HAWTHORNE AND LOVECRAFT: TWO WHO RODE THE TIGER

                    

Nathaniel Hawthorne

by Ben Welton

Americans are supposed to be energetic. After all, we “went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between” because of our relentless drive for expansion and profit. The American caricature, so idolized and reviled throughout the world, is a loud creature with a fondness for action and a devotion to extolling the virtues of thinking big and making quick money. According to Louis Hartz, author of The Liberal Tradition in America, “irrational Lockeanism” is our prevailing credo, with both liberals and conservatives essentially agreeing on the soundness of liberal democracy and global capital. A good Cold War liberal, Hartz (and generations of leftists after him) believed that a genuine and unique American right did not and could not exist. The left has all the best ideas, after all.

"RENÉ GUÉNON DOES NOT EXIST": A REMINDER FOR THOSE ON THE RIGHT

by Charles Jansen

René Guénon (1886-1951) is mainly acknowledged on the Right for having had a deep influence on Julius Evola. Though both thinkers could disagree on small issues, the latter held the former in a sufficiently high esteem to praise him as “a teacher for modern times”, something he would never have said about any philosopher or post-Enlightenment intellectual.

Beyond Evola, Guénon also had an important legacy in religious and comparative studies. His detailed works on Hinduism played a crucial role in shaping research of the so-called Oriental world. Despite the fact that some of Guénon’s reflections are far from politically correct, his books are still sold by the prestigious and over-the-counter Parisian publisher Gallimard. The religious historian Mircea Eliade, whom one may hear about if he opts for comparative studies today, also held a deep interest in Guénon’s views – at a time when he was also close to Corneliu Codreanu.

Even though he achieved success through his works, Guénon always rejected the labels of “philosopher” or “intellectual.” Such labels, he wrote in The Crisis of the Modern World, correspond to men who pursue innovation or originality at all cost, by “put[ting] their name to a ‘system’, that is, to a strictly limited and circumscribed set of theories, which shall belong to them and be exclusively their creation.” Rather than that, Guénon merely aimed to be a messenger, someone who gives to others a renewed access to a long-forgotten transcendence.

NIETZSCHE'S OLYMPIAN SYNTHESIS

by Gwendolyn Taunton

Lucidity's task: to attain a correct despair, an Olympian ferocity.
Emil Cioran

Understanding the role Tradition could or should play in the modern era is a central topic in the study of philosophy. Today, in a world where God is almost, but not quite dead, how can we translate traditional beliefs into an appropriate form suitable for the people of the present age? To answer this question we must examine the nature of spiritual experience itself and look at different approaches to the divine in antiquity. Surprisingly one of the best starting points for developing a rapport with Tradition suitable to the modern West emerges not from Traditional texts themselves, but from Nietzsche. Despite Nietzsche’s overt denunciation of Christianity and the often proclaimed consequence of the ‘Death of God,’ Nietzsche’s work penetrates very deeply into the core of religious philosophy and this area of his thought is usually misrepresented. A substantial amount of Nietzsche’s writing can be seen not as wishing to break Tradition, but instead wishing to reinvigorate it by introducing elements of what he believed was a stronger model for religious belief — a vital form of spiritual thought that would prevent cultural decay.

AN INTERVIEW WITH ALEXANDER DUGIN: AGAINST UNIVERSALISM

Would you buy a tapestry from this man?

by Rémi Tremblay

My recent articles have been critical of Eurasianism, and have raised a few questions. Alexander Dugin, the author of the two books referred to in my articles, has kindly offered to answer them.

Rémi Tremblay: In the West, Eurasianism seems to seek to ally itself with nationalists. However, in Russia nationalist groups like the ones that support Russia in the West were crushed and repressed. What can Western nationalists learn from that repression?

