by Anna Zizlsperger
“Man is that which has still much before it. He is repeatedly transformed in his work and by it. […] The authentic in man and in the world is potential, waiting, living in fear of being frustrated, living in hope of succeeding.”
–Ernst Bloch, The Principle of Hope
In his book The Principle of Hope the Marxist author Ernst Bloch describes that in times of rising societies, the function and content of hope that people are exposed to is continuously activated and extended. He continues that only in times of decline, a certain partial and transitory intention runs exclusively downwards, which can result in a fear of hope. Living in a post-modern, post-capitalist and maybe even post-democratic era, it seems to be appropriate to talk about a ‘crisis of hope’ in our society. The reason for this crisis appears to be a sense of powerlessness in the face of larger, uncontrollable forces, such as climate change or the dynamics of the global capital market and the regimes regulated by it.
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