – Zygmunt Bauman
• On Present Predicament
  • "We are completely hopeless and hapless because we haven't developed a single really well acting institution which can cope with this new situation." ([28:42])
    – Zygmunt Bauman
• On Freedom and Security
  • "You can't get more security without sacrificing more of your freedom. And you can get more freedom without sacrificing much of your security. That is the somber truth." ([34:43])
    – Zygmunt Bauman
• On Experimenting with Social Forms
  • "The rest of the 21st century will be, willy nilly, dedicated to desperate experimental attempts to remarry power and politics. Because now they are living in divorce." ([42:47])
    – Zygmunt Bauman
• On Media’s Lessons
  • "The lesson which flows from television screens is very clear cut... Someone must be excluded. That's a law of nature. There's no avoidance. That's a rule." ([51:13])
    – Zygmunt Bauman

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------| | 00:55 | Bauman begins historical reflection | | 04:59 | "Cuius regio, eius religio" and sovereignty | | 13:36 | Two types of nationalism | | 21:29 | League of Nations and United Nations | | 28:14 | Entrenchment of territory, globalization challenge | | 32:12 | Freud: Security vs. Freedom | | 36:50 | Response: “Necessity to try" | | 39:33 | Cities as global actors | | 42:47 | Divorce of power and politics | | 48:13 | State transformation after WWI | | 51:13 | Mass media and culture of exclusion | | 54:20 | Current wars and the limits of universal rights |

Conclusion

Professor Bauman’s lecture weaves together deep historical insights and ethical reflection, challenging the audience to think beyond established concepts of sovereignty, nationalism, and rights in understanding the ongoing legacy of the First World War. Ultimately, he leaves us not with answers, but with sharper questions about the necessary balances and experiments for living together in a global, interdependent era.

For further exploration:

• Watch for his references to Whitehead, Maritain, de Jouvenel, Hegel, Freud, Ignatieff, and Barber.
• Consider the enduring struggle between structure and anti-structure, security and freedom, exclusion and inclusion.
• Bauman’s tone: Reflective, questioning, occasionally wry or self-effacing, always urging critical engagement rather than easy optimism or fatalism.