[Annotated] The world is fixated on the past

How to get the best from an outbreak of^[각주:1] nostalgia^[각주:2]

Politicians have always exploited the past^[각주:3]. But just now, rich countries and emerging economies are^[각주:4] experiencing an outbreak of nostalgia. Right and left, democracies and autocracies^[각주:5], all are harking back to the glories of^[각주:6] yesteryear^[각주:7]. Even as President Donald Trump vows to "Make America great again", President Xi Jinping is using his "Chinese dream" to banish a century of humiliation and return China to its golden age. Mexico's new president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, has a mission to withstand global capitalism and restore his country's economic sovereignty. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the most powerful politician in Poland, wants to purge the last traces of^[각주:8] Soviet communism to bring about a renaissance of old-fashioned Polish values. 

This orgy reminiscence^[각주:9] has different causes in different countries. In emerging markets past glories are often a foretaste of future triumphs^[각주:10]. China, which has enjoyed 40 years of ^[각주:11]transformative growth^[각주:12], senses that it is on the threshold of something great^[각주:13]. Under Narendra Modi, India has been celebrating its growing geopolitical heft with^[각주:14] a Hindu-nationalist revival^[각주:15]. 

In the rich world, by contrast^[각주:16], nostalgia usually stems from what^[각주:17] Sophia Gaston, of the Henry Jackson Society, calls "an omnipresent^[각주:18], menacing feeling of decline^[각주:19]". Almost two-thirds of Britons think that life used to be better. A similar share of the French do not feel at home in the present. This year's UN World Happiness Report found that Americans are becoming less content. Large majorities in rich and developing countries believe that robots and automation will increase inequality^[각주:20] and harm employment. A poll of 28 countries in 2017 found that over half of respondents expected their living conditions to^[각주:21] stagnate^[각주:22] or worsen^[각주:23]. Only 15% of Japanese think their children will be richer than their parents. 

Vaults full of research attest to how^[각주:24] emerging-market optimism is more soundly based than rich-country pessimism. People around the world are living longer, healthier lives; fewer fall victim to war^[각주:25] and famine; as education spreads, discrimination and prejudice are waning^[각주:26]. Similarly, the summers were rarely as idyllic^[각주:27] or the nation as glorious as sentiment would have it. 

But to reject pessimism^[각주:28] and nostalgia as simply inaccurate misses the point^[각주:29]. They are powerful forces that are shaping politics. To harness them^[각주:30], you must first understand them. 

Nostalgia serves optimists and pessimists alike as an anchor in^[각주:31] a world being transformed. New technologies, including artificial intelligence, threaten to disrupt entire industries^[각주:32] and to alter the relationship between^[각주:33] the state and the citizen. After two centuries power is shifting from the West back to^[각주:34] China. The planet is ageing faster than at any time in history. Its climate is changing. It is ever more racially and culturally mixed. 

At such moments, people are drawn to nostalgia^[각주:35] as a source of reassurance and self-esteem^[각주:36]. Many Brexiteers hope that leaving the European Union means they will once again belong to a dynamic "global Britain". Catalans evoke an idealized past^[각주:37] in pursuit of^[각주:38] a distinctive identity^[각주:39]. Alarmed by corruption and recession, Brazilians have elected a president who harks back to^[각주:40] the certainties of^[각주:41] a military dictatorship they rid themselves of three decades ago^[각주:42]. When Mr Trump boosts coal and steel, men who feared that they had been marginalized in dirty^[각주:43], dying industries suddenly feel as if they are worth something again. 

In the rich world, nostalgia also offers a way to rebel against someone else's idea of^[각주:44] progress - to "take back control". The far-right Alternative for Germany has its strongest support in the former East, where voters regret their loss of community and security. In France the gilets jaunes smash shop windows on^[각주:45] the Champs-Elysées because they cannot make ends meet^[각주:46]. They reject the trade-off offered by^[각주:47] their president, Emmanuel Macron, between national prosperity^[각주:48] and individual economic security^[각주:49]. 

This makes nostalgia dangerous. Protesters do not necessarily expect to put back the clock^[각주:50] - they may just be seeking to slow it down. And yet such sclerosis^[각주:51] may only aggravate the sense of decline^[각주:52]. In addition^[각주:53], the self-esteem that nostalgists^[각주:54] crave^[각주:55] often seems to feed xenophobia^[각주:56]. India's Hindu-nationalist revival has seen an increase in reported hate crimes towards^[각주:57] Muslims. In the West people on the right remember a whiter past, with fewer cultures, even as the hard left condemns^[각주:58] the machinations of global business^[각주:59]. It is no accident that^[각주:60] there has been a resurgence of^[각주:61] anti-Semitism, not least is Britain's Labour Party under the backward-looking Jeremy Corbyn^[각주:62]. 

