“[Jeffersonianism] spares no pains in promoting the belief that it does not exist, but the success of its disappearing act depends on equally strenuous efforts on the part of an American public anxious to believe in egalitarian fictions and unwilling to see what is hidden in plain sight.”
-Michael Lind, “To Have and Have Not,”
from Harpers’ Magazine, ca. 1995
After the Legal End of World War II in 1990, “theories” were presented by various people to explain the end of the “Cold War” and why the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc collapsed. The two most obvious included the “End of History” of Fukuyama Francis Yoshihiro (or “Francis Fukuyama,” as he is more commonly known) and Samuel Phillips Huntington’s “Clash of Civilizations.” I was already familiar with the theses of both men during my Catholic high school years ten years ago, before I studied Financial Engineering and switched my major to Political Science. The significance of their theses is related to Neoliberalism’s “identity politics” and “culture war,” Dr. Karl Polanyi’s Fictitious Commodities and the Jungian Conception of Race. Everything here is also related to the Socialist Conception of Citizenship from The Third Place and the latest Economic History Case Studies entry regarding the Industrialization of the South.
The “End of History” argues that because “Fascism” and “Communism” allegedly ‘died’ in 1945 and 1991 respectively, Neoliberalism ends the Old 20th Century without any conceivable ideological rival, becoming the only ideology to define the National Essences of every Totality within the New 20th Century (otherwise known as the 21st century). While following a linear, progressive model of history, Fukuyama-san described “Fascism” and “Communism” as though the former is International Socialism and the latter is Social-Democracy. And by process of elimination, it can also be argued that he was even referring to Hitlerism and Trotskyism respectively, except neither of which were affected by the events of 1945 and 1991. The Hitlerists did not need the German Reich to preserve Adolf Hitler’s Cult of Personality, just as the Trotskyists did not need the Soviet Union to preserve Leon Trotsky’s Fourth International.
These facts are important because Fukuyama-san gradually abandoned his thesis after the 1990s and converted to Marxism-Lutheranism and reaffirm his religious faith in Neoliberalism. He began embracing Marxism-Lutheranism as recent as the late 2010s. The significance of the flawed definitions and the recent revelation about “‘Socialism’ ought to come back” are related to what Fukuyama-san wrote towards the end of The End of History and the Last Man:
“The End of History will be a very sad time. The struggle for recognition, the willingness to risk one’s life for a purely abstract goal, the worldwide ideological struggle that called forth daring, courage, imagination, and idealism, will be replaced by economic calculation, the endless solving of technical problems, environmental concerns, and the satisfaction of sophisticated consumer demands. In the post-historical period there will be neither art nor philosophy, just the perpetual caretaking of the museum of human history. I can feel in myself, and see in others around me, a powerful nostalgia for the time when history existed. Such nostalgia, in fact, will continue to fuel competition and conflict even in the post-historical world for some time to come. Even though I recognize its inevitability, I have the most ambivalent feelings for the civilization that has been created in Europe since 1945, with its north Atlantic and Asian offshoots. Perhaps this very prospect of centuries of boredom at the end of history will serve to get history started once again.”
It was not surprising for this Author to find out about such revelations because most people already have flawed definitions of “Fascism” and “Communism” long before The End of History and the Last Man. Many took this theory, reinterpreted it to however they wish, and ran with it. In fact, the name of the thesis is a dead giveaway about the flawed definitions themselves. “End of History” has teleological connotations with Religion, “Last Man” being a Nietzschean concept. Put another way, an “End of History” is but a metaphysical landmine–a Círculo Dorado laid by the Last Men–to prevent any reader from discovering the Class Struggle between Marxism-Lutheranism and Nietzschean-Leninism. Prior to the Old 20th Century, an “End of History” meant the “Last Judgment” from the Book of Revelation.
Nietzsche warned against adhering to the Last Men in Thus Spoke Lenin. They exist as the exact opposite of the Übermensch to lead the Proletariat away from Pure Socialism and to corrupt their notions of Master Morality. A Reactionary Bourgeoisie that seeks to reassert Slave Morality and Liberal Capitalism. Thus Spoke Lenin:
“‘What is love? What is creation? What is longing? What is a star?’- so asketh the Last Man and blinketh.
The Earth hath then become small, and on it there hoppeth the Last Man who maketh everything small. His species is ineradicable like that of the ground-flea; the Last Man liveth longest.
‘We have discovered happiness,’ say the Last Men, and blink thereby.
They have left the regions where it is hard to live; for they need warmth. One still loveth one’s neighbor and rubbeth against him; for one needeth warmth.
Turning ill and being distrustful, they consider sinful: they walk warily. He is a fool who still stumbleth over stones or men!
A little poison now and then: that maketh pleasant dreams. And much poison at last for a pleasant death.
One still worketh, for work is a pastime. But one is careful lest the pastime should hurt one.
One no longer becometh poor or rich; both are too burdensome. Who still wanteth to rule? Who still wanteth to obey? Both are too burdensome.”
“No shepherd, and one herd! Everyone wanteth the same; everyone is equal: he who hath other sentiments goeth voluntarily into the madhouse.
