It’s a fine balancing act
“Russia and Spain, the two extremes of Europe’s great diagonal, coincide in being the lands of two peoples that suffer from an evident and enduring scarcity of imminent individuals.”
According to him because of this, Russia had never been able to permeate the colossal plasma of the masses with its organising influence. As for Spain he says that the most characteristic feature was the disproportion between the value of the masses and that of their select minorities. “Here, the `people` have done it all, and what the `people` have been unable to do, has been left undone. However the people cannot organize a state of enduring consistency.” In other words, he was saying that in comparison with the most advanced countries of Europe, what both Russia and Spain had in common, was a lack of elites that were capable of bringing their respective peoples out of their centuries –old backwardness.”
When you read such words which were running off the page then, it is curious to think how today, after all the time gone by, nothing has changed. Why do I say this? Well a few days ago, the Spanish writer Almudena Grandes; one of the most relevant writers of contemporary Spanish literature, whose writings have captured the imagination and admiration the world over, sadly passed away at the age of sixty one.
According to him because of this, Russia had never been able to permeate the colossal plasma of the masses with its organising influence. As for Spain he says that the most characteristic feature was the disproportion between the value of the masses and that of their select minorities. “Here, the `people` have done it all, and what the `people` have been unable to do, has been left undone. However the people cannot organize a state of enduring consistency.” In other words, he was saying that in comparison with the most advanced countries of Europe, what both Russia and Spain had in common, was a lack of elites that were capable of bringing their respective peoples out of their centuries –old backwardness.”
When you read such words which were running off the page then, it is curious to think how today, after all the time gone by, nothing has changed. Why do I say this? Well a few days ago, the Spanish writer Almudena Grandes; one of the most relevant writers of contemporary Spanish literature, whose writings have captured the imagination and admiration the world over, sadly passed away at the age of sixty one.
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10-12-21 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR
