Of means and ends: 1989 as ethico‐political imperative

Abstract

This essay offers an interpretation of 1989 that eschews a conventional reading of the Eastern European revolutions as historically specific “events” tied to a particular “place.” Emphasizing the normative‐philosophical dimension of 1989, the article examines central issues of power and violence, in the process highlighting the appeal of the ethico‐political imperative to reconcile means and ends in order to democratize the future without sacrificing the moral integrity of the present. A brief assessment of liberal and Marxist assumptions about the relationship between power and violence, and means and ends, points to the distinct possibility that both traditions embrace a surprisingly similar conception of power. This “realism of violence” is contrasted with Vaclav Havel's alternative view of politics as morality in action. Havel's conception bears a striking similarity to ideas presented by the principal thinkers of the 20th‐century “Gandhian tradition.” While 1989 may have many meanings, its moral emphasis on the compatibility of means and ends employed in a political struggle of nonviolent power against oppressive regimes is certainly one of the most remarkable legacies of this annus mirabilis.