One of the unique features of human nature is that we are often motivated to do extreme actions — both good and bad — because of ideas. This drawing illustrates one of the uprisings leading to the Haitian Revolution, when slaves revolted against their masters and eventually established a slave-free state. (1791-1804). The slaves — and the free black Haitians who took up their cause — were in part motivated by the ideals of “liberty, fraternity, and equality” which had been chimed by revolutionaries in France in 1789.
The Haitian Revolution had an enormous impact, one that affected people outside of Haiti and their French former-overlords. Among other things, it inspired the thoughts of the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Hegel that led him to develop his idea of “the master-slave dialectic”.
This is a concept worth knowing about, whether or not you agree with it. In his 1807 _Phenomenology of the Spirit_, Hegel posited that there is a development of human consciousness that goes through various stages, and one of these is when two people encounter each other and struggle with each other for dominance. The winner becomes the master, and the loser is his slave. As the relationship continues, it becomes apparent that the master needs his slave — he has no power without him. On the other hand, as the slave works for the master, through his work he becomes more valuable — he does not need the master.
All this fits into Hegel’s theory that movements have a thesis, an antithesis, and a synthesis. And it is interesting to think about in terms of how human power operates — often, it is dependent upon the existence of a subordinate class.
Among others Hegel influences was Karl Marx, who thought about these ideas a lot. In fact, he was inspired by them when he came up with his own revolution-inspiring concepts of class consciousness and that they too move dialectically.