Because of the taint of xenophobia^[각주:63], progressives are quick to treat all nostalgia as prejudice, leading them to dismiss the fears of whole sections of society. That sweeping judgement is^[각주:64] one more reason why populists have been able to exploit nostalgia so successfully. 

They are having it too easy. Nostalgia can be harnessed for good^[각주:65]. At the start of the 20th century, Europe and America were nostalgic, too, buffeted by^[각주:66] a similar confluence of^[각주:67] technological, geopolitical and cultural change. Then a period of conflict and social upheaval^[각주:68] led to universal suffrage^[각주:69] and education for all. Today's politicians can learn from that time. They must avoid war, obviously, by preserving and enhancing the institutions that enable countries to work together. But they should also find bold ways to deal with insecurity^[각주:70] and alienation^[각주:71]. That will involve the state working harder for the citizen by making education available throughout people's lives, by overhauling^[각주:72] taxation^[각주:73], devolving power to cities^[각주:74] and regions, averting^[각주:75] climate catastrophe^[각주:76], and wise management of immigration. 

If the past is a foreign country, let me emigrate^[각주:77] 

The nostalgists are on to something^[각주:78]. When one way of running the world seems to be exhausted, but the next has yet to come into being^[각주:79], the past holds important lessons^[각주:80]. When nothing seems to make sense, history becomes the supreme discipline. Knowing who you are and where you came from matters. 

The best way to harness the past demolishes prejudice^[각주:81] and opens horizons. A proper sense of history helps you grasp that^[각주:82] progress depends on facing up to hard choices^[각주:83]. Sometimes it can inspire^[각주:84], too. Fifty years ago Apollo 8 took off from^[각주:85] Cape Canaveral in Florida. On December 24th it captured a photograph of Earth, a half-shrouded^[각주:86] blue-white planet, seemingly united^[각주:87]. 

