The Paradox of Liberation - Secular Revolutions and Religious Counterrevolutions

Liberation Paradox - Secular Revolutions and Religious Counterrevolutions Book Description “The paradox I am talking about is about the tense relationship between the saviors and the people they aim to save and the people they actually save. This relationship simultaneously involves deep sympathy and deep hostility. I say sympathy because the liberators not only opposed and replaced foreign domination; They wanted to improve the daily lives of the men and women with whom they identified: the people who were theirs. I say hostility because the liberators also hated what they described as backward, ignorant, passive and submissive people. They tried to help their people by transforming them, modernizing them by overcoming their traditional religious beliefs and practices to which they were strictly attached. “Those who saved the nation often influenced the present day of politics, acquired symbolic meanings and became decisive on the political culture of their societies. The relationship between saviors and the rescued has created a serious political tension, especially in the case of national liberation movements that have become state-owned, and these movements and parties have faced various challenges from different social groups. In The Liberation Paradox, in which he discusses the three independent states established after the Second World War, India, Israel and Algeria, Michael Walzer shows the promises, achievements and perceptions of national liberation movements within their societies, as well as their paradoxes, dead ends and contradictions. It focuses on how societies engage with worldly and progressive “visions” and produce counter-movements. The book offers a fruitful comparative perspective for understanding radical social changes and transformations. (From the Promotional Bulletin)