History and modernity are organically connected in the practice of chronological research, which follows from the very nature of science. Due to its place in society and its social functions, history can, neither in its theoretical constructions nor in its research practice, abstract itself from the concerns of modernity. In different forms and to various degrees, the impulses of modernity influence not only the historian’s approach to the study of the past but likewise the results of this study. It is why the problem of the relationship between history and modernity has essential theoretical and practical significance. One way or another of solving it directly affects understanding the possibilities of historical science in the objective-true knowledge of the past. Indeed, suppose every generation rewrites its history anew, as many contemporary bourgeois scholars claim. In that case, there can be no question of the existence of objective truth in history, and historiography becomes a function of modernity.
However, just as it is impossible to liberate history from modernity, it is likewise impossible to free it from politics, the sphere that has the most significant influence on historical knowledge. The proclamation of the freedom of history from politics is either an illusion of the heart or a self-serving calculation. However, whatever the aims, it is fundamentally unsound. The organic connection between politics and history stems from the very nature of the latter, and they should be studied simultaneously. As its object is the activity of people in the past, the account is already connected with their training in the present. Politics, in the broad sense of the word, influence the historian’s approach to the past, the choice of objects of study, and their interpretation. Every school of history and every serious historian has certain political convictions that affect all historiographical practices. Therefore, their joint learning makes it possible to grasp the world’s picture and make an oakland in its development.
The history of our scholarship testifies irrefutably that from its earliest beginnings, historiography has been closely linked to politics and has reflected its various influences. Already Herodotus demonstrated this connection through the pro-Athenian orientation of his work. The glorification of Athens and the downplaying of the role of its political adversaries in the Greco-Persian wars runs through his entire narrative. The tendency to express certain political convictions is present even in Thucydides’ History, which is regarded by bourgeois scholarship as the father of objectivism. For all its apparent impartiality and deliberately emphasized impartiality, Thucydides’ political convictions are reflected in his depiction of the Peloponnesian War in such a way that his entire book stands as an indictment of the “extremes” of democracy that ruined Athens (Cunningham, 2020). As historical scholarship and society develop, the connection between history and politics becomes more robust and powerful, and its forms of expression become more and more varied.
Historical scholarship is becoming increasingly tendentious because it reflects certain political tendencies by specific means. Regardless of whether these tendencies facilitate or hinder the study of the past, they constitute a necessary component of historical knowledge as a concentrated expression of the influence of modernity on history. It is not a question of freeing historical scholarship from political tendentiousness in general but of imparting to it a tendency that, expressing the advanced ideals of its time, would contribute to an objective and accurate knowledge of the history of human society.
In a certain sense, history can be called an instrument of politics precisely because, with its help, specific political tasks are solved, particularly political views and assessments are carried into the consciousness of more or less broad masses, and the groups are educated in the spirit of certain political ideals. That is why history plays such an outstanding role in the modern ideological struggle and why it is necessary for historians to understand the political function of their science clearly, to serve consciously, through their professional means, the weighty political ideals of our time. The problem of the relevance of historical and political research should also be considered in light of this. Successfully fulfilling the social function of the sciences requires effective participation in solving the issues put before society by life. The place occupied by historical science in society needs to be central, defining such historiographical problems, which have more or less significant public resonance and are in a specific connection with the leading political forces of the time (Cunningham, 2020). The relevance of historical knowledge is thus rooted in its social nature, constituting a necessary condition for historical science to fulfill its social function.
Among the various ways and forms through which history influences politics, the generalization of experience and the drawing of lessons from it are essential for making sense of significant phenomena and processes of social life occurring in the present. In this way, history contributes to developing the foundations of politics. However, the significance of historical experience does not end here. Ultimately, the problem is reduced to the social usefulness of history, and its place in the life of society, and it acts as a problem of the worldview (Cunningham, 2020). It is why its solution is inextricably linked to the prevailing trends about the nature and character of the historical process in general and the prospects for the development of this society in particular, being, in a sense, an accurate indicator of the spiritual atmosphere that soars within it.
History reference has always been dictated by the awareness of the need to use past lessons. The scientifically comprehended experience of the past is an indispensable component of the Marxist interpretation of the present, serving at the same time as an effective tool in today’s ideological and political struggle. Scientific understanding of historical experience is necessary for knowledge of the leading trends of modern development and the development of scientifically sound practical-political solutions. Without a profound mastery of the past, it is impossible to have a reasonable policy in the present. Scientific analysis of history provides new knowledge essential to the present phenomena.
The process of learning about the past is a must for everyone because history has repeatedly amazed humanity with its cyclicality. Some historical events tend to repeat to the present day, but in a more modified form. History shows the impossibility of changing the past, so man thinks about how he builds the present because it will already be added to its lists in a few years. Morever, politics must be taught to have the right to be called a truly educated man. After all, to know and remember how the statehood of one’s country was born, what path it took for a nation to become a full-fledged society, and how the culture of humankind developed is the sacred duty of a person and a citizen.
Reference
Cunningham, S. (2020). History, contexts, politics, policy. Routledge.