Thoughts on the present and past state of things
The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggle.
- The Communist Manifesto, 1848
What is history? Marx defines it as class struggle, or perhaps conflict more generally. E.H. Carr, an eminent historian, called history an ". . . unending dialogue between the past and the present."
History is fundamentally a story of change over time. The word story is important. History is not some objective set of all facts, or even an objective set of all "important" facts. It is a set of facts that have been interpreted by historians, and the broader public, and molded together into a story. Some facts are excluded from this set either by chance or by choice. For example, though women has always played important roles in society, they were largely excluded from the history books until feminist historians began to come into the academy in the 1960s and 70s.
Thus, the present is as important to history as the past, for it is through the prism of the present that we understand the stories of our past.
But if history is a story of change over time, how does change occur? This gets us back to Marx's point. One method of change is conflict, or struggle. For a time one order existed. It held off all challengers. But eventually, it was defeated by one or more of them, and a new order or orders took its place. What will the new world order of the 21st Century be? Will this continue to be America's century? If not, what will replace us? Will it be good? Will it be bad? There are whispers of China and India. Will they fulfill their promise, or will some other power rise in their stead? Hard to say as yet.
To know where you are going, it is useful sometimes to ask, where did I come from? What direction was I heading in? It is not an objective indicator of what lies ahead. But it is a good place to start.
- The Communist Manifesto, 1848
What is history? Marx defines it as class struggle, or perhaps conflict more generally. E.H. Carr, an eminent historian, called history an ". . . unending dialogue between the past and the present."
History is fundamentally a story of change over time. The word story is important. History is not some objective set of all facts, or even an objective set of all "important" facts. It is a set of facts that have been interpreted by historians, and the broader public, and molded together into a story. Some facts are excluded from this set either by chance or by choice. For example, though women has always played important roles in society, they were largely excluded from the history books until feminist historians began to come into the academy in the 1960s and 70s.
Thus, the present is as important to history as the past, for it is through the prism of the present that we understand the stories of our past.
But if history is a story of change over time, how does change occur? This gets us back to Marx's point. One method of change is conflict, or struggle. For a time one order existed. It held off all challengers. But eventually, it was defeated by one or more of them, and a new order or orders took its place. What will the new world order of the 21st Century be? Will this continue to be America's century? If not, what will replace us? Will it be good? Will it be bad? There are whispers of China and India. Will they fulfill their promise, or will some other power rise in their stead? Hard to say as yet.
To know where you are going, it is useful sometimes to ask, where did I come from? What direction was I heading in? It is not an objective indicator of what lies ahead. But it is a good place to start.
posted by Tbone at
6:37 PM
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