| Publisher | Vintage Classics (November 27, 2018) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Mass Market Paperback | 160 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 178487504X |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1784875046 |
| Item Weight | 3.46 ounces |
| Dimensions | 4.33 x 0.43 x 7.01 inches |
| Best Sellers Rank |
#71,143 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
#148 in Political Philosophy (Books)
#2,440 in Politics & Government (Books)
|
| Customer Reviews | 4.6 out of 5 stars 381Reviews |
The Power of the Powerless
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Book details
- Print length160 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherVintage Classics
- Publication dateNovember 27, 2018
- Dimensions4.33 x 0.43 x 7.01 inches
- ISBN-10178487504X
- ISBN-13978-1784875046
Book overview
Cowed by life under Communist Party rule, a greengrocer hangs a placard in their shop window: Workers of the world, unite! Is it a sign of the grocer’s unerring ideology? Or a symbol of the lies we perform to protect ourselves?
Written in 1978, Václav Havel’s meditation on political dissent – the rituals of its suppression, and the sparks that re-ignite it – would prove the guiding manifesto for uniting Solidarity movements across the Soviet Union. A portrait of activism in the face of falsehood and intimidation, The Power of the Powerless remains a rousing call against the allure of apathy.
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Freedom is not doing the things that you are inclined to do. It is reflecting upon what you ought to do, as your unrepeatable self, and just occasionally taking a risk and doing that thing.171 Kindle readers highlighted this
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Ideology is a specious way of relating to the world. It offers human beings the illusion of an identity, of dignity, and of morality while making it easier for them to part with them.169 Kindle readers highlighted this
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Each of us is responsible for truth, Havel maintained; we cannot delegate that responsibility to an outer world that we imagine to be entirely separate from ourselves nor to an inner world that we imagine to be completely private.150 Kindle readers highlighted this
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So according to Havel, what nurtures totalitarianism? Ideology. And, because ideology is the principal guarantor of the continuity of power, it is when power serves ideology that totalitarianism rises. Totalitarian ideology is disconnected from reality and the real needs of the people, which is why the system demands that people “live within the lie.” Hence, even if an individual has a conflict of conscience, the best they can offer is concessions and smiles. It is from this perspective that Havel is not surprised by the rise of immoral State power, but he is surprised at people’s willingness to accept the lie so long as they are sufficiently protected. Many people will elect to obey to “take the path of least resistance” but it is impossible to conform to a requirement and not perpetuate it. Totalitarianism is therefore only possible with the consent of the oppressed.
The hope? That the people possess a potential the State does not: to act consistent with the truth, which poses an existential threat to the whole system of lies. The power of the powerless is the potential ability of all human beings to “live within the truth,” which is any means by which a person or a group revolts against manipulation. Because the end in mind is truth, freedom and human dignity, a genuine “dissident” or “opposition movement” is therefore by definition non-political: its genuine aim goes beyond the limits placed on it by the system (i.e, a republican/democrat, rich/poor, black/white cause). And, dissidents and the movements they create are never messianic for it is the height of arrogance proclaim, “If only we were in power, we could fix this.” Reality and utopia are mutually exclusive and any attempt to fashion paradise ends in misery.
Havel’s prophecy about technology enslaving us is mind-bending considering he wrote it 40+ years ago:
"We look on helplessly as that coldly functioning machine we have created inevitably engulfs us, tearing us away from our natural affiliations … just as it removes us from the experience of ‘being’ and casts us into the world of ‘existences’.”
The author consequently concludes that we cannot use technology to overthrow the dictatorship of technology. What the reader is left to consider is purposely living a post-technology life.
The book ends with concrete, actionable strategies that answer the question, “What is to be done?” The author also challenges us to meditate on a pressing question: if a “brighter future” is distant in the future or, on the contrary, the brighter future has been here for a long time but it is our own blindness and weakness that has clouded our vision and nurtured our apathy. Havel inspires all readers to throw down the idol of government-sanctioned salvation; instead, every individual carries personal responsibility with then everywhere they go. Accordingly, every person is capable of living in the truth and materializing parallel structures based on innate human freedom, dignity, and personal trust. A man can only trust whom he knows, which means another power of the powerless lies in decentralized, local networks out of the reach of tyrants and built from the ground up with the concrete needs of people in mind.
