Randolph Bourne
American progressive writer (1886–1918); opposed US entry into World War I; "war is the health of the state".
At a glance
Main ideas
War is the health of the state, Trans-National America, Democracy unexamined …
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Youth and Life, Trans-National America, Twilight of Idols …
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- Bourne was a progressive writer and intellectual, a graduate of Columbia University.
- He is considered a spokesman for the young radicals of the World War I years, writing in The Seven Arts and The New Republic.
- He opposed the war and broke with his teacher John Dewey over using it to spread democracy.
- His essay Trans-National America argued for a cosmopolitan America rather than assimilation.
- He died in the Spanish flu pandemic at 32.
Why it matters
- His unfinished essay The State, published after his death, gave the dictum "war is essentially the health of the state", and his essay on disability is considered a foundational work in disability studies.
Key facts
- Born
- 30 May 1886, Bloomfield, New Jersey1
- Died
- 22 Dec 1918, in the Spanish flu pandemic1
- Education
- Columbia University from 1909, BA 1912, then a master's degree in 19131
- Gilder Fellowship
- A year of study in Europe, cut short by the outbreak of war in August 19141
- The New Republic
- Contributing editor1
Main ideas
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War is the health of the state1
Governments take authority and resources for themselves in wartime.
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Trans-National America1
Immigrant cultures should be accommodated in a cosmopolitan America, not assimilated to an Anglo-Saxon one.
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Democracy unexamined1
In Twilight of Idols he argued America used democracy to justify the war without examining democracy itself.
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Disability1
His essay The Handicapped, by one of them, drew on his own experience.
Books to start with
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Connections
Links
Sources
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