not a reactionary person word?

[probus]

If the following excerpt is felt to be too long, feel free to delete it.

"What Vivekananda was introducing to his astonished disciplies was the Western idea of Progress. I do not have to say what this is: everybody knows. The whole idea was beautifully summed up when some people, tired of the North Vietnamese, said 'We should bomb them back into the Stone Age.' It is all there --- the triumphant March of Man fron stone implements to the thermonuclear bomb.

Now Progress is such a shining thing that it is difficult for the Westerner to realize that the Indians had never heard of it ... <nor had> Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Jesus Christ, Augustus and Virgil. Virgil indeed believed in Regress. Being a man who kept his eyes open, he felt that things could not always have been as bad as they were..."

Source: India, a book of photographs by Roloff Beny with accompanying essay by Aubrey Menen, published in Canada by McClelland and Stewart Linited and in other countries by other publishers

 

[White Hat]

Liberal?

 

[amkon]

Progressives won't like that.

Whatever the word "progressives" means!

Labels can be deceptive. I like to examine the product myself.

I should have made myself clear. When I said that "... It just means someone resistant to change or progress", I meant that socialists and leftists, in the Arab World, view their opponents as "resistant to change or progress", not that their opponents are actually like that.

 

[Tarheel]

@amkon Did you miss post #15?

 

[Amigos4]

I know you indicated earlier in the thread where the essay could be found, but please add the source to your post #21.

@probus - I can't locate a direct link to the actual essay. Were you successful in finding the complete essay?

 

[probus]

I searched diligently but without success. It does not seem to be online. As requested by @emsr2d2 I have posted the information about the publblisher of the paper edition.

 

[Amigos4]

I was not aware of Roloff Beny's work until I read your post, probus! He produced some great photographs. It's amazing that we can learn something new every day in UE.

 

[amkon]

@amkon Did you miss post #15?

No, I didn't. I agreed with what you said, but I felt I didn't have anything new to add.

 

[emsr2d2]

No, I didn't. I agreed with what you said, but I felt I didn't have anything new to add.

That's exactly why we have the "Like" and "Thanks" icons. If you agree with someone, or understand what they said, click "Like". If you want to thank them, hover over the "Like" button and a "Thanks" icon will pop up. You can test it out now by going back to post #15 and adding a "Like".

 

[Tarheel]

No, I didn't. I agreed with what you said, but I felt I didn't have anything new to add.

Well, I think it's an excellent definition of the word. (Sadly, that one is still waiting for its first "like".)

(If anybody had had had ever called me a reactionary I would assume they meant it as a putdown.)

 

[Barque]

No, it's exactly the opposite.

The term "reactionary", in the Arab World, is almost entirely used by socialists and leftists (governments, political parties and individuals). Some communists use it as well - in the past!

It is pronounced "raj'ee" in Arabic, which literally means "going back".

I don't think I've ever used the word and when I read Amkon's post my first reaction was that the Arabic word had been mistranslated into English as "reactionary". It didn't strike me as an appropriate word for someone resistant to change.

But I see it is used that way in political science. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactionary

 

[Tarheel]

@Barque I like my definition better. For one thing, it's more concise. Yes, they use more words. But that is not the best way, I think, to judge that sort of thing.