Alexander Dugin: Eurasianism works with different groups who are against liberalism, North American hegemony and Modernity as a whole. These groups can be right or left. It is most important to be against liberalism and Atlanticism. But Eurasianism is not nationalistic—it is a Fourth Political Theory, ideologically similar to the European New Right of Alain de Benoist.

TOVE LO'S TRAGIC TUNE AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FEMININE

by Greg Allmain

While a recent discovery to this writer, the Swedish singer Tove Lo obviously has a significant fanbase, one that likely extends throughout the world. The two top results on YouTube for her song, Habits (Stay High) have been viewed 107 million times, and 199 million times respectively. While certainly a compelling song, the tune's lyrical content is emblematic of the destruction of the sexes that the institutional Left has accomplished in the last century or so.

SUPER-POP FASCISM vs SUPER-BLACK POWER

The Cultural Jihad

by Alex Fontana

There has been uproar in rightist circles – with some spillover into the mainstream media – over the transfiguration of pop culture characters of White identity to minority identity. There is certainly an agenda at work here, perhaps driven by the liberal proclivities of comic book creators, many of whom were and are Jewish, an agenda that interestingly rubs up against the "pop fascism" element in comic books sagaciously identified by Jonathan Bowden.

As leftist journalist Richard Cooper put it in an article entitled Superheroes are a Bunch of Fascists:

"The main problem is force: sheer physical force, which lies at the heart of the superhero myth…
I was reminded of this by Jor-El’s speech in Man of Steel: 'You will give the people an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders.'
How, though? Those watching him can’t fly, topple buildings or fire heat rays from their eyes. What else does Superman do other than these purely physical feats?"

Cooper misses the point completely in two regards. First, he assumes that violence is a characteristic of fascism and fascism only. Georges Sorel’s Reflections on Violence (1908) arguably inspired more left-wing violence than right-wing, and when it did inspire right-wing violence, through Benito Mussolini, it was his fluency with leftist discourse that precipitated it.

KEEP CALM AND SURF THE STORM

by Michael Grant

The latest article over at Radix is a piece written by the passionate, brilliant Roman Bernard, a man whom I admire deeply. In it, he gives his impressions of the reaction – or rather, overreaction – of the western public and identitarian movement(s) in the wake of the terrorist attack upon the offices and employees of a left-wing French satirical magazine.

I can't say that I disagree entirely with his article. It is a mistake common (but not exclusive) to the western people to react in a manner that is perhaps disproportionate to attacks made upon them in a certain manner.

NAVIGATING "VANTARDISM": SCREW SCYLLA, KICK CHARYBDIS!

by William Solniger

The recent debate over ‘vantardism’ has shone light on a problem that the true Right desperately needs to deal with before it can hope to harness its energies effectively. Reluctant as I am to whip up an already well-stirred pot, I think that the more suggestions are advanced for the resolution of the problem, the better.

For anyone who doesn’t already know, ‘vantardism’ – as defined by Greg Johnson – refers to stupid and self-defeating attempts at ‘vanguardism,’ i.e. organising a political vanguard. As far as the true Right is concerned, this vantardism nearly always amounts to a militant insistence on shackling Rightist ideals to the corpse of Hitler’s Third Reich, accompanied by the argument that everyone who does not do the same is merely indulging in a futile and cowardly dissimulation. The fact that the latter argument has any credibility at all can no doubt be traced back to the very real cowardice and futility of the mainstream conservative ‘false Right’ – which, as we are all aware, has fought the postwar cultural revolution in the West half-heartedly, two-mindedly and one-handedly, while employing most of its energies to viciously stab in the back any comrades who dare to overstep the bounds of progressivist “respectability.”

