Közéleti ambíciók, társadalmi hálózatok, csoportstratégiák

Absztrakt

The study examines the extent of German Lutheran burghers’ participation in pre-1848 associations in Hungary. Ranging from Free Masons’ lodges, ladies’ charitable societies, and Pest casinos (social clubs) to scientific-medical societies, the study explores the participation of Lutheran burghers as leaders, subscribers, or activists in various organisations from the Saxon towns to Pozsony/Pressburg, from Eperjes/Preschau to Pest. Although the figures and patterns of participa- tion show great variation across the types of associations and the traditions of different towns, German Lutherans generally show higher levels of activity than others. The paper suggests that the reasons for this lie in the shared cultural con- ventions of the stakeholders, such as their access to information abroad and their educational preferences, as well as their already existing nationwide network. The study is a methodological experiment of sorts, as the analysis approaches the associations as vehicles of social organisation. In this sense, instead of the traditional analysis of estates affiliation and profession, the subject of the present inquiry is a characteristic “estatesque” group of Hungarian society in the age of the late estates system, which can be described in terms of shared culture, and is characterised by strong social ambitions and cohesive countrywide cooperation.