Gord Barentsen Posted July 8, 2019 Share Posted July 8, 2019 The logical result of Fascism is the introduction of aesthetics into political life. The violation of the masses, whom Fascism, with its Führer cult, forces to their knees, has its counterpart in the violation of an apparatus which is pressed into the production of ritual values. --Walter Benjamin, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" Quote When a book and a head collide and a hollow sound is heard, must it always have come from the book? -- Lichtenberg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotWithoutMyOntic Posted August 9, 2019 Share Posted August 9, 2019 On 7/9/2019 at 7:06 AM, Gord Barentsen said: The logical result of Fascism is the introduction of aesthetics into political life. The violation of the masses, whom Fascism, with its Führer cult, forces to their knees, has its counterpart in the violation of an apparatus which is pressed into the production of ritual values. --Walter Benjamin, "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction" Hogwash. DOnt we already have aesthetics everywhere in life? rituals? i can think of a million things wrong with this perspective which seems to take a narrow view on what "aesthetics is! Not everyone who has daily "rituals" is succumbing to a fascist will. 1 Quote We need to teach children how to think rather than what to think. – Margaret Mead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chacheng Posted August 10, 2019 Share Posted August 10, 2019 so i assume this guy was writing in WW 2 but what's wrong with aesthetics in modern life? didn't the Romantics want us to see art in the everyday? i agree with @NotWithoutMyOntic not sure what this guy is on about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gord Barentsen Posted August 18, 2019 Author Share Posted August 18, 2019 I don't know a lot about Benjamin, but I suspect that by "aesthetics" he means the poeticization of the political. So by that I think he has in mind the massive rallies in Nazi Germany with thousands of troops marching in unison, the swastikas everywhere, the uniformity of the architecture and so forth. Quote When a book and a head collide and a hollow sound is heard, must it always have come from the book? -- Lichtenberg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gord Barentsen Posted August 19, 2019 Author Share Posted August 19, 2019 I'm also wondering about Benjamin's relationship to Romanticism...I know some writers on the political left have traditionally criticised Romanticism for being (at best) apolitical and (at worst) supporting fascist ideologies which tend to be about blood and soil (nice organic Romantic things 😉). Of course this is a pretty radical reduction of Romanticism, but... Quote When a book and a head collide and a hollow sound is heard, must it always have come from the book? -- Lichtenberg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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