Introduction

I open this consideration of nostalgia and political theory with two passages from the history of political thought, and one from contemporary American politics. First, from Livy's History of Rome:

Livy thus introduces and frames his monumental work by contrasting a virtuous past with a degenerate present ‘in which we can bear neither our diseases nor their remedies’.

Second – continuing with the theme of Livy – from Niccolò Machiavelli's Discourses on Livy:

Here, Machiavelli distinguishes between two phenomena that ‘men … celebrate’: ‘the ancient times’, or ‘that age which has been recalled to their memory by known writers’ (in other words, times of which they can have no direct knowledge, but must rely on history books), and a past that they have, at least purportedly, experienced first hand; in other words, that ‘(being now old) they remember having seen in their youth’.

Third, to come closer to the present day, the 45th President of the United States: ‘When we were all younger – many of you are my age and many of you are younger – but when we were all younger we didn't lose so much, right? We don't win anymore. As a country, we don't win’ (Donald Trump, quoted in Johnson and Del Real 2016).