1. outbreak ; [명사] (전쟁·사고·질병 등의) 발생[발발] ;; [NOUN] If there is an outbreak of something unpleasant, such as violence or a disease, it suddenly starts to happen. [본문으로]
2. nostalgia ; [U] 옛날을 그리워함; 향수(鄕愁), 회향병(懷鄕病)(homesickness) ;; 미국식 [nəˈs-; nɑːˈs-] 영국식 [nɒˈstældʒə] [본문으로]
3. exploit ; 1. [타동사] (못마땅함) (부당하게) 이용하다 ;; 3. [타동사] (최대한 잘) 활용하다 [본문으로]
4. emerging economies ; [명사] 개발 도상국 (syn. developing countries) [본문으로]
5. autocracy ; (pl. -ies) (aut·archy) 1. [U] 전제[독재] 정치 ;; 2. [C] 전제 군주국, 독재 국가 ;; [NOUN] Autocracy is government or control by one person who has complete power. ;; 미국식 [ɔːˈtɑːk-] 영국식 [ɔːˈtɒkrəsi] [본문으로]
6. hark back to sth ; …을 상기하다[떠올리다]. ;; to talk about or remember something that happened in the past or was mentioned before [본문으로]
7. yesteryear ; [U] (구식 또는 문예체) 지난날, 왕년 ;; [NOUN] You use yesteryear to refer to the past, often a period in the past with a set of values or a way of life that no longer exists. [본문으로]
8. purge ; 1. [타동사] ~ sth (of sb) | ~ sb (from sth) (조직에서 사람을, 흔히 폭력적인 방법으로) 제거[숙청]하다 ;; 2. [타동사] ~ yourself/sb/sth (of sth) | ~ sth (from sth) (격식) (나쁜 생각감정을) 몰아내다[없애다] [본문으로]
9. orgy ; 1. 진탕 먹고 마시며 난잡하게 노는 잔치, 주지육림 ;; [NOUN] An orgy is a party in which people behave in a very uncontrolled way, especially one involving sexual activity. [본문으로]
10. foretaste ; [sing.] a ~ (of sth) (비유적 의미로) 맛보기 ;; [NOUN] If you describe an event as a foretaste of a future situation, you mean that it suggests to you what that future situation will be like. [본문으로]
11. enjoy ; 3. [타동사][VN] (격식) 누리다, 향유하다 [본문으로]
12. transformative ; 변형시키는, 변하게 하는, 변형시키는 힘이 있는. [본문으로]
13. be on[upon] the threshold of ; 이제 막 ~하려고 하다, 이제 막[바야흐로] …하려고 하여 [본문으로]
14. heft ; 2. [美구어] 중요성; 영향(력).;; [NOUN] weight [본문으로]
15. revival ; 1. [U, C] 회복, 부활 ;; 2. [C, U] 부흥, 재유행 ;; [NOUN] [oft N of n] When there is a revival of something, it becomes active or popular again. [본문으로]
16. by contrast ; 1. (《앞 문장을 받아》) 그에 반해서, 그와 대조적으로 ;; 2. …와 대조하여, …에 비해서[with] [본문으로]
17. stem from ; [동사] …에 기인하다, …에 유래하다. ; 유의어 originate in, emanate from. [본문으로]
18. omnipresent ; [형용사] (격식) 편재하는, 어디에나 있는 ;; [ADJ] Something that is omnipresent is present everywhere or seems to be always present. [본문으로]
19. menacing ; [형용사] 위협적인, 해를 끼칠 듯한 ; 유의어 threatening ;; [ADJ] If someone or something looks menacing, they give you a feeling that they are likely to cause you harm or put you in danger. ;; 미국∙영국 [ˈmenəsɪŋ] [본문으로]
20. inequality ; [U, C] (pl. -ies) 불평등, 불균등 ; 반의어 equality [본문으로]
21. living conditions ; 생활 상태, 여건, 환경 [본문으로]
22. stagnate ; 1. [자동사] 침체되다, 부진해지다 ;; 2. [자동사] 고이다, (고여서) 썩다 ;; [VERB] If something such as a business or society stagnates, it stops changing or progressing. [본문으로]
23. worsen ; [자, 타동사] 악화되다; 악화시키다 ; 유의어 deteriorate [본문으로]
24. attest ; (격식) 1. ~ (to sth) 증명[입증]하다 ; 유의어 bear witness to ;; [VERB] To attest something or attest to something means to say, show, or prove that it is true. [본문으로]
25. fall (a[the]) victim to ;; …의 희생(물)이 되다; [매력 따위]에 사로잡히다 [본문으로]
26. wane ; 1. [자동사] 약해지다, 줄어들다, 시들해지다 ; 유의어 decrease, fade [본문으로]
27. idyllic ; 1. 전원시(풍)의, 목가적인 ;; 2. 아주 좋은[멋진], 아름다운; 소박한 ;; 미국식 [aɪˈd-] 영국식 [ɪˈdɪlɪk] [본문으로]
28. pessimism ; [U] ~ (about/over sth) 비관적인 생각[기분]; 비관주의 ; 반의어 optimism ;; [NOUN] Pessimism is the belief that bad things are going to happen. [본문으로]
29. miss the point ; 핵심에서 벗어나다; 포인트, 목적, 또는 의도를 잘못 이해하다 [본문으로]
