The real revolutions

Title

Language

English

Source

Panorama Volume XXI (No. 4) April 1969

Year

1969

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Abstract

From The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant

Fulltext

Vol. XXI THE PHILIPPINE MAGAZINE OF GOOD READING Knt«r«d m Mend elaaa mail natter at th* Manila Port Office on Dee. 7. l»5t Dr. M. Carreon cor. A. de las Alps, Sta. Ana, Manilo MANILA, PHILIPPINES No. 4 THE REAL REVOLUTIONS Does history justify revolutions? This is an old de bate, well illustrated by Luther’s bold break from the Catholic Church versus Erasmus’ plea for patient and or derly reform, or by Charles James Fox’s stand for the French Revolution versus Edmund Burke’s defense of “prescription” and continuity. But in most instances the effects achieved by the revolution would apparently have come without it through the gradual compulsion of eco nomic developments. America would have become the dominant factor in the English-speaking world without any revolution. To break sharply with the past is to court the madness that may follow the shock of sudden blows or mutilations. As the sanity of the individual lies in the continuity of his memories, so the sanity of a group lies in the continuity of its traditions: in either case a break in the chain invites a neurotic reaction. . . Since wealth is an order and procedure of produc tion and exchange rather than an accumulation of (mostly perishable) goods, and is a trust (the “credit system”) in men and institutions rather than in the intrinsic value of paper money or checks, violent revolutions do not so much redistribute wealth as destroy it. There may be a redivision of the land, but the natural inequality of men (Turn to Page 5) school will help establish values, attitudes, behavior traits and so forth. Al though the ostensible func tion will be to educate our youngsters, they will in fact be assuming the responsibi lity for a share of the child’s basic personality develop ment, a function which in the past has been almost ex clusively the domain of the family. I am not suggesting whe ther this will be a whole•Some, beneficial move or a debilitating and disastrous one. This question cannot be answered at this junc ture, certainly not without knowledge of how this will be programmatically accom plished. We do know from past experience that the re sults will be disastrous if this is considered just an other responsibility of the school undertaken without constructive change in teach er training programs utiliz ing the knowledge and skills of psychoanalytically orient ed mental health specialists. There seems to me no question that the increasing complexity of our world will demand changes in the fa mily, its functioning and sphere of influence. The questions we need to ponder, discuss and argue are what kind of change, for what purpose, and by whom? By Marvin Ack, Ph.D., Science Digest, March 1969. THE REAL REVOLUTIONS . . . soon re-creates an inequality of possessions and privileges, and raises to power a new minority with essentially the same instincts as in the old. The only real revolution is in the enlightenment of the mind and the improvement of character, the only real emancipation is individual, and the only real revolutionists are philosophers and saints. — From The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant. Aphil 1969 5

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1+

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