Benjamin’s “Angel of History” and the Critique of Progress

The present chapter examines Walter Benjamin’s critique of the ideology of progress as articulated in “On the Concept of History.” Contrasting the conventional linear trajectory of historical advancement, Benjamin, inspired by Paul Klee’s “Angelus Novus,” presents history as an accumulation of wreckage rather than a path of human improvement. His “angel of history” metaphorically faces the past, propelled forward by the storm of progress into an uncertain future. Benjamin’s work challenges the deterministic views of historical materialism that align progress with the development of productive forces. By reformulating the concept of historical time, Benjamin emphasizes the importance of praxis and the historical subject’s role in identifying disruptive “now-time” moments. He contrasts historicism’s narrative continuity with historical materialism’s obligation to redeem the past, making its obscured moments relevant to the present. The chapter argues that Benjamin’s rejection of teleological and deterministic histories call for a revolutionary historiography that recognizes continuous potential for change and highlights the significance of agency. Additionally, Benjamin’s critique extends to social democracy’s deterministic Marxism, advocating for a praxis-centered, non-linear understanding of historical development.