Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
H. Williams (2001)
Metamorphosis or Palingenesis? Political Change in KantThe Review of Politics, 63
E. Laclau (1977)
Politics and ideology in Marxist theory : capitalism, fascism, populism
R. Schleifer (2000)
Modernism and Time: The Logic of Abundance in Literature, Science, and Culture, 1880-1930
A. Koestler (1959)
The Sleepwalkers: A History of Man's Changing Vision of the Universe
[Walter Benjamin’s insight into the temporal dimension of revolution is contained within one of what became known as his ‘Theses on the Philosophy of History’, a series of illuminations formulated during his personal ‘moment of danger’1 – exile in Paris from the Third Reich, just months before his suicide on the Spanish border in September 1940. The idiosyncratic form of analogical thinking he developed for exploring the nature of history in the thrall of modernity (which itself can be considered emblematic of modernism),2 enabled him to recognise the powerful ideological energy that can be unleashed by the mythopoeic power of collective associative memory during a period of social and political ferment. He saw that the act of forging an allegorical link between the present and a mythically shaped and largely imagined episode from the past can result in an epic temporal trigonometry, producing a line of sight towards an alternative future. With it is born a revolutionary vision capable of blasting the space for a new political and social order out of the seemingly monolithic status quo. Suddenly the barren present becomes pregnant with the anticipation of rebirth, thereby transforming as if by a conjuring trick the endless temporal continuum which Benjamin equates with the ‘historicist’ concept of time. ‘Historicism’ as he presents it is reminiscent of the ‘ever-expanding, grey future’ in which Franz Kafka once imagined a tawdry circus act taking place ad infinitum until one member of the audience finally bursts into the ring and shouts ‘stop!’.3]
Published: Oct 21, 2015
Keywords: Socialist Revolution; Marxist Theory; Dialectical Materialism; Cultural Hegemony; Liberal Capitalism
Read and print from thousands of top scholarly journals.
Already have an account? Log in
Bookmark this article. You can see your Bookmarks on your DeepDyve Library.
To save an article, log in first, or sign up for a DeepDyve account if you don’t already have one.
Copy and paste the desired citation format or use the link below to download a file formatted for EndNote
Access the full text.
Sign up today, get DeepDyve free for 14 days.
All DeepDyve websites use cookies to improve your online experience. They were placed on your computer when you launched this website. You can change your cookie settings through your browser.