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My God yes, we have been warned. But have we listened? And have we told everyone? Is Arendt, specifically Origins, required reading at a majority of public and
by magicink81 5y ago
My God yes, we have been warned. But have we listened? And have we told everyone? Is Arendt, specifically Origins, required reading at a majority of public and private universities in the US and Europe? Let alone government high schools, and community colleges? I didn't discover her until recently. Solzhenitsyn also. I still think it's not too late to popularize their work, and explain it's high degree of relevance to contemporary life.
- toyg 5y agoIn Europe, as far as I know Arendt is well-known and always popular, particularly on the left. The "problem" I have with her writings is that, in their precise rationality, they feel utterly bleak. Yes, there are all these terrible dynamics at play, generating totalitarianism from loneliness and monsters from banal people - so what should we do? Is there hope? That doesn't seem to come up. So the reader is left somewhat depressed. (Or at least this is what I remember feeling when I read them, 10-15 years ago.)
- jancsika 5y ago> In Europe, as far as I know Arendt is well-known and always popular, particularly on the left. It's the same in the U.S. Google "banality of evil" to see how well-known her Eichmann article is. I've heard Chomsky refer to it in a significant percentage of the talks he's given.
- motohagiography 5y agoIt's worth looking at who Arendt is not depressing for, but rather, enlightening, and who she provides a pragmatic set of analytical tools for.