On Revolution Imagery

On Revolution Imagery

America

Arendt writes, "America had become the symbol of a society without poverty long before the modern age in its unique technological development had -actually discovered the means to abolish that abject misery of sheer want which had always been held to be eternal. And only after this had happened and had become known to European mankind could the social question and the rebellion of the poor come to play a truly revolutionary role." America's positioning as a land where beating poverty is manageable appeals to poor people who want to overcome poverty. The poor seek to bring about revolutionary conditions with the aim of changing the structures that render them underprivileged, whereas other individuals are affluent. The prime goal of revolution is to eliminate poverty and inequalities.

“Revolutions”

Arendt writes, “Psychologically speaking, the experience of foundation combined with the conviction that a new story is about to unfold in history will make men 'conservative' rather than 'revolutionary', eager to preserve what has been done and to assure its stability rather than open for new things, new developments, new ideas. Historically speaking, moreover, the men of the first revolutions - that is, those who not only made a revolution but introduced revolutions on to the scene of politics were not at all eager for new things.” Revolutions are not synonymous with change: they are launched to foster constancy in the societal structures. The tendency to be conservative in the face of change is attributed to the dread of the disturbances that will ensue after revolutionary changes. Accordingly, unexpected changes would not be embraced unconditionally by society members who prefer the status quo.

Stars

Arendt describes, "I mean the notion of irresistibility, the fact that the revolving motion of the stars follows a preordained path and is removed from all influence of human power… The motion is still seen in the image of the movements of the stars, but what is stressed now is that it is beyond human power to arrest it, and hence it is a law unto itself." The revolution of the stars connotes the irresistible nature of revolutions. Once a revolution commences, no man, no matter how powerful, can stop it. The revolution progress powerfully and naturally in the same way as stars. Humans do not have the capacity to subvert popular revolutions

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