The Logic of History?

Would that there were a logic to history! Instead, as Schopenhauer taught, there is Wille (brute, wanton, grasping, desire) and, thankfully, Vorstellung (the ability to envision).

Using Vorstellung, we can "discern" distinct patterns in human behavior through time--because human beings appear to have a woefully limited repertoire of action and imagination.

If we pay attention to these patterns (i.e., study history) we discover that there are ways to channel Wille to positive ends--but it takes vision. We know this; we've seen it in action. Great spirits rise up and dream generous, life-affirming dreams. In trying to implement those dreams they provide us a temporary respite--a "Sabbath" as it were. Then the forces of Wille re-group and Dreamland is, once again, laid to waste. The darkness descends; but there are always sparks, here and there, to light our way.

The only thing to do is to stay close to the sparks. And once in a while, if the opportunity presents itself, to leave some obstacle, some debris in the way of Wille.

The best way to do this--as we learn from Etienne de la Boetie's Discourse of Voluntary Servitude--is simply non-cooperation. The problem is that this takes a great deal of self-discipline. And it can be dangerous. Discretion is always the better part of valor.

In the immortal words of Bruce Springsteen:

Badlands/You've gotta live it every day/Let the broken hearts stand/As the price you gotta pay/Keep movin' till its understood/And these Badlands start treatin' us good...

The desire to escape the same dull round, to believe that the cycle has been broken and we are heading into a New Age, can be overwhelming at times; but we must not kid ourselves: if we are fortunate, we will experience from time to time what Schopenhauer termed a "Sabbath of the Willing." In those moments of respite when "these Badlands start treating us good," we should not hesitate to relax and celebrate. But we should also always remember to "keep our powder dry"--for the anti-life forces of reaction are ever present and threatening.