MERCURY RISING: THE LIFE & WRITINGS OF JULIUS EVOLA

The Life & Writings of Julius Evola

by Gwendolyn Taunton

If the industrious man, through taking action,
Does not succeed, he should not be blamed for that –
He still perceives the truth.
                    　　　　～The Sauptikaparvan of the Mahābhārata (2,16)

If we could select a single aspect by which to define Julius Evola, it would have been his desire to transcend the ordinary and the world of the profane. It was characterized by a thirst for the Absolute, which the Germans call mehr als leben – “more than living.” This idea of transcending worldly existence colours not only his ideas and philosophy, it is also evident throughout his life which reads like a litany of successes. During the earlier years Evola excelled at whatever he chose to apply himself to: his talents were evident in the field of literature, for which he would be best remembered, and also in the arts and occult circles.

THE TRUE RIGHT: JULIUS EVOLA, SOVEREIGNTY & TRADITION

by Gwendolyn Taunton

"Not to know what happened before you were born is to be a child forever. For what is the time of a man, except it be interwoven with that memory of ancient things of a superior age?" ～Cicero

Evola’s theories concerning the role of the Kṣatriya varna (caste) in antiquity are both a progression on and a refutation of Rene Guénon’s work. Despite their sharing of the same foundational source in perennial philosophy, there are a number of points on which they differ, the most obvious point of contention being the role of the Kṣatriya in relation to a hierarchical model of civilization. Guénon held that the textual model in Hinduism was correct, with the Brahmin holding all power as priests/philosophers in Traditional India. Evola, however, declared that this model was theoretical only – in practice the Kṣatriya varna held all the power. Normally associated in the West with the military, Evola instead offered a paradigm which depicted the Kṣatriya as the aristocratic caste – composed of the nobility as well as the warriors. Because Evola links the Kṣatriya to aristocracy, this becomes a central motif that is of extreme importance.

THE HOMO AND THE NEGRO: AN INTERVIEW WITH JAMES O'MEARA

by Andy Nowicki

The Homo and the Negro, a provocatively-titled collection of essays recently published by Counter-Currents, reveals one of the more interestingly idiosyncratic, and thus far largely unsung, writers of the far right.

James J. O’Meara has called his own writing style “psychedelic,” and while I don’t know if this is meant to imply the actual influence of LSD in this Detroit-born, Canadian-educated baby boomer’s life, one can indeed sense quite a bit more of a Phillip K. Dick-vibe in his work than anything Evolian or Spenglerian. But maybe that’s just a roundabout way of saying that, while O’Meara has a profound interest in matters of intellectual substance, his writing is at the same time entertaining to read, and not in any way stuffy or stultifyingly academic-sounding.

ARISTOKRATIA II – A REVIEW

Aristokratia II
Edited by K.Deva
Manticore Press, 322 pages
Available for purchase from Amazon here

Reviewed by Colin Liddell

I haven't read the entire contents of the latest edition of this intellectual and deeply esoteric journal. It's simply not that kind of book – i.e. the kind you race through and then dash off a quick review.

No, if you want to dash off a quick review – and I do because this journal deserves wider attention – the only way to do it is to glean what one can from a partially digested reading of this rich psychic and intellectual feast and then string a few sentences together, which is what I have done here. To read it fully and properly will be the work of several years, many rereads, and much contemplation.

BEYOND PRUDERY AND PERVERSION

by Keith Preston

Of the various manifestations of the egalitarian cultural revolution that has transpired in the Western world over the past half century, none have been quite so enduring or become so deeply rooted in the culture of modern society as the so-called “sexual revolution.” Indeed, it might well be argued that even the supposed commitment of Western cultural elites in the early twenty-first century to the ethos of racial egalitarianism is not quite as profound as their commitment to the preservation and expansion of the victories of the sexual revolution. The sexual revolution itself brings with it many of its own manifestations. These include the now prevailing feminist ethos, the liberalization of both popular opinion and public legislation concerning sexual conduct, abortion and contraception, divorce, the normalization of homosexuality accompanied by the growth of powerful homosexual political interest groups, and the identification of an ever-growing list of “gender identity” or “sexual orientation” groups who are subsequently assigned their position in the Left’s pantheon of the oppressed.