Društveni pogledi Ante Starčevića
THE SOCIAL VIEWS OF ANTE STARČEVIĆ

Summary/Abstract: The author analyzes social theories in the works of the Croatian politician and ideologue Ante Starčević (1823-1896). In his works, Starčević developed a system of national ideology in which he addressed many significant political, economic, and cultural issues. He proposed the cooperation of the various social classes in order to more easily realize his key political objective: the creation of an independent Croatian state. He represented an idealistic view of the state as a moral community which had to ensure a good life for its members and the concept of civic nationalism by which all members of the nation were citizens without regard to their ethnic and religious origins. In terms of political views, Starčević was a typical 19th century liberal, because he argued for the principle of national sovereignty, but with a strong bent toward elitism, so that women and the lower (peasantry) social classes were not directly to participate in political life. On the question of religion, he was a supporter of laicization, though he was not an atheist. Starčević sought the economic and cultural modernization of Croatian society, though he did not believe that great strides could be made toward this goal while Croatia remained politically suppressed within the framework of Austria. He believed that the peasant communes, in which the bulk of Croats still lived, should be preserved after certain reforms were carried out and that they should only be dismantled if it was a matter of great duress. Starčević had faith in historical progress, considering the societies of Western Europe, particularly France, the pinnacle of progressive development. Starčević ignored current theories of evolution and retained the traditional humanistic notion of humanity’s exceptionality.

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