“…An unconscious impulse that occasioned the accomplishment of that for which the time was ripe. Such are all great historical men – whose own particular aims involve those large issues which are the will of the World-Spirit.” p. 30
While reading Hegel, I was keeping our discussion of Glenn Beck on my mind. The more I read, the more I came to the conclusion that Beck believes that he is a “great historical man” in the Hegelian sense. He feels as though he has the answers that will guide the country in a way so that we will be on the “right side of history”. He believes that the country is at a pivotal point politically and socially (“the time [is] ripe”), and that his personal beliefs and aims are those of the “World-Spirit”. There is no better example of this than his “Rally to Restore Honor” that occurred this summer on the steps of the Lincoln memorial in Washington. He decided to hold it on the same day as the anniversary of the Civil Rights March on Washington, the event where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. While MLK could definitely be thought of as a World-Historical person in the Hegelian sense, by holding his rally on the anniversary of such an important event for the civil rights movement, Beck is trying to equate himself with MLK in terms of importance. While he has said that he does not believe that he is MLK, he also said “…whites “do not own” the legacy of Abraham Lincoln and, by this logic, “blacks don’t own Martin Luther King,” Aside from the controversy surrounding the date, just the fact that Glenn Beck claims he can “restore honor” to America shows that he believes he is an extremely important person in history. His claims of being on God’s side, so to speak, as well as an emphasis on religion also echo Hegel. At the rally, Beck said, “Something that is beyond man is happening. America today begins to turn back to God." On page 34, Hegel said, “The consciousness of independent validity is aroused through the restoration of Christian freedom.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/28/AR2010082801106.html
I think the real problem with Hegel is that the "will of the World Spirit" can only be determined later, by someone (like Hegel) viewing History through a certain world-view. He acts as though the course of history is always unfolding as it 'naturally' should be, and the World-Historical men are the ones who propelled us to where we are.... Of course, as a privileged member of a race in power, it's pretty easy for him to say that everything is as it should be, and to identify the people who made it this way as Heroes.
ReplyDeleteAnd Beck is even more dangerous, because unlike Hegel, who claims to know the will of the World-Spirit in hindsight, Beck claims to know the will of the World-Spirit now! Even Hegel would call out his hubris. :)