Issue #53

Abstract: We live in turbulent times, when the very foundations of societies, cultures and civilizations — along with the ethical, political and even scientific norms that until recently seemed unshakeable — are undergoing a Nietzschean ‘revaluation of values’. In truth, they were never unshakeable — everything in history changes and is re-examined. Perhaps, from some point in the future, today’s ideological wars will seem to our descendants as something quite trivial. Nevertheless, for us living ‘in the moment’, it is difficult to shake off the apocalyptic feeling of a world that is not merely changing, but literally crumbling. For now, these feelings are localized; the apocalypse is engulfing only isolated segments of space and time. The dispute between truth and falsehood, unfortunately, is not resolved in offices or on blackboards, but on the battlefields, and the toll is measured in bodies and lives. This, more than anything else, demonstrates how far we are from the longed-for ‘end of history’, and how prone we still are to proving truths with blood rather than words and figures. Battles rage not only over territories and resources. To no lesser, and indeed to a greater extent, they touch upon the meanings through which people construct their identity. And here it is culture that comes under attack — the precious accumulation of the human spirit. Culture is being mobilized and attacked. It is not allowed to remain on the sidelines, and this very ‘on the sidelines’ stance raises ever more questions, if not outright angry rejection. Culture is drawn into the conflict, persecuted, accused. Whatever the outcome, one thing is clear — it will never be the same again.