30. harness ; 2. (자연력을) 동력화하다, 이용하다 ;; [VERB] If you harness something such as an emotion or natural source of energy, you bring it under your control and use it. [본문으로]
31. anchor ; 2. (일반적으로) 고정재(材), 고정 도구[장치], 추; 〈건축〉 고정용 쇠붙이. ;; 3. 믿고 의지하는 것. ;; 5. [英구어] 주거, 거처. ;; 10. (문장) 돛의 도형; 희망의 상징. [본문으로]
32. disrupt ; [타동사][VN] 방해하다, 지장을 주다 [본문으로]
33. alter ; 1. (모양·성질·위치 따위를) 바꾸다, 변경하다, 고치다(change, make different). [본문으로]
34. shift ; 1. ~ (sth) (from…) (to…) (장소를) 옮기다, 이동하다[되다]; 자세를 바꾸다 [본문으로]
35. be drawn to ; ~에 끌리다, 흥미를 가지게 되다 [본문으로]
36. self-esteem ; [U] 자부심 ; 유의어 self-worth ;; [NOUN] Your self-esteem is how you feel about yourself. For example, if you have low self-esteem, you do not like yourself, you do not think that you are a valuable person, and therefore you do not behave confidently. [본문으로]
37. past ; [명사] 1. [sing.] the past 과거, 지난날 ;; 2. [C] (개인의) 과거 ;; [NOUN] [the N] The past is the time before the present, and the things that have happened. [본문으로]
38. in the pursuit of ; 2. [목적의 달성 따위]를 추구하여 [본문으로]
39. distinctive ; 특유의, 특이한, 특색 있는; 차이[차별]를 나타내는, 구별이 있는 [본문으로]
40. hark back to ; …을 상기하다[떠올리다]. ;; to talk about or remember something that happened in the past or was mentioned before [본문으로]
41. certainty ; (pl. -ies) 1. [C] 확실한 것 [본문으로]
42. rid ; 2. [~ oneself로] 면하다, 벗어나다 ((of)) [본문으로]
43. marginalize ; [타동사][VN] 하찮은 존재 같은 기분이 들게 하다[존재로 만들다] ;; [VERB] To marginalize a group of people means to make them feel isolated and unimportant. [본문으로]
44. rebel against ; ~에 대항, 저항하다 [본문으로]
45. shop window (英) (美 ˌstore ˈwindow; window) ;; (가게) 진열장 유리, 상품 진열창 [본문으로]
46. make (both) ends meet ;; 겨우 먹고 살 만큼 벌다 ;; 수입과 지출의 균형을 맞추다 ;; earn enough to pay your living expenses [본문으로]
47. trade-off ; (美) (특히 타협을 위한) 거래 ; 교환 ; (거래에 의한) 협정 ; 이율 배반성, 모순. ;; [NOUN] A trade-off is a situation where you make a compromise between two things, or where you exchange all or part of one thing for another. [본문으로]
48. national prosperity ; 국가의 번영 [본문으로]
49. economic security ; 경제적 안정, 경제(적) 안보 [본문으로]
50. put[set, turn] back the clock (put (the hands of) the clock back) ;; 2. 과거로 되돌아가다 ;; 3. 진보를 방해하다, 오래된 관습을 고수하다, 역행하다 [본문으로]
51. sclerosis ; (pl. -ses[-siːz]) [U][醫]경화(증); [植]세포벽의 경화 ;; [NOUN] Sclerosis is a medical condition in which a part inside your body becomes hard. ;; 미국식 [-ˈroʊ-] 영국식 [skləˈrəʊsɪs] [본문으로]
52. aggravate ; 1. [타동사] (질병이나 좋지 못한 상황을) 악화시키다 ;; 유의어 worsen [본문으로]
53. in addition (to sth/sb) ; (~에) 덧붙여, 게다가 [본문으로]
54. nostalgist ; [NOUN] a person who indulges in nostalgia [본문으로]
55. crave ; 2. 갈망[열망]하다 ((for, after)) ;; [HELP] wish, desire, long for 등보다 뜻이 강함. [본문으로]
56. xenophobia ; [U] (못마땅함) 외국인 혐오(증) ;; [NOUN] Xenophobia is strong and unreasonable dislike or fear of people from other countries. [본문으로]
57. hate crime ; 1. [U] (타인종·동성애자 등에 대한) 증오에 의한 범죄 ;; 2. [C] 증오에 의한 범죄 사건[행위] ;; [NOUN] A hate crime is a crime, especially against people such as homosexuals and members of ethnic minorities, that is motivated by feelings of hatred. [본문으로]
58. condemn ; 1. [타동사][VN] ~ sb/sth (for/as sth) (보통 도덕적인 이유로) 규탄[비난]하다 [본문으로]
59. machination ; [주로 복수로] (못마땅함) 교묘한 책략[술책] ; 유의어 plot, intrigue ;; [NOUN] an intrigue, plot, or scheme ;; 미국∙영국 [ˌmæʃɪˈneɪʃn] [본문으로]
60. it is no accident that ~; ~한 것은 결코 우연이 아니다 [본문으로]
