Iconoclasm, Identity Politics and the Erasure of History

By temperament and reason, I favour preservation of material, even—perhaps particularly—material that might be judged contentious or erroneous. However, it would be foolish to deny that removal of the old has stimulated construction of the new.

The author makes a useful and important distinction between iconoclasm and vandalism. He situates iconoclasm within a “broader movement of ideas and actions” connected with clearly defined intention. In contrast, vandalism—which is the principle form assumed by image breaking today—is destruction that is unconnected to a movement motivated by a system of ideals.