Why is it that the majority of societies have some predetermined notion of where they want to end up in the near, but not immediate, future? Most, upon hearing this query, would instantaneously retort it is obviously part of human character for man to endeavor to better himself. This drive to become more and more civilized, they would say, is what has made the United States the powerful force that it is today. Is this notion more popular among certain social and economic groups, however? Or is it that different social and economic groups have differing opinions of where they would like to see themselves? And what happens when the conflicting opinions of two groups, who are intricately dependent on one another, do not happen to coincide? And finally can a unified and strong state emerge from the melee of such a complicated and ongoing struggle?
Teresa Meade, in her book "Civilizing" Rio, does a fantastic job of answering the first three of these questions using Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 1889 to 1930 as her subject matter. Ultimately, she endeavors to portray the history of Rio de Janeiro from two very different points of view. These two points of view are the aforementioned conflicting groups: the elite and
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