Havlíček and Czech Politics

Abstract

The main tactical issue of 1848 was naturally whether to take part in the revolution. Havlíček, like Palacký, opposed violent revolution, and therein lay his most pointed opposition to the radicals. Even now political radicalism sees revolutionary tactics as its most effective political weapon.

Karel Havlíček, the first modern Czech journalist and a victim of Austrian persecutions, was Masaryk’s great political example. Masaryk admired him for ‘his sincerity and openness’ and considered him his ‘model in journalism’. Masaryk’s detailed study Karel Havlíček, first published in 1896, was republished in an enlarged edition in 1904 and again in 1920. One of the central questions which Masaryk attempted to answer using Havlíček as his mentor was the question of choice between reform and revolution. The dilemma is discussed in the following excerpts, taken from the chapters five, seven, and the Conclusion of the book on Havlíček.