Hope and Memory: Lessons from the Twentieth CenturyPrinceton University Press, 2003 - 337 pagini Both a political history and a moral critique of the twentieth century, this is a personal and impassioned book from one of Europe's most outstanding intellectuals. Identifying totalitarianism as the major innovation of the twentieth century, Tzvetan Todorov examines the struggle between this system and democracy and its effects on human life and consciousness. Totalitarianism managed to impose itself because, more than any other political system, it played on people's need for the absolute: it fed their hope to endow life with meaning by taking part in the construction of a paradise on earth. As a result, millions of people lost their lives in the name of a higher good. While democracy eventually won the struggle against totalitarianism in much of the world, democracy itself is not immune to the pitfall of do-goodery: moral correctness at home and atomic or "humanitarian" bombs abroad. Todorov explores the history of the past century not only by analyzing its spectacular political conflicts but also by offering moving profiles of several individuals who, at great personal cost, resisted the strictures of the communist and Nazi regimes. Some--Margarete Buber-Neumann, David Rousset, Primo Levi, and Germaine Tillion--were deported to concentration camps. Others--Vasily Grossman and Romain Gary--fought courageously in World War II. All became exemplary witnesses who described with great lucidity and humanity what they had endured. This book preserves the memory of the past as we move into the twenty-first century--arguing eloquently that we must place the past at the service of a just future. |
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... example of their political incompetence . But we cannot count on the same errors being repeated in the future , and struggles against terrorist aggression may turn out to be that much more difficult to orga- nize and sustain . The ...
... has the disadvantage of leaving a great deal of room for subjective appreciation . The aggressor justifies his action by claiming to feel threatened : history is rife with examples xvii PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION.
... examples of this type . As it is difficult to be impartial when one is part of the conflict , a country contemplating a preventive strike will seek the approval of an international body , such as ( since World War II ) the UN Security ...
... example , I con- sider capital punishment to be barbaric , and doubly so when in- flicted on people who are mentally retarded or who were minors at the time of their deed , yet I do not recommend declaring war on states which enforce ...
... on who you are . For an African , for example , colonization and decolonization must pre- sumably be the decisive political events of the past hundred years . And even among Europeans ( I deal principally with twentieth- 1.
Alte ediții - Afișează-le pe toate
Hope and Memory: Lessons from the Twentieth Century Tzvetan Todorov,Cvetan Todorov Previzualizare limitată - 2016 |
Hope and Memory: Lessons from the Twentieth Century Tzvetan Todorov Nu există previzualizare disponibilă - 2003 |
Hope and Memory: Reflections on the Twentieth Century Tzvetan Todorov Nu există previzualizare disponibilă - 2005 |
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The Bourgeois Virtues: Ethics for an Age of Commerce Deirdre Nansen McCloskey Previzualizare limitată - 2010 |
Where Have All the Soldiers Gone?: The Transformation of Modern Europe James J. Sheehan Nu există previzualizare disponibilă - 2008 |