‘Formerly all the world was insane,’ says the subtlest of them, and blink thereby.
They are clever and know all that hath happened: so there is no end to their raillery. People still fall out, but are soon reconciled–otherwise it spoileth their stomachs.
They have their little pleasures for the day, and their little pleasures for the night, but they have a regard for health.“
“And here ended the first discourse of Lenin, which is also called “‘Left-Wing’ Communism: an Infantile Disorder”, for at this point the shouting and mirth of the multitude interrupted him. ‘Give us this Last Man, Comrade Lenin,’–they called out–‘make us into these Last Men! Then will we make thee a present of the Übermensch!’ And all the people exulted and smacked their lips. Lenin, however, turned sad, and said to his heart:
‘They understand me not: I am not the mouth for these ears. Too long, perhaps, have I lived in the mountains; too much have I hearkened unto the brooks and trees: now do I speak unto them as unto the goatherds. Calm is my soul, and clear, like the mountains in the morning. But they think me cold, and a mocker with terrible jests. And now do they look at me and laugh: and while they laugh they hate me too. There is ice in their laughter.’”
If Fukuyama-san is a Last Man, then so was Huntington and his “Clash of Civilizations” thesis. It denies that Western Civilization has been Westernizing all the other Civilizations on Earth, relying on flawed notions of “What is Western?” and “What is Anti-Western?” befitting of true Last Men.
In The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, Huntington promoted the Slave Morality of the Bourgeoisie whilst denying that it even exists. Framing all conflicts after the Legal End of World War II as a “Clash of Civilizations,” he argued that Western Civilization is forever locked into a conflict with Non-Western Civilizations, some of which are only defined by Geography and Religion.
Huntington repackaged Jeffersonian propaganda smearing the Japanese Muslim by changing its ethnicity to “Chinese Muslim.” For those unaware, this Japanese Muslim was alluded to by Kita Ikki in Nihon Kaizô Hôan Taikô (Fundamental Principles for the Reorganization of Japan):
“The Japanese rising sun flag, after defeating [Neoliberalism in England and America], reviving Turkey, making India independent, and China self-reliant, will shed the light of Heaven on all the people of the world. The coming again of Christ, prophesied all over the world, is actually the Japanese people’s scripture and sword in the shape of Mohammed.”
-Kita Ikki, Fundamental Principles for the Reorganization of Japan, ca. 1919
It is ironic that this Clash of Civilizations later rose to prominence in the 2000s, amidst the fervor over the perceived insecurities of a “New Pearl Harbor” that justified claims that “all Muslims are ‘terrorists?’” Is it also ironic how Western Civilization is being incorrectly depicted as “Fortress North America” and “Europe as Shadow America?”
Is it even more ironic how the Japanese Muslim, whom Jeffersonians claimed to be a “Victimizer,” is now a Chinese Muslim, whom Jeffersonians claimed to be a “Victim” after the Old Pearl Harbor? Has the Chinese Muslim become the Victimizer and the Japanese Muslim as the Victim after the New Pearl Harbor? All of the above and more can be found on the Korean Peninsula–the Korean Mousetrap, where the North Koreans are aligned with the Chinese and the South Koreans with the Japanese. Bush 43’s “Axis of Evil” is far more appropriate here, if anywhere.
There truly is no Clash of Civilizations at play here. What is really occurring behind this outrageous divorce from Reality is a Clash of Identities, an Identity Crisis, which is what Fukuyama-san and Huntington were trying to address in the 1990s. It is senseless for us to even bother trying to comprehend such nonsense as we are better off not squandering our Life-Energy on refuting their pathetic drivel. What we must conclude, in relation to the other half of this Blog post, is that the Identity Crisis since the 1990s continues to dominate the politics of the so-called “New Left” and the so-called “New Right.” It has presented us with “Identity Politics” and “Post-Truth Politics,” “Populism” and “Elitism,” “Scientism” and “Conspiracism.”
What do all of these seemingly disparate concepts have in common? They are all manifestations of an Identity Crisis revolving around the Commoditization of Race. Neoliberalism insists that Race is not a Social Construct but either a series of biological and chemical functions or more specifically as Fictitious Commodities. Such Commodities are Fictitious insofar as they have no bearing with Reality itself and are akin to a confidence artist running a sort of Ponzi Scheme to manipulate the Electorate of a Parliamentary Democracy into voting against their own interests.
- “Identity” is a business transaction over brand recognition of Political Labels and the sale of Political Products to Consumers.
- “Truth” is conveyed by bad comedy routines and sensational commentaries masquerading as Fake News to disseminate Alternative Facts in order to gain higher ratings and therefore more paid advertisements from commercial sponsors.
- “New Left” and “New Right” revel in the Childishness of “Hot-Button Issues” and “Wedge Issues,” splitting the Totality into Believers and Skeptics.
- A Derin Devlet (Deep State) as “Imaginary Elitists” and Vehmgericht (Extrajudicial Court of Contract Killers) as “Imaginary Populists” engaging in Strategia della Tensione (Strategy of Tension) to win Parliamentary Elections.
