“The Duties of Man” was written by Giuseppe Mazzini in 1860. His target audience was the Italian working-man who, despite his best efforts, was unable to support him and his family. “The Duties of Man” mainly discusses the importance of leaving individuality behind and thinking in terms of Humanity as a whole. Doing things for the betterment of Humanity keeps egoism from getting the better of men and they are able to make more rational decisions. When men think of not just their children and wives as their families, but of Italy as their family, the nation will be greater. The overall message throughout the work is that of uniting Italy from simply many nation-states to one unified nation. Thus, the work has an incredibly nationalistic tone.
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Mazzini claims that “For the last fifty years whatever has been done for the cause of progress and of good against absolute governments and hereditary aristocracies has been done in the name of the Rights of Man; in the name of liberty as the means, and of well-being as the object of existence. All the acts of the French Revolution and of the revolutions which followed and imitated it were consequences of a Declaration of the Rights of Man” (Mazzini 1). By using the word “consequences” to define the effects of the French Revolution and the many revolutions that followed, Mazzini gives liberty and the “rights” a negative connotation. A right alludes to entitlement and egoism, whereas a duty is something that has to be done, not merely something done for one person’s own self-worth and happiness. Mazzini’s work appears to be a response to the “Declaration of the Rights of Man” which was a document written during the French revolution, a revolution that he believes did nothing to further the status of the working class as it was based solely on rights and not duties. Essentially, when a person only thinks of his rights “and when his rights clashed with those of others” this leads to war (Mazzini 3). As Europe has often experienced wars caused by greed and corruption that left the countries who fought them devastated by destruction, it is …show more content…
He addresses the idea of nationalism directly by stating “To you, who have been born in Italy, God has allotted, as if favouring you specially, the best-defined country in Europe” (Mazzini 10). Mazzini believes that it is the working class’s duty to unify themselves for the specific goal of unifying Italy. Italy united will be a stronger nation than the individual nation states it is composed of. In a united Italy, all citizens will be speaking the same language, have the same cultural traditions, and all be educated, as well as have similar religious beliefs and traditions. This appeals to the working class as in a united Italy, everything will be uniform, thus giving the working class the possibility of changing their place in the social hierarchy. This causes for the Italian people to actually know what it means to be Italian, something that other citizens of other nations may have struggled with. Without any commonalities, uniting the citizens of Italy would be incredibly difficult. By creating the idea of what it means to be Italian, Mazzini is creating a way to connect the citizens. Furthermore, even God recognizes that Italy, a country not founded on greed, but on the prospect that all members of humanity are equal and must support one another, should be a country. He created borders already for Italy: the Alps and the
Mazzini claims that “For the last fifty years whatever has been done for the cause of progress and of good against absolute governments and hereditary aristocracies has been done in the name of the Rights of Man; in the name of liberty as the means, and of well-being as the object of existence. All the acts of the French Revolution and of the revolutions which followed and imitated it were consequences of a Declaration of the Rights of Man” (Mazzini 1). By using the word “consequences” to define the effects of the French Revolution and the many revolutions that followed, Mazzini gives liberty and the “rights” a negative connotation. A right alludes to entitlement and egoism, whereas a duty is something that has to be done, not merely something done for one person’s own self-worth and happiness. Mazzini’s work appears to be a response to the “Declaration of the Rights of Man” which was a document written during the French revolution, a revolution that he believes did nothing to further the status of the working class as it was based solely on rights and not duties. Essentially, when a person only thinks of his rights “and when his rights clashed with those of others” this leads to war (Mazzini 3). As Europe has often experienced wars caused by greed and corruption that left the countries who fought them devastated by destruction, it is …show more content…
He addresses the idea of nationalism directly by stating “To you, who have been born in Italy, God has allotted, as if favouring you specially, the best-defined country in Europe” (Mazzini 10). Mazzini believes that it is the working class’s duty to unify themselves for the specific goal of unifying Italy. Italy united will be a stronger nation than the individual nation states it is composed of. In a united Italy, all citizens will be speaking the same language, have the same cultural traditions, and all be educated, as well as have similar religious beliefs and traditions. This appeals to the working class as in a united Italy, everything will be uniform, thus giving the working class the possibility of changing their place in the social hierarchy. This causes for the Italian people to actually know what it means to be Italian, something that other citizens of other nations may have struggled with. Without any commonalities, uniting the citizens of Italy would be incredibly difficult. By creating the idea of what it means to be Italian, Mazzini is creating a way to connect the citizens. Furthermore, even God recognizes that Italy, a country not founded on greed, but on the prospect that all members of humanity are equal and must support one another, should be a country. He created borders already for Italy: the Alps and the