Motus Mentis

3 Comments

1. JMSnith says

   This is what you get when history is narrated as the story of liberation. I think it was Herbert Butterfield who called this “Whig History.” Equality (“justice”) is often mixed with liberty as the telos of history, but Whig history is always a story of good progressives and evil reactionaries.

   I may have misinterpreted your somewhat gnomic post, but I will say that Whig historians become “Karens” due to the nature of the story they tell. Their theory of history gives them impossible expectations and the consequent disappointments make them demand to “see the manager.” In the case of a Trump victory next week, we are going to see a lot of furious Karens complaining that MAGA messed up history. But this may be only the beginning of the outrages for those who believe the progressive narrative, since the salad days of liberty and justice may well be in the past.

   Posted October 30, 2024 at 8:25 am | Permalink
2. Whitewall says

   JMS,
   Well said. Whig History is stuffed to the gills with righteous certainty. In their hands ‘noble savage’ can be made perfect.

   Posted October 30, 2024 at 10:24 am | Permalink
3. Malcolm says

   JM Smith,

   Yes, that was Herbert Butterfield. I can highly recommend his book The Whig Interpretation of History.

   Posted October 30, 2024 at 1:09 pm | Permalink