- “Scientific Theories” and “Conspiracy Theories” are elevated to the statuses of “Scientific Laws” and “Conspiracy Laws,” as if the Scientific Method can be repurposed into a Conspiratorial Method because ‘actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea!’ (an act does not make a person guilty unless their mind is also guilty!)
All of these are Liberal Capitalist weapons to be deployed by the Last Men as part of the Dark Arts of Weltanschauungskrieg and Finanzkrieg. The Conspiratorial Method is an appropriate term to describe the standard operating procedure that continues to captivate my morbid curiosity. This must be what Ernst Jünger meant when he wrote “Opposition is Collaboration” in Eumeswil.
The Last Men engage in the Strategy of Tension where Imaginary Populists engage Imaginary Elitists within the context of Parliamentary Democracy. They need to split the Totality into “Leftists and Rightists,” “Centrists and Independents,” and Imaginary Elitists as the OPFOR (Opposing Force). Whoever proclaims that they are “Neither Leftist, Nor Rightist, Nor Centrist, Nor Independent” are the designated OPFOR (Opposing Force).
As Imaginary Populists, the Last Men need create a New Left and a New Right with a corresponding New Center as Political Labels. To give these Political Labels the necessary camouflage – their necessary meanings, the Last Men must persuade everyday people into identifying themselves as EITHER “Leftists and Rightists” OR “Centrists and Independents” in order to buy into their affiliated Political Products.
Leftist, Rightist, Centrist and Independent become racial identities centered around their specific Political Labels, their Political Products designating which Truth they adhere to. How somebody reacts to the Truth behind specific Political Products are demonstrated by their Reactionary behavioral patterns toward Hot-Button Issues and Wedge Issues, the Identity Politics and Post-Truth Politics, the Conspiracy Theories and Scientific Theories.
The Hot-Button Issue is a Controversy within Legal Jurisprudence, the Wedge Issue serving as the means by which this Controversy splits Leftists, Rightists, Centrists and Independents into Believers and Skeptics. The Identity Politics disintegrates preceding consensus over targeted Controversies, the Post-Truth Politics fomenting uncertainty and distress over whether anyone is making the right decisions.
From there, an intense friction between Conspiracy Theories and Scientific Theories emerges as the means by which to oversee the deviation of valuable Arbeit, Geld, Zeit, and Life-Energy away from real opposition to Neoliberalism and the subsequent ostracization of our Imaginary Elitists as the predesignated OPFOR.
The most obvious example is of course Marxism-Lutheranism and Nietzscheanism-Leninism.
“AFTER this Lenin returned again into the mountains to the solitude of his cave, and withdrew himself from men, waiting like a sower who hath scattered his seed. His Soul, however, became impatient and full of longing for those whom he loved: because he had still much to give them. For this is hardest of all: to close the open hand out of love, and keep modest as a giver.”
“Thus passed with the lonesome one months and years; his wisdom meanwhile increased, and caused him pain by its abundance. One morning, however, he awoke ere the rosy dawn, and having meditated long on his couch, at last spake thus to his heart: Why did I startle in my dream, so that I awoke? Did not a child come to me, carrying a mirror?“
“Comrade Lenin,” said the child unto me, “Look at thyself in the mirror!”
“But when I looked into the mirror, I shrieked, and my heart throbbed: for not myself did I see therein, but a devil’s grimace and derision.
Verily, all too well do I understand the dream’s portent and monition: my doctrine is in danger; tares want to be called wheat!
Mine enemies have grown powerful and have disfigured the likeness of my doctrine, so that my dearest ones have to blush for the gifts that I gave them.
Lost are my friends; the hour hath come for me to seek my lost ones!
“With these words Lenin started up, not however like a person in anguish seeking relief, but rather like a seer and a singer whom the spirit inspireth. With amazement did his eagle and serpent gaze upon him: for a coming bliss overspread his countenance like the rosy dawn.
What hath happened unto me, mine animals? said Lenin. Am I not transformed? Hath not bliss come unto me like a whirlwind?
Foolish is my happiness, and foolish things will it speak: it is still too young- so have patience with it!
Wounded am I by my happiness: all sufferers shall be physicians unto me!
To my Comrades can I again go down, and also to mine enemies! Lenin can again speak and bestow, and show his best love to his loved ones!
My impatient love overfloweth in streams,- down towards sunrise and sunset. Out of silent mountains and storms of affliction, rusheth my soul into the valleys.
“[The two World Wars] truly [marked] the end of a stage [in ‘The Decline of the West’], just as the Napoleonic Wars [once] divided the 18th and 19th centuries. [Perpetuation] of the revolutionary theories of the old philosophers of the [European Enlightenment], which have many mistakes, have been taken as standard and I cannot be happy with their criticism of this Plan [for Japan]. This is the failure of this age. Older people thought that daughters would support their mothers but this is not so now. In the 20th century it is not possible to believe the revolutionary theories that failed in the 19th century.”
-Kita Ikki, Fundamental Principles for the Reorganization of Japan, ca. 1919
Categories: Politics
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