The world in 2016 is a baffling and troubling place for many of us. Even some who are happy with the political developments this year have become uncomfortable with the uncertainty of the future and the precarious position of the economic, social and political order on both sides of the Atlantic. Here we look at five 20th Century authors who not only described their own time, but who will help us to understand our own.
George Orwell
Despite writing in the 1930s and 40s, Orwell's prophetic edge means his work remains fresh, applicable and vital today. His understanding of how totalitarianism develops and what must be done to oppose it should now be widely read and understood. The obvious places to look are his most celebrated novels 1984 and Animal Farm, but his brilliance was also captured by his essay writing. His relevance has sadly never been greater, with East and West threatened by nationalist leaders.
"Is it perhaps childish or morbid to terrify oneself with visions of a totalitarian future? Before writing off the totalitarian world as a nightmare that can't come true, just remember that in 1925 the world of today would have seemed a nightmare that couldn't come true." (Looking Back On The Spanish War)
Hannah Arendt
Arendt was a Jewish philosopher and writer who died in 1975. Her most famous work is Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil – written while observing the trial of Adolf Eichmann, one of the most senior Nazis to be captured and put on trial. Her observation about the banality of evil – that Eichmann was merely 'following orders' offers a chilling insight on the need to actively oppose wrongdoing. Her lesson for the 21st century are obvious – we must play our part in standing up to those abusing power, rather than acquiesce.
"In an ever-changing, incomprehensible, world the masses had reached the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think that everything is possible and that nothing was true... one could make people believe the most fantastic statements one day, and trust if the next day they were given irrefutable proof of their falsehood, they would take refuge in cynicism; instead of deserting the leaders who had lied to them, they would protest that they had known all along the statement was a lie and would admire the leaders for their superior tactical cleverness." (The Origins Of Totalitarianism)
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Bonhoeffer was a pastor and theologian of the Confessing Church – the movement which opposed the Nazis. Already a theological heavyweight by the time the Second World War came around, Bonhoeffer felt compelled by his Christian convictions to oppose Hitler and even to take part in an assassination attempt. His teaching about the risk of cheap grace remains significant to the Church – "Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate." Bonhoeffer's wisdom for the 21st Century is clear – the Church must never surrender its role as the moral compass of society.
"There is no way to peace along the way of safety. For peace must be dared, it is itself the great venture and can never be safe. Peace is the opposite of security. To demand guarantees is to want to protect oneself. Peace means giving oneself completely to God's commandment, wanting no security, but in faith and obedience laying the destiny of the nations in the hand of Almighty God, not trying to direct it for selfish purposes. Battles are won, not with weapons, but with God. They are won when the way leads to the cross." (Speech in Fano, Denmark.)
Martin Luther King Jr
Dr King was murdered in April 1968, not long after many of the most famous legal victories of the civil rights movement had been won. Yet although the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act were now law, King would not rest. His attention had widened to encompass not just racial injustice but economic and social injustice. He railed against the Vietnam War and against the poverty in which many whites as well as blacks found themselves. Dr King's message is still sadly urgently needed after decades of western entanglement in wars in the Middle East (continuing today in Yemen) and the racial injustice which remains.
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly." (Letter From The Birmingham Jail)
Dorothy Day
Day, a Roman Catholic activist, campaigner and writer, died in 1980, having lived a life committed to justice. She founded the Catholic Worker movement that combined living in community with radical acts of justice and civil disobedience. She was a critic of capitalism and communism – and inspired a movement which remains a worldwide force.
"The world was in terrible shape, and I'm glad we stood up and said what we believed; but a lot of the time we'd say these beautiful things about justice and fairness and equality, but we weren't so nice to each other. We'd be jealous and we'd gossip, and we'd be moody and difficult and rude and inconsiderate. Why do I say 'we'? I mean I would be all that – and if at the time I ever came near to knowing what I'd become, I'd dodge, I'd duck, I'd go on the offensive: the terrible Wall Street bankers. Lots of them were terrible – and so were lots of us."
Follow Andy Walton on Twitter @waltonandy.
