What is chauvinism - history and role in the modern world

The concept of "chauvinism" arose in the middle of the 19th century in France. The word itself is formed on behalf of the old soldier of the Napoleonic guard, a semi-legendary person - Nicolas Chauvin de Rochefort, who became the hero of more than one vaudeville. Shoven, as they write Some historians, still a young man went to serve in the imperial army, was seventeen times wounded and did not make a fortune in his whole life. However, until the end of his days he idolized Napoleon and was not ashamed to speak it out loudly, which won popularity and ridicule not only among the military, but also among the civilian population. The old soldier Chauvin was so patriotic that instead of the sheet he was laying the tricolor imperial banner and was sleeping on it.

This is the history of this term. However, until now there is no clear opinion on what chauvinism is - blurry language is too vague. Some say that this is an extreme degree of nationalism, others are an aggressive misanthropic ideology, and others are a form of racism. However, analogies with nationalism are not entirely correct. First you need to understand what chauvinism is, what goals does it serve?

According to historians, chauvinism is not an ideology, because there is no precise systematization, rigid installations, concrete means of achieving the goal and claiming scientific value. Chauvinism is an emotional component that characterizes the atmosphere of intolerance in society, in contrast to Nationalism. The roots of the emergence of these two ideological currents are also different: the latter, as a rule, originates in the oppressed nation and manifests itself in the requirements of observing national interests, in striving for the development of its people, that is, it carries a positive connotation. Chauvinism is the prerogative of the dominant nation and manifests itself in contempt for all other peoples, in the desire to suppress or even to physically destroy small assimilations.

Chauvinism is especially dangerous when it becomes the official policy of the state, that is, reinforced and justified legally. Quite recently, in the 30s and 40s, humanity witnessed the bringing of a political system based on the extreme form of chauvinism-Nazism. In our country this term became well known thanks to the Social Democrats, who zealously fought against Great-power chauvinism and built a new international society.

So, we figured out what chauvinism is on a nationwide scale. However, this word is also used to define social stereotypes. For example, there are male and female chauvinism - two varieties of sexism. Each of them is characterized by the fact that there is discrimination based on gender, the opposite sex is declared incapable of anything and entirely guilty, its rights are insignificant or nonexistent. Probably, it is not necessary to explain what chauvinism is for men. Throughout history, in many cultures, the predominance of the stronger sex in all spheres of life was considered the norm, but the emergence of feminism and women's desire for equality marked the beginning of criticism of this state of affairs. Female chauvinism is less common and in milder forms due to physiology and character traits - on the verbal level.