The Popes and Democracy – Part VI. Conclusion: Return to Sanity 53. Action, Motion, Speed

If, changing with the times, Truth is no longer a being, i.e. a thing-that-is, but is regarded as a becoming, i.e. a thing-that-becomes (see para. 52), it follows that motion becomes more important than essence. This basically Marxian concept is indeed peculiar to our times. We find it in the prominence given to words such as: evolution, development, action, progress, etc. Man, who is really an essence is supposed to be still evolving; the development of industries even if they are useless - is supposed to bring happiness to the people, and so on. Action is the god of modern society as Power is its goddess. Action no longer needs to be justified by reference to its end; it is self-justifying. "He is a man of action" constitutes a praise which no-one would raise questions about. Action and motion become the be-all and end-all. Speed takes the place of reflection and intelligent discussion. The accumulation of disconnected and often meaningless bits of information, features, and "situations" is a characteristic of modern journalism, radio and motion pictures. When a novel or a play is "full of life, dynamic, cram-full of movement" it is likely to be an instant success. The love of speed and movement is also reflected in the statistics of motor-car accidents. It would be an exaggeration, however, to say that all these things are the result of Marxian ideas, but they are certainly closely related. Like Marxian ideas themselves, they can be traced to the writings of the 18th-century philosophists, the promoters of the great Revolution of Ideas which is called Enlightenment. (For most of this paragraph I am indebted to a work by Jean Ousset: "Marxism-Leninism", most certainly the best I have read on the subject.)