Joseph Addison as a Social Critic with Special References to "Mischiefs of Party Spirit"

Mischiefs of Party Spirit (1711) by Joseph Addison , The Spectator No  Spectator No. 50, 27/4/1711

"Mischiefs of Party Spirit" by Joseph Addison: A Critique of Party Spirit and Its Harmful Effects

Joseph Addison: Illuminating Society's Frailties and the Evils of Party Spirit

As an essayist Joseph Addison’s professed doctrine was to improve the morals and mores of his contemporary society. Social criticism is by and large the core of his essay. In his Spectator essays, as also in some of his Tatler publications, Addison wrote to focus on the flames and depravities of his fellowmen and pointed out how these lacunae could be overcome. This is not to suggest that he had any professed political or ideological standpoint; nor was he motivated by any terrible reformistic zeal. He was a benign essayist at bottom and, accordingly satire or bitter criticism of human frailties was not his domain.

 He, with a Chaucerian view, laughed good humorously at the foibles, specifically related to social manners and social health, with the purpose of killing as well as laughing with those faults of those persons he laughed at. In his essay entitled Mischiefs of Party Spirit, Addison focuses on the evils that are escalated in society through a zealous adherence to narrow and parochial party interest, as practiced by political personages. Joseph Addison's works often addressed various societal issues of his time, including the detrimental effects of party spirit. One of his most renowned essays, Mischiefs of Party Spirit, provides valuable insights into his perspectives on this subject.

The Pitfalls of Party Spirit: Joseph Addison's Critique of Excessive Party Loyalty and its Detrimental Effects

In Mischiefs of Party Spirit Addison criticizes the negative consequences of excessive party loyalty and the harmful influence it has on society. He highlights how party spirit can lead to the erosion of reason and rationality, replacing them with blind partisanship and animosity. Addison argues that when individuals become deeply entrenched in their political affiliations, they tend to abandon critical thinking and lose sight of the common good.

Addison emphasizes the dangers of party spirit in several ways. Firstly, he discusses how it fosters a divisive mindset that promotes the interests of one group over those of the entire nation. He warns that such narrow-mindedness can lead to the neglect of important issues and the adoption of policies that favor a particular party's agenda rather than the welfare of the people. He cautions, "There cannot a greater judgment befall a country than such a dreadful spirit of division as rends a government into two distinct people, and makes them greater strangers and more averse to one another, than if they were actually two different nations. "

The Divisive Plight of Party Spirit: Joseph Addison's Critique of Intolerance and Betrayal in Politics

Politics, Addison sees around him, is not guided by purely ideological motivations but by a violent intolerance of contrary opinion and a disrespect for anything and everything out of the straitened spheres of partisan political activity. Addison is of opinion that it is owing to the mischief’s the parties do in the country that good neighborhood is spoiled and basically honest gentlemen are led to hate one another. 

Moreover the major governmental policies which are supposed to work for the prosperity for the nation we also dictated by such narrow concerns of party interest, as a result of which the basic purpose of such politic are betrayed. For him, it is a great plight of a nation when a country, a government or the most major institutions are sharply divided into polar opposites as a result of the workings of this party spirit. It ultimately results in civil wars and bloodsheds: "A furious party-spirit, when it rages in its full violence, exerts itself in civil war and bloodshed; and when it is under its greatest restraints, naturally breaks out in falsehood, detraction, calumny, and a partial administration of justice. In a word, it fills a nation with spleen and rancour, and extinguishes all the seeds of good-nature, compassion, and humanity."

Joseph Addison's Critique of Party Spirit: The Erosion of Civil Discourse and Impaired Judgments

Addison criticizes the impact of party spirit on public discourse and reasoned debate. He laments that individuals driven by party loyalty often resort to personal attacks, character assassinations, and the distortion of facts to further their partisan goals. This, in turn, undermines the foundation of a healthy democratic society, where respectful dialogue and the exchange of ideas should prevail: "If this party-spirit has so ill an effect on our morals, it has likewise a very great one upon our judgments."

