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The Dawn of Political Nihilism
Volume I of The Nihilist Order
| David Ohana |
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| David Ohana teaches
Modern European history at Ben-Gurion University of
the Negev, Israel. He was a visiting fellow at the Centre
for
European
Studies at Harvard University and the first academic director
of the Forum for Mediterranean Cultures at the Van Leer
Jerusalem Institute. His books include: A Humanist
in the Sun: Camus and the Mediterranean Inspiration (2000), The
Promethean Passion (2000), and The Anger of the
Intellectuals (2003).
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In the turbulent period between 1870 and 1930, the contours on modernity were taking shape, especially the connections between technology, politics and aesthetics. The trilogy The Nihilist Order traces the genealogy of the nihilist-totalitarian syndrome.
Until now, nihilism and totalitarianism were considered opposites: one an orderless state of affairs, the other a strict regimented order. On closer scrutiny, however, a surprising affinity can be found between these two concepts that dominated the history of the first half of the twentieth century. Starting with Nietzsche’s philosophy, this book traces the development of an intellectual school characterized by the paradoxical dual purpose of a wish to destroy, coupled with a strong desire to create imposing structures. This explosive combination of nihilist leanings together with a craving for totalitarianism was an ideal of philosophers, cultural critics, political theorists, engineers, architects and aesthetes long before it materialized in flesh and blood, not only in technology, but also in fascism, Nazism, bolshevism and radical European political movements.
Friedrich Nietzsche, Georges Sorel, the Italian Futurists, led by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, and Ernst Jünger were all well-known intellectual and cultural figures. Here they are seen and understood in a different light, as creators of a modern political mythology that became a source of inspiration for belligerent ideological camps. Among the ideas propagated by this school, and later adopted by totalitarian regimes, were historical nihilism, a revolt against the rationalistic and universalistic pretensions of the Enlightenment, an affirmation of the dynamism of modern life, and the replacement of the traditional Judeo-Christian values of good and evil by other dualities such as authenticity and decadence. Concurrently there took place affirmation of the technological era, the creation of a ‘new man’ and a violent order, and the birth of a new political style in place of traditional world-views. When channeled into the political sphere, these aesthetic nihilist ideas paved the way for the rise of totalitarianism.
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List of Contents to follow |
Publication Details
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ISBN: |
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978-1-84519-289-1 h/b |
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Page Extent / Format: |
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272 pp. / 229 x 152 mm |
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Release Date: |
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November 2008 |
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Illustrated: |
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No |
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Hardback Price: |
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£49.50 / $74.50 |
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© 2008 Sussex Academic Press | Disclaimer |
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