Being present at a creative political moment sharpens one’s grasp of political will.
Evidence
De Sanctis participated in a creative moment of Italian political history, a moment in which the effectiveness of the political will—turned to awakening new and original forces rather than merely to calculating on the traditional ones, which were seen as incapable of being developed and reorganised (Guicciardinesque political scepticism)— had revealed all its potentiality not only in the art of founding a State from within, but also in that of mastering international relations, rejuvenating the professional and customary methods of diplomacy (with Cavour). The cultural atmosphere was propitious to a more comprehensively realistic conception of the science and art of politics. But, supposing there had not been this atmosphere, would it have been impossible for De Sanctis to understand Machiavelli? The atmosphere provided by the historical moment enriches De Sanctis’ essays with a sentimental pathos which renders the argument more sympathetic and moving, the scientific exposition more artistically expressive and captivating; but the logical, political-scientific content could have been thought out even in periods of blackest reaction. Is not reaction too perhaps a constructive act of will? And is not conservation a deliberate act? Why then should Machiavelli’s will be “Utopian”, and why revolutionary and not Utopian the will of someone who wants to conserve what exists, and to prevent the creation and organisation of new forces which would disturb and transform the traditional equilibrium? — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 734
Categorization
- CANDY: ‘Is not conservation a deliberate act?’ — a sharp, tweetable line: reaction is as much an act of will as revolution.
- XREF: connects to: Mallarmé had a record of explicit political engagement, not just aestheticism. — Perry Anderson, The Origins of Postmodernity, 354; Proximity to a skilled boss transmits political craft invisibly