Bertolt Brecht lived at a time when Germany was falling into fascism. He wrote and produced plays that might call people to their deeper humanity. He wanted to empower his audiences to be able to reject the scapegoating of the Nazis. He said, “Those who always speak of enemies, are themselves the enemy.”
As in our day, the populist demagogues of Germany were actually lackeys for plutocratic policies. Brecht said, “Those who take the most from the table, teach contentment. Those for whom the taxes are destined, demand sacrifice. Those who eat their fill, speak to the hungry, of wonderful times to come. Those who lead the country into the abyss, call ruling difficult, for ordinary folk.”
Perhaps Brecht’s best known quote is “Unhappy the land in need of heroes.” He was aware that nation that depends on heroic figures instead of a social contract are in serious trouble. Democracy governed by heroes is a contradiction in terms.
Brecht wanted German theatre goers to realize their choices were political whether they knew it or not. He said, “The worst illiterates are political illiterates. They hear nothing, see nothing, take no part in political life. They don’t seem to know that the cost of living, the price of beans, of flour, of rent, of medicines all depend on political decisions. They even pride themselves on their political ignorance, stick out their chests and say they hate politics. They foolishly don’t know that from their political non-participation comes the human trafficking, the abandoned child, the robber and, worst of all, corrupt officials, the lackeys of exploitative multinational corporations.”
Brecht said, “For art to be ‘unpolitical’ means only to ally itself with the ‘ruling’ group.” Brecht knew that artists are a tyrant’s worst fear. The trance necessary for tyranny to flourish is broken by artistic awareness and by a sense of solidarity with all humankind. Brecht said, “Though the rich of this earth find no difficulty in creating misery, they can’t bear to see it.”
Brecht saw theatre as a revolutionary force. Like all great artists, Bertolt Brecht wanted to affirm life. He said, “All art forms are in the service of the greatest of all arts: the art of living.” He told people not to be afraid of death so much as an inadequate life. He said those who fight can lose, but those who didn’t fight had already lost.
Brecht found hope in living with a revolutionary spirit, “You can make a fresh start with your final breath.”