Hannah Arendt and the myth of freedom

Article

Abstract

[In English]

Hannah Arendt understood political freedom as the understanding of a plurality of free individuals acting to shape their world in a public space. In order to reach this goal, there needs to be positive examples in history. Arendt considered the American Revolution to be just such an instance. This is the ideal type of a revolution: Men create a new beginning through joint political action. In the interest of not allowing this event in the history of mankind to be forgotten and so that it is present to be used for navigation in the future, it must be idealized and exalted. It must be newly recounted so that the collective memory can be anchored within a community. Hannah Arendt wanted to thereby be active in endowing the western world with her «myth of freedom». This «myth of freedom» is no longer supported. Is it possible to bring the «myth of freedom» back to life according to Hannah Arendt’s ideas? Which narrative can we use to base our thoughts of freedom on today?