Politics (essay) Politics (essay) "Politics" is an essay written by Ralph Waldo Emerson. It is part of his "Essays: Second Series", published in 1844. A premier philosopher, poet and leader of American transcendentalism, he used this essay to belie his feelings on government, specifically American government. His impact on New England thought and his views on pragmatism influenced the likes of Henry David Thoreau, Orestes Brownson, and Frederich Nietzsche, among others. Although not viewed as his most important essay in the second series, Emerson’s views on politics championed democracy and individualism, two ideas that are viewed today as undoubtedly American. By 1844,
Individualism Old and New ways: mentally, because of the formative effect of turning people into mindless parts of a machine in their work; Materially, because of inadequate distribution of wealth; and by corrupting education, because education too often directed only towards obtaining a job and not learning for the sake of learning. 8. Individuality in Our Day: Man needs to reexamine his old beliefs such as science and religion being ends in themselves. Man should then realize that all things need to be directed towards social ends, not selfish ends such as profit. He closes with a metaphor that new individualism is each cultivating