Men make their own history, but they do not make it just as they please; the do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances directly found, given and transmitted from the past. The tradition of all the dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brain of the living (Marx p. 595).
Benjamin believe that men can only promise and wish certain things to happen but have no control over the result. Everyman makes history base on what is available to him at a particular time in history.
I choose this passage because its very direct and makes lots of cense to me. In our modern time, those who happen to be in high office will promise everything even before they are elected. Once they take office everything changes. This does not mean they don't want things to happen the way they want it but due to the circumstances of what is happening at the time
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