pessimism:
“Up to a century ago the people who thought about progress were the people who had the power to bring it about. Until recently new ideas originated with the powerful; with princes, industrialists, public benefactors. Today the men with power have ceased to be benefactors of mankind; at best they do things that benefit certain individuals. Today all the new ideas come from the poor and powerless. The men with power to change anything have stopped thinking. So no change is possible.”
Peter Handke, Der kurze Brief zum langen Abschied, Suhrkamp, Frankfurt a/M, 1972 (1974, English Edition)
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