Thank you for some very important* comments in response to Anne Applebaum’s question about the danger of assuming that events unfold inevitably, that democracy will always spread, that Ukraine can survive without us having to do anything in particular, and that the world is getting inevitably better. Specifically, she asked you to give us advice on how to think about Ukraine and to act in the world, having learned that these assumptions are false.
You said:
(short version) Many, many people in the West thought that capitalism would automatically bring democracy…you can hand over the process of democracy to a larger impersonal force, to an invisible hand, and if the invisible hand is doing the work, then maybe you don't have to do anything at all. That turns out not to be true...Freedom is all about recognizing impersonal forces, resisting impersonal forces, acting against impersonal forces, becoming a personal force yourself … The first step … is to recognize …that history is … made by us, is to recognize that freedom is a value, not the result of some kind of process, and it has to be affirmed, sometimes with risk-taking by us. It’s to resist notions of progress, but also to resist notions of fate. ...We have to resist … inevitability, our own thoughtless optimism, and ideas of eternity… And the way to do that is to be creative. It’s to imagine multiple futures.
(longer version) A big intellectual mistake that a lot of people made after communism came to an end in Europe in 1989, or the end of the Soviet Union in 1991, was the notion that now there are no alternatives, to quote Maggie Thatcher. That was incorrect. There are always alternatives. Many, many people in the West thought that capitalism would automatically bring democracy and that’s a very comforting thought because you can hand over the process of democracy to a larger impersonal force, to an invisible hand, and if the invisible hand is doing the work, then maybe you don't have to do anything at all. That turns out not to be true. Both Russia and China in their different ways have shown that tyranny can be wed very easily to capitalism, and, what's worse, if you delegate all the work of freedom to impersonal forces, you're forgetting what freedom is. Freedom is all about recognizing impersonal forces, resisting impersonal forces, acting against impersonal forces, becoming a personal force yourself -- and if you take this to an extreme, and just imagine that letting everything hang out is all you need for freedom you end up in these catastrophic situations like the one that Russia is in where wealth is so centralized in so few hands that the kinds of tyranny that Yuval was talking about become very hard to resist. So, the first step to repairing all of this is to recognize -- and here the Ukrainians, as everyone has been saying, have done something essential – has been to recognize that history is also made by us, is to recognize that freedom is a value, not the result of some kind of process, and it has to be affirmed, sometimes with risk-taking by us. It’s to resist notions of progress, but also to resist notions of fate. What Mr. Putin’s talking about, is fate. It’s Ukraine’s fate to be with Russia. It’s Belarus’ fate to be with Russia. A dictator’s imagination of the past creates a single lane along which the future is going to travel. We have to resist both inevitability, our own thoughtless optimism, and ideas of eternity, that there is just one way that the past and the future can go and it’s determined by a dictator’s imagination of the past. And the way to do that is to be creative. It’s to imagine multiple futures. And here the Ukrainians have been very helpful. From Maidan to the present, they’ve been helping us to imagine how things could be different. They’ve been helping to shake us out of undue optimism and undue pessimism. And I think, if this moment that we’re in now, which is a terrible moment, is going to have a positive outcome, that positive outcome will be to have to do with Ukrainians helping us to think out our way out to multiple better futures.
* worthy of a prominent placement in a book about freedom
Professor Snyder is the go to guy & scholar to explain what, why & how there was so much killing & destruction in Eastern Europe & Ukraine in WWII. And how we cannot escape the lessons of history. Putin with this invasion puts to rest Holocaust deniers. We are witnessing a Slavic civil war based on a lie & Putin's obsession to make Russia Great Again.
Thank you. Hey friends just wanted to share a moment of beauty and awe in the midst of chaos and destruction. If you don't want to click links then you can just go to YouTube and search the title. I hope you all are doing well.
Voces8 - May it Be (Enya/Lord of the Rings) - VOCES8 'Enchanted Isle'
I have only been able to watch the morning video with Anne Applebaum. I learned a lot and felt such emotion and pride for the Ukrainian people. Your statements about “Democracy is unpredictable as it brings renewal” made me think of the many fires we have had in California. The fires destroyed homes, lands, and trees but people rebuilt. This was their renewal. That will be Ukraine’s and all of the world should be right there lending many hands. .
Just tuned into your chat with Jonathan Freedland for JBW. I must say I’m feeling more positive than I have all week. As for the graphic version of On Tyranny - is this something you reckon younger readers (pre/early teen) might find accessible?
Thank you for a fabulous talk on the Jewish Book Week with Jonathan Freedlander! I actually took notes which I hope I can read later given my poor handwriting. So glad you posted the links.
Such an important discussion about Ukraine,Russia and the World. So correct that the Future has yet to be written, it’s not determined. The power of values is not to be underestimated as was seen in 1945 and 1989. Authentic Leadership, creativity, and right matter.
Thank you all so much, the talk was fantastic! Especially Igor ❤️🙏🇺🇦💪 I have donated, called my representatives, and share good information. Just pointed out the danger of a book mentioned in passing, ‘The Authoritarians’ which says about America what Putin does about Ukraine. I was able to recognize the patterns and meaning of the description, I believe, from critical thinking skills strengthened by your lectures and books. The point was well taken, ultimately. Thank you Professor Snyder for showing us how to be free people but most of all your support for Ukraine. слава Україні ❤️🙏🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦
Thank you for some very important* comments in response to Anne Applebaum’s question about the danger of assuming that events unfold inevitably, that democracy will always spread, that Ukraine can survive without us having to do anything in particular, and that the world is getting inevitably better. Specifically, she asked you to give us advice on how to think about Ukraine and to act in the world, having learned that these assumptions are false.
