No. 22
"MORE!" is as effective a revolutionary slogan as was ever invented by doctrinaires of discontent. The American, who cannot learn to want what he has, is a permanent revolutionary. He glories in change, has faith in that which he has not yet, and is ready to give his life for it.
-- Eric Hoffer --
from The Passionate State of Mind and other Aphorisms
Frankly I have some doubt about part of the following assertion:
He glories in change, has faith in that which he has not yet, and is ready to give his life for it.
I agree that we have faith in that which we don't have and might give up our lives to gain it, depending, of course, upon what it is we think we don't have and must have, but I do think Hoffer goes a bit overboard here.
What I most disagree with is that part about glorying in change. This may be true for some Americans, but based on how I read the papers and listen to politicians, there appears to be a very large portion of the American populace who do NOT glory in change, but fear it instead. They glory in stasis and fear any change and are much more likely to give their lives to maintain a static existence or even return to a mythical Golden Age (and what's worse, are ready to give the lives of others also).
R.T.,
ReplyDeleteGood point! Your interpretation fits in better with the overall sense of his comment than mine does. Thanks for stopping by.
i can imagine the hoi polloi in 1789 yelling that in the first sentence, but the succeeding sentences seem sort of disconnected, which, i guess, means i don't understand the statement...
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion there is a common thread throughout history of folks pushing for change and others trying to stop it or slow it down.
It seems the best results happen when the folks who want change move forward while the folks who resist it keep applying the breaks to prevent excesses.
Either way I like this statement though I agree that it goes overboard. It reflects part, but only part of what goes on in America and the world at large.
Brian Joseph,
DeleteIs Hoffer therefore suggesting that we Americans are out of balance as far as acquisitiveness is concerned? Too one-sided? Too many of the More-More-More foiks and too few of the Enough-Enough-Enough folks?
Mudpuddle,
ReplyDeleteI think he's saying that Americans are never content with what they have but always want more.
tx, fred. i guess i don't think that's the way most people, or Americans, are. maybe business persons, entrepreneurs and the like; but most of the people i've associated with in my life have just wanted things to stay the same; they were afraid of change, being convinced that things would only get worse. and without exception the idea of dying for a cause was considered ridiculous. of course, things may be different now...
DeleteMudpuddle,
DeleteYes, that's why I said I had problems with the part about wanting change. I think many people want more stuff and even new types of stuff, as long as it doesn't involve any change in their way of thinking or acting.
This passage is filled with word problems, imo. The passage is probably part of a larger argument in which it makes more sense, but given only the passage, Hoffer seems to be equating the word "more" with the word "change," using them interchangeably, and confusion reigns. "Change" is at the heart of revolution. But "more"? And is the word "more" really a word we associate with doctrinaires? Then, again, in what sense is he using the word "revolutionary"?
ReplyDeleteShadow Flutter,
DeleteHard to develop a coherent philosophy based on short aphorisms, but they do start me thinking, which is most likely Hoffer's real goal.