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Timothy Snyder Speaks, ep. 14: Politics of Eternity, Politics of Inevitability

Timothy Snyder · 36.2K views · 2018-06-09 · 11:25

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Overview

Historian Timothy Snyder explains the politics of inevitability and the politics of eternity, two ways of thinking about time that frame his books On Tyranny and The Road to Unfreedom.

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Recommended as a short, clear introduction to these two concepts for making sense of current politics.

Recommended by 2 HN people across 3 months · HN mentions 2018–2025

Topics

World historyUS politics & elections
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timothy snyderinevitabilityeternityhistoryauthoritarianism

What people said

hayst4ck · 2025-04 · Strong recommendation

[VIDEO] You should watch this (12min). You just expressed the "politics of eternity." You should check out Timothy Snyder in general to see what historians are saying about our current times.

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hayst4ck · 2024-03 · Strong recommendation

Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny , likes to restate the idea of US exceptionalism as both the politics of inevitability and democracy is not something you are, it is something you do . Many people wrongly think that democracy is an inevitable result of capitalism, but if that's true then there is nothing extra you have to do to remain democratic other than participate in capitalism. If freedom is an inevitable result of being an American, then there is nothing you have to do to be free as long as you are American. If peace between two countries is an inevitable result of both countries "having a McDonalds", there is nothing extra you need to do to achieve peace except trade. If you want freedom, peace, or governance that represents you, you can't just be something, you actually have to hold beliefs and conduct yourself in a way conducive to those outcomes. You will love this video (12m): [VIDEO] (edited to make some statements more correct)

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jadbox · 2020-04 · Recommendation

I'd recommend pairing this article with this video with Timothy Snyder on Politics of Eternity, Politics of Inevitability: [VIDEO]

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Sources

Video by Timothy Snyder, played through YouTube.

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