Friday, August 22, 2008

Parallel between the Nazi movement and the traditionalist movement

[Careening Through History Without a Rear View Mirror
from One Cosmos by Gagdad Bob: I realize I'm rambling here, but one theme that leapt out in this book on Hitler is the parallel between the Nazi movement and the traditionalist movement as articulated by people such as Guenon, Schuon, and Coomaraswamy. First of all, let's eliminate up front the idea that I am calling them "Nazis," or some other such nonsense. However, you don't have to search very far before you discover a persistent critique of Traditionalism, to the effect that it is essentially a fascist movement. That is, it is entirely backward looking, authoritarian, cultish, romantic, and very openly repelled by all things modern...
I want to re-emphasize that in no way do I intend to denigrate Schuon, whom I consider to be one of the most profoundly gifted spiritual geniuses in human history. But he's definitely not an "American" thinker, a metaphysic which I believe has the best chance to synthesize past and present into a viable future characterized by real progress. But now I'm out of time, so I'll have to continue this line of thought tomorrow.]

Gagdad Bob, the celebrity author of One Cosmos Under God: The Unification of Matter, Life, Mind & Spirit is on an extended survey of Hitler and His God by Georges Van Vrekhem. Join the carnival. [TNM]

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