Romanticism and Modernity

This chapter explores the implications of Taylor’s analysis of romanticism’s influence on modernity and the tension, in his opinion, between modernity’s dominant emphasis on instrumental rationality and romanticism’s ideals, like expression, creativity and community. Taylor wants to show, we argue, the extent to which the strains of modern society derive from this tension and how romanticism’s ideals have influenced modern political movements, particularly nationalism. In particular, Taylor’s own critical diagnoses of the ‘malaise of modernity’ are influenced by romanticism, as is evident from his observations on the fragility of social bonds in the face of industrial and technological advancement, as well as in his comments on contemporary culture’s potential loss of meaning and significance. These experiences of alienation are the other side, so to speak, of the modern ethic of authenticity, which has resulted in the widespread concern with self-realisation. Taylor argues that romantic authors, especially Humboldt and Herder, developed an expressivist theory of language, a holistic conception of liberal freedoms, and were among the first to appreciate the importance of a community’s political culture to modern freedoms. Taylor is shown to be able to claim on this basis that the debate between liberalism and communitarians has been at cross-purposes.