Nothing Feels New in Syria

Though all revolutionaries desire to embrace the radical newness they bring, which is entirely not false, the French —who effectively crafted the idea in general— called their movement a revolution.

The prefix “re” indicates a repeated action, the root «volutio» refers to rotation, return, or repetition, making “revolution” quite literally a term for double repetition. See Magun (2013: 8-11) and, Kseniya Kapelchuk (2018).

This is clearly a funny paradox: the concept that aims to introduce novelty in the most radical ways, uses the word that inherently implies repetition.

Not all radical movements follow a predictable path; this is true of revolutions as well. Marx wouldn’t suggest, predict, or hope for a proletarian revolution in Russia—a place far, far removed from the historical dialectic that culminates in a synthesis.

When contemplating revolutions, two concepts remain essential: repetition and chance. Or as ancient wisdom reminds us, “Fortuna vitrea est; tum cum splendet frangitur” (Fortune is glass; just when it shines, it breaks). See Vitrea est fortuna.

It is ironically sad that Publilius Syrus was originally Syrian.