61. resurgence ; [sing., U] (활동의) 재기[부활] ;; 부활, 소생(rising again), 재기 ;; [NOUN] If there is a resurgence of an attitude or activity, it reappears and grows. [본문으로]
62. backward-looking ; [형용사] (못마땅함) 과거 회고적인, 퇴영적인 ;; [ADJ] If you describe someone or something as backward-looking, you disapprove of their attitudes, ideas, or actions because they are based on old-fashioned opinions or methods. [본문으로]
63. taint ; 1. 더러움, 얼룩, 오점(stain) ;; 3. 수치, 불명예, 오명(汚名); 상처, 손상 ((of)) ;; 4. 기미, 기색, 흔적 ((of)) ;; [NOUN] A taint is an undesirable quality which spoils the status or reputation of someone or something. [본문으로]
64. sweeping ; 1. [주로 명사 앞에 씀] 전면적인 ;; 2. [주로 명사 앞에 씀] (못마땅함) (지나치게) 광범위한[포괄적인] [본문으로]
65. for good ; 영원히 ;; permanently; for ever [본문으로]
66. buffet ; [타동사][VN] [흔히 수동태로] 뒤흔들다 참조 buffet 1 ;; 치다; 때려눕히다; <바람·파도·운명 등이> <사람을> 괴롭히다, 농락하다 ((about)); <사람이> <바람·파도·운명 등과> 싸우다 ;; [VERB] If something is buffeted by strong winds or by stormy seas, it is repeatedly struck or blown around by them. ;; 미국∙영국 [ˈbʌfɪt] [본문으로]
67. confluence ; [주로 단수로] 1. (전문 용어) (두 강의) 합류 지점 ;; 2. (격식) (두 가지 이상 사물의) 합일[융합] ;; [NOUN] The confluence of two rivers is the place where they join and become one larger river. ;; 미국식 [ˈkɑːn-] 영국식 [ˈkɒnfluəns] [본문으로]
68. social upheaval[cataclysm] ;; (사회의) 대변동 [본문으로]
69. universal suffrage ; 보통 선거권(모든 성년 남녀) ;; The concept of universal suffrage, also known as general suffrage or common suffrage, consists of the right to vote of all adult citizens, regardless of property ownership, income, race, or ethnicity, subject only to minor exceptions.In its original 19th-century usage by political reformers, universal suffrage was understood to mean only universal male suffrage; the vote was extended to women later, during the women's suffrage movement. ;; 미국∙영국 [ˈsʌfrɪdʒ] [본문으로]
70. insecurity ; 1. [U] 불안(감), 확신이 없음; 불안정, 위험 ;; 2. 불안정[불확실]한 것 [본문으로]
71. alienation ; [U] 1. 소원하게 하기, 멀리하기, 불화, 이간; 소외. ;; 2. (법률) (소유권의) 양도, 이전; 재산 처분권. ;; 3. (정신의학) 정신 착란; 정신 이상, 발광. [본문으로]
72. overhaul ; 1. …을 철저[정밀]하게 조사하다; 〔기계〕를 분해 검사[수리]하다. ;; [VERB] [usu passive] If a piece of equipment is overhauled, it is cleaned, checked thoroughly, and repaired if necessary. [본문으로]
73. taxation ; [U] 1. 조세, 세수 ;; 2. 과세제도, 세제 ;; [NOUN] Taxation is the system by which a government takes money from people and spends it on things such as education, health, and defence. [본문으로]
74. devolve sth to/on/upon sb ;; ~을 ~에(게) 위임하다 ;; to give work, duties, power or responsibility to somebody with less authority than you [본문으로]
75. avert ; 1. [타동사] 방지하다, 피하다 [본문으로]
76. catastrophe ; 1. 갑작스러운 대변동 ; 큰 재앙(sudden disaster). ;; 4. 비극적인 결말, 파국(破局)(affliction, disaster). ;; 미국∙영국 [kəˈtæstrəfi] [본문으로]
77. emigrate ; [자동사][V] ~ (from…) (to…) 이민을 가다, (다른 나라로) 이주하다 ; 참조 immigrate ;; 미국∙영국 [ˈemɪɡreɪt] [본문으로]
78. be onto sth ; (대단한 것을) 발견해[이뤄] 낼 가능성이 있다 ;; know about something or be in a situation that could lead to a good result for you [본문으로]
79. come into being ; 태어나다, 생성[설립]되다 ;; 성립하다./ 나타나다. [본문으로]
80. hold lessons ; 교훈을 주다, 귀감이 되다 [본문으로]
81. demolish ; 3. [타동사] (사상·이론을) 뒤집다 ;; 4. [타동사] 완파하다 [본문으로]
82. grasp ; 2. 완전히 이해하다, 파악하다 [본문으로]
83. face up to sth ; (힘들거나 불편한 상황을) 인정하다[받아들이다] ;; …을 직시하다, …에 감연히 맞서다. ;; [VERB] to accept (an unpleasant fact, reality, etc) [본문으로]
84. inspire ; [자동사] 1. 고무하다, 영감을 주다 [본문으로]
85. take off from ; …에서 이륙하다. [본문으로]
86. shrouded ; [형용사] 덮인, 싼 [본문으로]
87. seemingly ; 1. 외견상으로, 겉보기에는 [본문으로]