Aphorisms, sayings and quotes

What we call optimism about the future and progress is by no means a law of nature, but a cultural achievement. This cultural achievement has taken on a particularly dynamic form in the Western world over the past 400 years. The future comes across as a „social period of expectation“ (Hölscher), which we humans pass through. It is important to note that this future does not simply come to us as a time-space, but that we are actively shaping this time-space. We are the actors, the shapers of this – progress. We are the ones making progress and not the ones waiting to see what comes our way. For a long time, this – new German – mindset of the West sparked an optimistic vision of the future, a social euphoria that allowed social visions to be anchored in history as a formative influence on society.

However, voices have always been heard pointing out that not only is the future being conquered, but that the present is always being left to the past for good, that we accept losses in order to achieve the new.

The following quotes are intended to point to these losses of progress, which in a social culture that is in principle optimistic about the future tend to be devalued anyway in comparison to the cultural valorisation of the new (Reckwitz, Kreativitätsdispositiv).

Enjoy reading and let it resonate!

Additions in the comment columns – or on Linkedin – welcome!

Sascha