24
PARTISAN REVIEW
of the historian who, by being able to see the process as a whole,
is in a position to overlook the "narrow aims" of acting men, con–
centrating instead on the "higher aims" that realize themselves behind
these men's backs (Vico). Marx, on the other hand, combined this
notion of history with the teleological political philosophy of the
earlier stages of the modern age, so that in his thought the "higher
aims" become the intended ends of political action. Thus the historian
was politicalized. Here the age-old identification of action with mak–
ing is supplemented and perfected, as it were, through identifying the
contemplative gaze of the historian with the contemplation of the
model (the
eidos
and the
idea)
guiding the craftsman and preceding
all
making. And the danger of this philosophy does not lie in making
immanent what was formerly transcendent, as is often alleged, by
transforming "higher aims" into willed intentions, and in the attempt
to establish a paradise on earth. The danger is rather the transforma–
tion of meanings into ends, which is what happens in Marx's philoso–
phy when he takes the Hegelian meaning of all history-the progres–
sive development and realization of the idea of Freedom-to be an end
of human action; he then, in accordance with tradition, views this
as the end-product of a manufacturing process, just as the table is
clearly the end-product of the carpenter's activity.
The growing meaninglessness of the modern world is perhaps
nowhere more clearly indicated than by this identification of mean–
ing and end. It is as though the carpenter, stricken suddenly blind
to the distinction between "for the sake of . . ." .and "in order
to . . .," forgot that only his particular acts in making a table are
performed "in order to" produce the table, but that his whole life as
a carpenter is ruled by something quite different, namely, an encom–
passing notion "for the sake of" which he became a carpenter in the
first place, a notion such as being a useful member of society or be–
coming a good craftsman or even making a living. The moment he
begins to pursue this meaning in the same way he pursues an end,
begins to make a living in the same way he makes a table, his pro–
ducts, instead of being ends in themselves, become means to an
ulterior purpose and are likely to become as inferior as books by
writers who write in order "to be a writer" or to make money, and
not in order to produce a particular book. In other words, the mo-
