Up from the Depths Quotes

“The point was simply that people had to wake up before they could be expected to embrace full citizenship. And it seemed better to emphasize a subtle reshaping of consciousness than dramatic political action, for Mumford shared Melville’s distrust of revolutions: “Revolution in the light of the constant miscarriage of every revolution from 1789 onward is nothing more than the form through which a decadent civilization commits suicide.” Basically, the first order of business was to cultivate human beings who would never allow demagogues to sway them, who were self-critical enough to resist movements like Nazism; the world could have no more of Melville’s “moderate men.” “The danger to human society today,” Mumford asserted, “does not come solely from the active barbarians: it comes even more perhaps from those who have in their hearts assented to the barbarian’s purposes.” Look to your heart, Mumford was saying. And fortify it with an understanding of our ancestors’ sacrifices and our vast inheritance.”
― Aaron Sachs, Up from the Depths: Herman Melville, Lewis Mumford, and Rediscovery in Dark Times