A blast from the past: Zygmunt Bauman and modernity and the Holocaust
The following text and words are not mine but those from a great man and thinker Zygmunt Bauman who sadly passed away in january of this year. His thoughts on modernist and the holocaust not only right but very familiar, especially in the context of the understanding the other. Because this older and at the same time familiar text seem so relevant I wanted to share it with all readers. The text is a summary from the book, Modernity and the Holocaust from 1989. Enjoy! The meaning of the civilizing process he etiological myth deeply entrenched in the self-consciousness of our Western society is the morally elevating story of humanity emerging from pre-social barbarity. This myth lent stimulus and popularity to, and in turn was given a learned and sophisticated support by, quite a few influential sociological theories and historical narratives. In view of this myth, long ago ossified into the common sense of our era, the Holocaust can only be un...