From an imaginary progress to the imaginary of progress. A critical assessment of Walter Benjamin’s concept of history

Panagiotis Christias

Abstract


From an imaginary progress to the imaginary of progress. A critical assessment of Walter Benjamin’s concept of history.


The ninth position of Walter Benjamin’s critical account of history, his “Concept of History”, pictures in an allegorical image the meaning of progress. This dystopian conception of the angel of history, Klee’s Angelus Novus, that Benjamin had acquired in 1921, needs a daring interpretation if we are to understand the implication of the imaginary of “progress” in the modern social and political stratifications. 


Keywords


Progress; Social Imaginary; Walter Benjamin; Philosophy of History; Angelus Novus

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.7413/228181381937

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