| Popis: |
The theory of return to beginnings is a theory of historical repetition. By historical repetition I do not refer to the belief that historical events repeat themselves, but rather to the claim that the possibilities of historical becoming are determined by logics of repetition. As I discuss below, the content of the events that are classed as “return to beginnings” is the renewal or reordering of political forms, in the widest sense of the term (it remains to be seen how varied this content is, i.e., how radical these changes are). With the theory of return to beginnings Machiavelli introduces into political and, more generally, philosophical thought the idea that “return” or “repetition” is the proper modality for “beginning” or “innovation.” Furthermore, since political freedom is inseparable from the event of changing political form, and this event appears to have the character of a historical repetition, the theory of return to beginnings establishes the historicity of political freedom and thereby seals the mutual interdependence between freedom and history. |
