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RonPrice · Jul 8, 2007, 11:45 pm

THE HEART OF HISTORY IN AN AGE OF EXTREMES

This morning on ABC Radio National I heard an interview with a Professor of Politics from La Trobe University. He was talking about Eric Hobsbaum’s new book The Age of Extremes: 1914 to 1991. His analysis of the twentieth century was a useful one to a person like myself who sees his role as a pioneer in so many ways, a pioneer who had grown up, according to Hobsbaum, in the period of the greatest prosperity and advancement in material conditions in the history of humankind: 1945-1970. Hobmaum goes on to say that my age, my years, have seen a decline in traditional religion as the main psychological support structure for human beings in the West, especially in and after the 1960s; and the collapse of socialism/communism as a hope for civilization.

The following prose-poem tries to place Hobsbaum’s analysis in the context of my pioneer life(1962-2007) and some of the Baha'i perspectives on history beginning in the 2nd century of Baha'i history in 1944.-R Price, Pioneering Over Three Epochs, Unpublished Manuscript,’ 2007

I’d made contact with what seemed like

an unrevolutionary revolutionary Force

in the midst of an age of prosperity,

an epoch, among the earliest,

in the morning of my life, epochs

which would stretch to the fringes

of a Golden Age. But meanwhile,

as part of that long history of infinite toil,

I would forge a pioneer experience

in these days before the Lesser Peace,

with the hosts on high demonstrating

the irresistable force of their might

in ways that I could not see

or comprehend, but which, when looking

back over these past forty years,

have seen the vanguard of the

torchbearers of a world redeeming

civilization...inaugurating a systematic

spread across the planet, the first stirrings

of a spiritual revolution, unobtrusively.

That, Eric, is at the heart of history

in this Age of Extremes.(1)

Ron Price

(1) written after watching a program on the collapse of the communist party in Australia after several decades of hope and then lingering hope.

1 Shoghi Effendi, Citadel of Faith, USA, 1965, pp. 21-27.

__________________________

Clarence · Jul 8, 2007, 11:52 pm

wow, you go way back fella. Though I'd contend that the age of extremes was really only getting started in 1991. You just keep posting old-timer, I'll keep reading. Welcome to Volconvo. Patrick Henry is on hiatus btw.

RonPrice · Jul 9, 2007, 04:22 am

The Old Timer, in this case, is the historian, Eric Hobsbaum. He wrote a three volume work on modern history. In those trenches in 1914-1918 an old world died, he said, and he took the 'psychological end' of the 19th century to 1914 because of it. Anyway, I don't mind being bumped in with old Eric. He was a fine historian for my money.-Ron

**Chris the Chees** · Jul 9, 2007, 06:06 am

Quote:

He wrote a three volume work on modern history

And its not very good. Don't get me wrong, Hobsbawm when dealing with his period (18th and 19th century economic and political history) he is one of those key historians, if not the best living historian. But quite why he delved out of his field and wrote Age of Extremes is beyond me.

And Age of Extremes is not his new book, it came out in '94.

RonPrice · Jul 10, 2007, 10:52 am

I'm really noauthority on Habsbaum or even a very informed reader vis-a-vis his role in the discipline of history.But I did react to his palcing the end of the 19th century in 1914. I thought that was so apt--to my way of thinking anyway.-Ron

PS He interested me, too, because of his laerge scale interpretation of the past. Toynbee, Gibbon, et al. have always found a place in my tastes. Some say he is the Last Marxist of our age. As you say Age of Extremes came out in 1994 and he defended communism to the end. I wonder if he would have gone on defending the indefensible today...50 years after that solid and brilliant group of English Marxist historians like: Christopher Hill, Edward Thompson and John Saville threw it all-up, out and overboard into their intellectual seas, abandoned forever. Some people keep a core of their ideology to the bitter end, even after their System has been crucified.-Ron

