This book review was written by Eugene Kernes
“It may be a truism to say that
liberation and freedom are not the same; that liberation may be the condition
of freedom but by no means leads automatically to it; that the notion of
liberty implied in liberation can only be negative, and hence, that even the
intention of liberating is not identical with the desire for freedom. Yet if these truisms are frequently
forgotten, it is because liberation has always loomed large and the foundation
for freedom has always been uncertain, if not altogether futile.” – Hannah
Arendt, Chapter 1: The Meaning of Revolution, Page 46
“Revolutions always appear to succeed with amazing ease in
their initial stage, and the reason is that the men who make them first only
pick up the power of a regime in plain disintegration; they are the
consequences but never the causes of the downfall of political authority.” – Hannah
Arendt, Chapter 3: The Pursuit of Happiness, Page 123
“Since the end of antiquity, it had been common in political theory to distinguish between government according to law and tyranny, whereby tyranny was understood to be the form of government in which the ruler ruled out of his own will and in pursuit of his own interests, thus offending the private welfare and the lawful, civil rights of the governed. Under no circumstances could monarchy, one-man rule, as such be identified with tyranny; yet it was precisely this identification to which the revolutions quickly were to be driven.” – Hannah Arendt, Chapter 3: The Pursuit of Happiness, Page 136
Is This An Overview?
There are cooperative benefits of joining groups, giving
more power to the people. But when
violence is used, violence destroys the power of many. Violence creates powerlessness rather than
power. When violence is used, people
become unwilling to cooperate, which hastens the downfall of states. Each state justifies war thought claims of
self-defense, or necessity. Anything can
justify war. Violence creates the need
for violence, as people can seek liberation from oppression that comes from
violence. Revolutions have the power to
devastate states and governments.
Liberation is a condition for freedom, but is not
freedom. Liberation is to be free from
oppression, but freedom is the desire to choose. Violence can change a form of government, but
itself is not revolution. A revolution
is when a constitution of freedom is the aim of liberation from
oppression. Nonviolence is a method of
revolution, for nonviolence deprives repressive regimes of legitimacy, and
changes the minds of the people.
Whose Interests Are Represented?
Tyrannical governments assumed that the ruler ruled with
one’s own will, and in pursuit of one’s own interests, disregarding the rights
of the governed. Monarchy was
different. But monarchy has become
identified with tyranny, for the ruler monopolizes the right of action for
oneself.
Within a democracy, the diversity of opinions needs to be
filtered by a representative. There are
conflicts of interest in the diversity of opinion.
Caveats?
The writing style can often be difficult to read. The explanations are based on historic
examples. To better understand the
context, would be to have background knowledge on various historic revolutions
and societies.