But ignore the intro, Dr. Snyder - prof at Yale - understands Havel but has no clue about how it applies to American politics; he's drunk the radical left kool-aid.
As per Havel - Lord help us live in the truth and live truly.
The item itself was pristine. Thank you so much for offering this important book for purchase.
Top reviews from other countries
Appalled to see a heavy bias in the Introduction by Timothy Snyder.
Incredibly hypocritical, short sighted and now that 5 years has passed, he's provably wrong.
Timothy pushes MSM propaganda and normalization IN THE INTRO of this book.
Absolutely unreal...
BUY THE BOOK & SKIP THE INTRODUCTION.
Im ehemaligen Tschechien hat die Ideologie des Kommunismus (wie üblich) alles schlimmer gemacht für das Volk. Und wie immer, wenn linke Politik das Leben des Volkes bestimmt, sind Gewalt, Zensur und Unterdrückung Andersdenkender an der Tagesordnung.
In diesem relativ kleinen Buch beschreibt der Autor die Idee des Lebens (in) der Lüge und dem Aufstand dagegen, in dem man beginnt, die Wahrheit zu Leben. Das erste ist z. B. das Aufstellen eines Schildes "Arbeiter der Welt vereinigt euch" - etwas, was in der Coronazeit und jetzigen Kriegspropagandazeit durch neue, aber genauso dämliche Slogans ersetzt wurde. Ob Regenbogenfahnen, "Maske auf!", "Impfung schützt" oder "Heil Ukraine" - wer die Lüge lebt und Staatspropaganda nachplappert, ist Teil des unterdrückerischen Teils eines Systems, welches Andersdenkende unterdrückt.
Dass gerade die Deutschen da immer wieder drauf reinfallen und immer wieder neu mitmachen, ist mehr als bedauerlich, möglicherweise ist es einfach ein Gendefekt, der den Deutschen irgendwann den Garaus machen wird.
Havel bietet in dem Buch die Alternative der Wahrheit an: Der erste Schritt ist, nicht mehr die Lüge zu leben, und ein Signal an andere zu senden, dass es möglich ist, auch ohne die Lüge zu leben. Der zweite Schritt ist, eine Parallelgesellschaft aufzubauen, in der man sich mit Gleichgesinnten zusammentut und alles das, was der Staat an öffentlichen Strukturen anbietet, neu hochzieht - von einfachem Tauschhandel über Austausch und Genuss von Musik bis zu einfachen Regeln für ein besseres Leben miteinander ohne Angst, Zensur und Ausgrenzung.
Diese parallelen Gesellschaften sind dezentral und entwickeln sich nach der Sehnsucht nach der Wahrheit, selbst wenn das anfangs unbequem ist. Wachsen diese parallelen Gesellschaften genügend an, wächst auch in der Bevölkerung die Erkenntnis, dass man nicht mehr die Lüge leben muss, um überleben zu können, sondern, dass es Alternativen gibt.
Dieser Mechanismus ist übrigens nicht neu, sondern entwickelt sich immer, wenn totalitäre Strukturen entstehen, die der Bevölkerung das Leben in der Lüge aufzwingen. Beispiel aus der Coronazeit: In der Coronazeit hat so - nachdem Demonstrationen mehr oder weniger untersagt worden waren - sich dann halt eine Kultur des Spazierengehen entwickelt.
Gerade in einer Zeit, in der nicht gewählte Organisationen Befehlsgewalt über Bevölkerungen bekommen wollen (und das auch noch von unseren Regierungen unterstützt wird), ist das Prinzip der Parallelgesellschaft wichtig.
Es würde mich nicht wundern, wenn das Buch demnächst eine "Warnung" erhält, weil es regierungskritische Gedanken enthält.
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