Jul 8, 2007, 11:45 pm	#1 (permalink) (top)
RonPrice Mr Ron Price Location: George Town Tasmania Posts: 56	The Heart Of History In An Age Of Extremes THE HEART OF HISTORY IN AN AGE OF EXTREMES This morning on ABC Radio National I heard an interview with a Professor of Politics from La Trobe University. He was talking about Eric Hobsbaum’s new book The Age of Extremes: 1914 to 1991. His analysis of the twentieth century was a useful one to a person like myself who sees his role as a pioneer in so many ways, a pioneer who had grown up, according to Hobsbaum, in the period of the greatest prosperity and advancement in material conditions in the history of humankind: 1945-1970. Hobmaum goes on to say that my age, my years, have seen a decline in traditional religion as the main psychological support structure for human beings in the West, especially in and after the 1960s; and the collapse of socialism/communism as a hope for civilization. The following prose-poem tries to place Hobsbaum’s analysis in the context of my pioneer life(1962-2007) and some of the Baha'i perspectives on history beginning in the 2nd century of Baha'i history in 1944.-R Price, Pioneering Over Three Epochs, Unpublished Manuscript,’ 2007 I’d made contact with what seemed like an unrevolutionary revolutionary Force in the midst of an age of prosperity, an epoch, among the earliest, in the morning of my life, epochs which would stretch to the fringes of a Golden Age. But meanwhile, as part of that long history of infinite toil, I would forge a pioneer experience in these days before the Lesser Peace, with the hosts on high demonstrating the irresistable force of their might in ways that I could not see or comprehend, but which, when looking back over these past forty years, have seen the vanguard of the torchbearers of a world redeeming civilization...inaugurating a systematic spread across the planet, the first stirrings of a spiritual revolution, unobtrusively. That, Eric, is at the heart of history in this Age of Extremes.(1) Ron Price (1) written after watching a program on the collapse of the communist party in Australia after several decades of hope and then lingering hope. 1 Shoghi Effendi, Citadel of Faith, USA, 1965, pp. 21-27. __________________________ married for 41 years, a teacher for 35 years and a Baha'i for 49 years.

Jul 9, 2007, 04:22 am	#3 (permalink) (top)
RonPrice Mr Ron Price Location: George Town Tasmania Posts: 56	The Old Timer, in this case, is the historian, Eric Hobsbaum. He wrote a three volume work on modern history. In those trenches in 1914-1918 an old world died, he said, and he took the 'psychological end' of the 19th century to 1914 because of it. Anyway, I don't mind being bumped in with old Eric. He was a fine historian for my money.-Ron married for 41 years, a teacher for 35 years and a Baha'i for 49 years.

Jul 10, 2007, 10:52 am	#5 (permalink) (top)
RonPrice Mr Ron Price Location: George Town Tasmania Posts: 56	I'm really noauthority on Habsbaum or even a very informed reader vis-a-vis his role in the discipline of history.But I did react to his palcing the end of the 19th century in 1914. I thought that was so apt--to my way of thinking anyway.-Ron PS He interested me, too, because of his laerge scale interpretation of the past. Toynbee, Gibbon, et al. have always found a place in my tastes. Some say he is the Last Marxist of our age. As you say Age of Extremes came out in 1994 and he defended communism to the end. I wonder if he would have gone on defending the indefensible today...50 years after that solid and brilliant group of English Marxist historians like: Christopher Hill, Edward Thompson and John Saville threw it all-up, out and overboard into their intellectual seas, abandoned forever. Some people keep a core of their ideology to the bitter end, even after their System has been crucified.-Ron married for 41 years, a teacher for 35 years and a Baha'i for 49 years.

Jul 8, 2007, 11:52 pm	#2 (permalink) (top)
Clarence pregnant with truth Posts: 2,419	wow, you go way back fella. Though I'd contend that the age of extremes was really only getting started in 1991. You just keep posting old-timer, I'll keep reading. Welcome to Volconvo. Patrick Henry is on hiatus btw.