Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Bits and Pieces - Vaclav Havel Edition

Some very good material in these three links and their links. Havel retained his integrity under the Soviet regime and then helped to remove it.

Vaclav Havel on Intellectuals in Politics.

Vaclav Havel's Critique of the West.

Vaclav Havel on true leadership in times of crisis.

2 comments:

troutsky said...

What Havel failed to do was explain why: why democracy is "bureaucratized", why man is less "transcendent or spiritual", less able to express self-determination.

We all recognize these problems, a helpful philosophy gives us some direction.

Cheryl Rofer said...

Hi Troutsky -

What is to be done? I think it was one of your friends, maybe Line-in, who asked that.

I've been thinking about this all day. A philosophy gives direction, but the actions depend on the circumstances. And the wit and creativity of the actors.

Or something just happens, like it did in 1905 and then again in 1917, and somebody manages to take advantage.

Maybe we're focusing too much on defining the problem and need to think more about our direction.