What is "regenerationism"

Regenerationism was an intellectual and political movement in late 19th century and early 20th century Spain. It sought to make objective and scientific study of the causes of Spain's decline as a nation and to propose remedies. It is largely seen as distinct from another movement of the same time and place, the Generation of '98. While both movements shared a similar negative judgment of the course of Spain as a nation in recent times, the regenerationists sought to be objective, documentary, and scientific, while the Generation of '98 inclined more to the literary, subjective and artistic.

The most prominent representative of Regenerationism was the Aragonese politician Joaquín Costa with his maxim "School, larder and double-lock the tomb of El Cid" ("Escuela, despensa y doble llave al sepulcro del Cid"): that is, look to the future and let go of the grand triumphal narrative that begins with El Cid.