Consciousness, Historical

The consciousness of belonging to a civilisation and to a people long inscribed in a distinct history and destiny.

Historical consciousness ought to be the basis of the political. Its aim is to ensure the long-term survival of a human ensemble, integrating it with the destiny of future generations. Unlike Muslims, Chinese, and others, European leaders lack historical consciousness. History no longer exists for them, neither in the past nor the future. Their temporal horizon extends only as far as the next election. This absence of historical consciousness will undoubtedly become the tomb of Western civilisation, incapable as it now is of envisaging the future or measuring up to the stature of its past — and thus unable to ensure its own survival.

Foie gras, or ‘fat liver’, is a dish prepared from a duck or goose liver that has been purposefully fattened.

(see people; long-living, short-living people)