The hope that everything recalcitrant in human behavior may be brought under the subjection of the inclusive purposes of ‘mind’ by the same techniques which gained man mastery over nature is not merely an incidental illusion, prompted by the phenomenal achievements of the natural sciences. It is the culminating error in modern man’s misunderstanding of himself.
Reinhold Niebuhr
EPISTEME: December 2023
2 days ago
4 comments:
Let's hope that Mr. Obama remembers this, now that David Brooks has told us that the President-Elect can speak extemporaneously about Niebuhr for half an hour.
I've also heard that Mr. Obama has a taste for Niebuhr. We can only hope that he actually takes him seriously. In my opinion, this is the one of the first salvos in the race among the neocon pseudo-intellectuals to ingratiate themselves with St. Barack. There will be many more examples of bootlicking, brown-nosing, generally obsequious behavior to follow.
Why would they think he'd be receptive to their views, other than his alleged knowledge of Niebuhr? Niebuhr is also popular on the left, if I'm not mistaken, no?
As a young man, Niebuhr was a socialist and a firm believer in the social gospel. As an older man, he rejected the liberal theology of his youth and was largely responsible for the development of what many call Christian realism. Niebuhr's mature work is very Augustinian, and he became quite supportive of American policy during the Cold War (though he opposed American involvement in Vietnam). However, he retained a strong commitment to active government and supported the New Deal and the subsequent post-WWII economic policies of the Democratic Party. He's popular among both foreign policy realists because of skepticism about ideological crusades, but he's also popular among certain kinds of Christians in the Democratic Party who favor activist government.
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