Abstract
This study eventually will consist of three related parts. The first deals with grand changes in economic, political and social leadership in Western society since the classical days. This part concerns the changes from the classical dominance of a group of leaders called the Gentry. These gave way in the Vth century of our era to the Churchmen. After long rule by the Churchmen to the XVth century, the reins of leadership passed to the Mercantilists or business groups. The Mercantilists reached the apogee of their power in the XIXth century. Since then these have been and are being replaced by a new group, here called the Intelligentsia.
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Literature
See Statistical Summaries of Education, U. S. Office of Education, Washington, D. C.; U. S. Census Population Reports, 1960, P-20, No. 110; Carle C. Zimmerman and Lucius F. Cervantes, Successful American Families, New York, 1960, pp. 10–11, 125
Arthur S. Trace, What Ivan Knows that Johnny Doesn’t, New York. 1961.
The symptoms of decay of the upper classes had been noted earlier for Greece. Polybius had used it as partial explanation of the failure of Greece to Rome in his History, written about 100 B. C. (See Ch. 38). Augustus (Emperor 29 B. C. to 14 A. D.) recognized this danger to the social system, partly based upon his earlier tutoring in Greek thought and histories, and corrected it, at least for some time, by his family legislation generally known as „Caducary (or inheritance) Legislation”. „The resurgence of this type of decay of the gentry was a major topic in Zosimus’ New History, appearing about 415 A. D. The ultimate death of the older social class of „purposeful gentry” was the subject of one of the chapters in Salvian’s Governauce of God written between 440 and 450 A. D. Apparently in the History of the Franks by Gregory of Tours (538–593) Gregory was the only important person in that section of the civilized old Roman Empire who had any respect for Roman Law, which was the former main civilized tradition. See Zimmerman, Family and Civilization, New York, 1947, Chs. 12, 13, 17, 18, for details.
The documentation of this is to be found in Procopius, Secret History, History of the Wars, and History of the Buildings of the Roman Empire. See the fourth part of the Corpus Juris Civilis for the rise of the churchmen, into the governing bureaucracy. Gregory of Tours shows the ineptness of the ruling classes in dealing with, and failing to settle, on famous family vendetta, the great Sichaire-Austregisil feud. On this see Carle C. Zimmerman, op. cit., Chs. 17–18 et passim.
For a rough documentation of the poor economic conditions prevailing during these periods see Prosper Boissonade, Life and Work in Medieval Europe, New York, 1927; see also the numerous volumes by Vicomte G. d’Avenel especially Le nivellement des jouissances, Paris, 1913, and Paysans et ouvriers depuis sept cent ans, Paris, 1899. In English see the numerous volumes by the famous economic historian, James E. Thorold-Rogers.
See Carle C. Zimmerman, Patterns of Social Change, Public Affairs Press, Washington, D. C., 1956; Ibid „Contemporary Trends in Sociology in America and Abroad“, in J. S. Roucek (Ed.) Contemporary Sociology, Philosophical Library, N. Y., 1958.
This short sketch of certain aspects of social change is not intended to be either history nor old-fashioned evolutionary sociology of the Spencerian XIX century type. It is not a rhythmical sociology, either. It simply reviews a short space of time in Western history to lead up to and help understand the vast transformation of life now underway in the XXth century. It seeks to give an analogic basis for understanding some of our social problems. This is through an analysis of three other great eras of transition.
Wall Street Journal November 16, 1961, „Basis Research“ by Thomas P. O’Toole. Millions of dollars are now being spent by industry for innovation and the trend is away from dependence upon governmental spending because this has been found too slow for technical innovation in the competitive struggle.
O’Toole in Wall Street Journal, November 16, 1961.
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© 1963 Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden
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Zimmerman, C.C. (1963). The Rise of the Intelligentsia. In: Specht, K.G., Rasch, H.G., Hofbauer, H. (eds) Studium Sociale. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-663-04232-7_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-663-04232-7_19
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