 Addison argues that party spirit can impair individuals' ability to make objective judgments and form independent opinions. He believes that excessive allegiance to a political party can blind people to the merits of opposing viewpoints, hindering the pursuit of truth and progress. He advocates for the cultivation of a more inclusive and tolerant society, where individuals are encouraged to critically evaluate ideas and engage in constructive dialogue.

Private Evils of Partisanship and its Moral Consequences

 Furthermore, Addison says that such a division by party politics, since it rends a country into two virtually makes a common enemy stronger, but he is not particularly interested in the international aspect of the mischief’s of the party spirit, rather he is concerned with the ‘private evil which the spirit  private evil of partisanship breeds in the heart of every particular person. The influence of narrow partyism, for Addison, is ruinous “both to means morals and their understanding, it sinks the virtue of a nation”.

It is a religious as well as a philosophical percept that once hate is given an entry into the human mind, it would naturally multiply itself, ultimately roving harbourer of hate its victim. The party spirit engenders the passion of hate in man. Addison is less concerned with the philosophical aspect of this insalubrious passion, he concentrates on the evils it thrust upon social life. He laments that the mind of many good men among us appear soured with party principals which defy both reason and religion.

The Corrosive Influence of Party Spirit: Joseph Addison's Warning on Distorted Judgment and the Search for Unity

The party spirit does not only confound and improve men’s morals, it injures and dangers one’s faculty of judgment. One who is guided by this spirit becomes one-eyed, incapable of discerning real truth and appreciating real beauty. As a result, a man of merit and honour may appear to one as a dishonorable and vile person if he belongs to different camp; a bad book may appear illuminating or an indecently opprobrious style of writing may be regarded as satire. Partisan attitude to life by its prejudiced nature distorts knowledge and learning in man.

Addison says that such a shameless practice will ultimately destroy virtue in good man it is the restless ambition of artful politician which thus splinters the integrity of nations and infects the innate virtue man. Addison’s answer to this problem is that all honest men should unify into an association irrespective of political learning’s and should stand against the common enemies of virtue, humanity and good sense:

"Were there such an honest body of neutral forces, we should never see the worst of men in great figures of life, because they are useful to a party; nor the best unregarded, because they are above practising those methods which would be grateful to their faction. We should then single every criminal out of the herd, and hunt him down, however formidable and overgrown be might appear: on the contrary, we should shelter distressed innocence, and defend virtue, however beset with contempt or ridicule, envy or defamation. In short, we should not any longer regard our fellow-subjects as Whigs and Tories, but should make the man of merit our friend, and the villain our enemy."

 Addison’s final solution to the partisanship does not appear to be convincing. He unwillingly falls into a fallacious argument because he himself is advocating a clear breach of social though on moral grounds. There shall remain every possibility that in such cases of cleavage between virtuous and villainous, two parties will ultimately be formed which will, once again, stand the danger of engendering the party spirit. 

Conclusion

Joseph Addison, through his essay "The Mischiefs of Party Spirit," presents a compelling critique of the detrimental effects of excessive party loyalty on society. His observations regarding the erosion of reason, the neglect of the common good, and the erosion of civil discourse continue to hold relevance even in contemporary times. Addison's work serves as a reminder of the importance of fostering a more rational and inclusive political culture, where the welfare of the nation takes precedence over partisan interests.

  Ardhendu De

References

1.https://www.ourcivilisation.com/smartboard/shop/fowlerjh/chap16.htm. (n.d.). https://www.ourcivilisation.com/smartboard/shop/fowlerjh/chap16.htm

2. The life and writings of Addison; Samuel Johnson : Macaulay, Thomas Babington Macaulay, Baron, 1800-1859 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/lifewritingsofad01maca

3. Essays of Joseph Addison; : Addison, Joseph, 1672-1719 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/cu31924013167428