A carefully constructed long form essay on the thought of those who died hundreds of years before we were born, complete with footnotes, all with a charm and erudition that makes one hope for perhaps, just maybe, the golden days of the essay to return?
Loved this Thomas, great mix of substance and style, and dealing with, shall we say, current global issues while staying true to the Commonplace style you've been crafting over the last couple of years.
Haha, I’m glad you were able to read the message behind the message.
The last thing I want is to become a political hot take merchant but on the other hand sometimes you feel compelled to let people know where you stand on certain things, even if obliquely.
At Uni I had the fortune of attending a joint Philosophy/History Dept. module on Montaigne. Ended up buying his Complete Works. Fantastic translation by Donald M. Frame. There was some mention of La Boétie, but not that much. Nice to hear more.
Recently, I've been influenced by Karl Popper's writings against historicism and historical inevitability. Tyranny is plural for tyrannical individuals, which is itself plural for a tyrannical individual. Essentially, it's individuals all the way down, any way down. And of course, we are individuals too, no more of an individual than those who choose to express their individuals with tyranny, but no less either.
In defense of the “bread and circus” mob, I suggest that stability is more important than freedom. Harmodius and Aristogeiton assassinated the tyrant Hipparchus in 514 BC and became the symbols of Athenian democracy. The democracy that we hold as an ideal was born out of bloodshed, and we have many historical examples of this. Freedom is a continuum. We trade some of our freedom to avoid the bloodshed and chaos that would occur without the tyrant, so that we can exercise a limited freedom within the constraints of the existing world. I am inspired to read Montaigne now.
That’s a good counterpoint, and it’s a shame that La Boetie didn’t live long enough to write more. I suspect he would have been more conservative (with a small c) about these topics had he made it to middle age. And if I have inspired you to read Montaigne then I have done some good with this piece. Cheers.
A carefully constructed long form essay on the thought of those who died hundreds of years before we were born, complete with footnotes, all with a charm and erudition that makes one hope for perhaps, just maybe, the golden days of the essay to return?
Put it in my veins.
🙏
Loved this Thomas, great mix of substance and style, and dealing with, shall we say, current global issues while staying true to the Commonplace style you've been crafting over the last couple of years.
Et vive la liberte, bien sur.
Haha, I’m glad you were able to read the message behind the message.
The last thing I want is to become a political hot take merchant but on the other hand sometimes you feel compelled to let people know where you stand on certain things, even if obliquely.
At Uni I had the fortune of attending a joint Philosophy/History Dept. module on Montaigne. Ended up buying his Complete Works. Fantastic translation by Donald M. Frame. There was some mention of La Boétie, but not that much. Nice to hear more.
Good coherence in the essay, mate!
Always good to be told you’re coherent!
Recently, I've been influenced by Karl Popper's writings against historicism and historical inevitability. Tyranny is plural for tyrannical individuals, which is itself plural for a tyrannical individual. Essentially, it's individuals all the way down, any way down. And of course, we are individuals too, no more of an individual than those who choose to express their individuals with tyranny, but no less either.
Hm, interesting. I guess this is why La Boetie’s conclusion seems to be that you as an individual must first choose not to put up with said tyranny.
In defense of the “bread and circus” mob, I suggest that stability is more important than freedom. Harmodius and Aristogeiton assassinated the tyrant Hipparchus in 514 BC and became the symbols of Athenian democracy. The democracy that we hold as an ideal was born out of bloodshed, and we have many historical examples of this. Freedom is a continuum. We trade some of our freedom to avoid the bloodshed and chaos that would occur without the tyrant, so that we can exercise a limited freedom within the constraints of the existing world. I am inspired to read Montaigne now.
That’s a good counterpoint, and it’s a shame that La Boetie didn’t live long enough to write more. I suspect he would have been more conservative (with a small c) about these topics had he made it to middle age. And if I have inspired you to read Montaigne then I have done some good with this piece. Cheers.