Progress and Catastrophe

A thought from Walter Benjamin: "The concept of progress must be grounded in the idea of catastrophe. That things are 'status quo' is the catastrophe. It is not an ever-present possibility but what in each case is given. Thus Strindberg (in To Damascus?): hell is not something that awaits us, but this life here and now" (Arcades Project, N: "On the Theory of Knowledge, Theory of Progress", 473).

I plan on posting Benjamin quotes/thoughts/images here in part because their fragmentary nature lends itself well to the blog format. Also, we live in a time where the observation that "status quo is the catastrophe" certainly seems relevant.