You said:
(short version) Many, many people in the West thought that capitalism would automatically bring democracy…you can hand over the process of democracy to a larger impersonal force, to an invisible hand, and if the invisible hand is doing the work, then maybe you don't have to do anything at all. That turns out not to be true...Freedom is all about recognizing impersonal forces, resisting impersonal forces, acting against impersonal forces, becoming a personal force yourself … The first step … is to recognize …that history is … made by us, is to recognize that freedom is a value, not the result of some kind of process, and it has to be affirmed, sometimes with risk-taking by us. It’s to resist notions of progress, but also to resist notions of fate. ...We have to resist … inevitability, our own thoughtless optimism, and ideas of eternity… And the way to do that is to be creative. It’s to imagine multiple futures.
(longer version) A big intellectual mistake that a lot of people made after communism came to an end in Europe in 1989, or the end of the Soviet Union in 1991, was the notion that now there are no alternatives, to quote Maggie Thatcher. That was incorrect. There are always alternatives. Many, many people in the West thought that capitalism would automatically bring democracy and that’s a very comforting thought because you can hand over the process of democracy to a larger impersonal force, to an invisible hand, and if the invisible hand is doing the work, then maybe you don't have to do anything at all. That turns out not to be true. Both Russia and China in their different ways have shown that tyranny can be wed very easily to capitalism, and, what's worse, if you delegate all the work of freedom to impersonal forces, you're forgetting what freedom is. Freedom is all about recognizing impersonal forces, resisting impersonal forces, acting against impersonal forces, becoming a personal force yourself -- and if you take this to an extreme, and just imagine that letting everything hang out is all you need for freedom you end up in these catastrophic situations like the one that Russia is in where wealth is so centralized in so few hands that the kinds of tyranny that Yuval was talking about become very hard to resist. So, the first step to repairing all of this is to recognize -- and here the Ukrainians, as everyone has been saying, have done something essential – has been to recognize that history is also made by us, is to recognize that freedom is a value, not the result of some kind of process, and it has to be affirmed, sometimes with risk-taking by us. It’s to resist notions of progress, but also to resist notions of fate. What Mr. Putin’s talking about, is fate. It’s Ukraine’s fate to be with Russia. It’s Belarus’ fate to be with Russia. A dictator’s imagination of the past creates a single lane along which the future is going to travel. We have to resist both inevitability, our own thoughtless optimism, and ideas of eternity, that there is just one way that the past and the future can go and it’s determined by a dictator’s imagination of the past. And the way to do that is to be creative. It’s to imagine multiple futures. And here the Ukrainians have been very helpful. From Maidan to the present, they’ve been helping us to imagine how things could be different. They’ve been helping to shake us out of undue optimism and undue pessimism. And I think, if this moment that we’re in now, which is a terrible moment, is going to have a positive outcome, that positive outcome will be to have to do with Ukrainians helping us to think out our way out to multiple better futures.
* worthy of a prominent placement in a book about freedom
Thanks! Is there a recording of the talks mentioned? The zoom link expired.
Professor Snyder is the go to guy & scholar to explain what, why & how there was so much killing & destruction in Eastern Europe & Ukraine in WWII. And how we cannot escape the lessons of history. Putin with this invasion puts to rest Holocaust deniers. We are witnessing a Slavic civil war based on a lie & Putin's obsession to make Russia Great Again.
💙💛🇺🇦
Thank you. Hey friends just wanted to share a moment of beauty and awe in the midst of chaos and destruction. If you don't want to click links then you can just go to YouTube and search the title. I hope you all are doing well.
Voces8 - May it Be (Enya/Lord of the Rings) - VOCES8 'Enchanted Isle'
https://youtu.be/x7M5ZqFSynQ
I have only been able to watch the morning video with Anne Applebaum. I learned a lot and felt such emotion and pride for the Ukrainian people. Your statements about “Democracy is unpredictable as it brings renewal” made me think of the many fires we have had in California. The fires destroyed homes, lands, and trees but people rebuilt. This was their renewal. That will be Ukraine’s and all of the world should be right there lending many hands. .
I was able to catch all three presentations, Dr. Snyder, and each one was excellent. Your optimism is refreshing and grounding.
Thank you. It is always good to hear you speak on these subjects.
Just tuned into your chat with Jonathan Freedland for JBW. I must say I’m feeling more positive than I have all week. As for the graphic version of On Tyranny - is this something you reckon younger readers (pre/early teen) might find accessible?
Thank you for a fabulous talk on the Jewish Book Week with Jonathan Freedlander! I actually took notes which I hope I can read later given my poor handwriting. So glad you posted the links.
Such an important discussion about Ukraine,Russia and the World. So correct that the Future has yet to be written, it’s not determined. The power of values is not to be underestimated as was seen in 1945 and 1989. Authentic Leadership, creativity, and right matter.
Thank you all so much, the talk was fantastic! Especially Igor ❤️🙏🇺🇦💪 I have donated, called my representatives, and share good information. Just pointed out the danger of a book mentioned in passing, ‘The Authoritarians’ which says about America what Putin does about Ukraine. I was able to recognize the patterns and meaning of the description, I believe, from critical thinking skills strengthened by your lectures and books. The point was well taken, ultimately. Thank you Professor Snyder for showing us how to be free people but most of all your support for Ukraine. слава Україні ❤️🙏🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦
Thanks kindly Professor.