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Η αέναη επιστροφή του φασισμού
Ποια είναι τα χαρακτηριστικά του φασισµού;
Γιατί επανεµφανίζεται στην Ευρώπη σήµερα;
Πώς θα αντιµετωπίσουµε την εξάπλωσή του;
Ο Rob Riemen µάς υπενθυµίζει τη στάση του Αλµπέρ Καµύ, του Τόµας Μαν, του Νίτσε, του Αντόρνο, του Πολ Βαλερύ, στοχαστών σύγχρονων της γένεσης του φαινοµένου στον εικοστό αιώνα, οι οποίοι συµφωνούν, ο καθένας µε τον τρόπο του, στο εξής: ο φασισµός βασίζεται στην απουσία της ιδεολογίας και στην άρνηση των πνευµατικών αξιών· ευδοκιµεί όταν οι άνθρωποι παύουν να σκέφτονται.
Πρόσφορο έδαφος για τον φασισµό είναι η υλική αβεβαιότητα, η δυσαρέσκεια, η σιωπή των ελίτ κάθε είδους – φαινόµενα που δε λείπουν από τη σηµερινή κοινωνία.
Ο Riemen επιµένει στον ρόλο της τέχνης και του πολιτισµού σήµερα, περισσότερο από ποτέ, και ενθαρρύνει τους Ευρωπαίους διανοούµενους να µας εµπνεύσουν ενισχύοντας την πίστη στη θετική δύναµη του ανθρώπινου νου.
Γιατί επανεµφανίζεται στην Ευρώπη σήµερα;
Πώς θα αντιµετωπίσουµε την εξάπλωσή του;
Ο Rob Riemen µάς υπενθυµίζει τη στάση του Αλµπέρ Καµύ, του Τόµας Μαν, του Νίτσε, του Αντόρνο, του Πολ Βαλερύ, στοχαστών σύγχρονων της γένεσης του φαινοµένου στον εικοστό αιώνα, οι οποίοι συµφωνούν, ο καθένας µε τον τρόπο του, στο εξής: ο φασισµός βασίζεται στην απουσία της ιδεολογίας και στην άρνηση των πνευµατικών αξιών· ευδοκιµεί όταν οι άνθρωποι παύουν να σκέφτονται.
Πρόσφορο έδαφος για τον φασισµό είναι η υλική αβεβαιότητα, η δυσαρέσκεια, η σιωπή των ελίτ κάθε είδους – φαινόµενα που δε λείπουν από τη σηµερινή κοινωνία.
Ο Riemen επιµένει στον ρόλο της τέχνης και του πολιτισµού σήµερα, περισσότερο από ποτέ, και ενθαρρύνει τους Ευρωπαίους διανοούµενους να µας εµπνεύσουν ενισχύοντας την πίστη στη θετική δύναµη του ανθρώπινου νου.
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 168 reviews
October 18, 2023
I can not think of a more timely book than this: the resurgence of fascism and the future of Europe. There are those who think that it will be another man with a funny moustache who will be the future avatar of this philosophical position; and that will be to the benefit of many embryotic movements - looking for that which has changed - while the alchemical propaganda that encourages silver lined clouds after a storm of hate looms on every horizon. Rob Riemen understands this - and his book is a warning that 'peace in our time' may come only to the dead.
February 15, 2018
I read this during the feverish peak of either my second or third bout of bronchitis since winter has taken up residence here in Moscow, so it's possible that I was feeling uncharitable. Still, I feel pretty justified in saying that this book is dull, and likely not a useful addition to your personal 'why Trump won' curriculum.
There are not really any unusual or stimulating ideas here. On a general level, there are things it's difficult to disagree with- fascism appeals to hatred, bigotry, and people's basest instincts, for example- but not exactly revelatory. Riemen's principal argument, though it's less an argument than a repetitive assertion, seems to be that modern society is vacuous and stupid, and that what's most crucial to thwarting fascism is the cultivation of nobility of spirit. All these intellectually unstimulating economic problems and so on will take care of themselves, once we deal with the real issue. I don't agree but fair enough, I guess, except that Riemen is not interested in the nuts and bolts of what this might mean. Contrast this view with that of, say, Erich Fromm, who in Escape from Freedom argues that causality flows in more than one direction; that what we tend to think of as metaphysical, or inherent qualities of human beings, are always rooted in an economic, social, historical context.
Timothy Snyder, in his far more interesting On Tyranny, makes the point that one of the features of fascism is that it banalizes and distorts language- and so one very small way to fight back is to be conscious of language, to try to avoid cliche and come up with original ways to express things. Riemen touches on this idea as well (which has been around, I think, at least since Victor Klemperer and George Orwell), and yet the language in this book is leaden and without nuance; the answers to which Riemen keeps returning are truth, justice, wisdom, peace, nobility of the spirit, etc., each of which seems to have the same insubstantial, nebulous, mystical meaning for him. How exactly these virtues might manifest themselves in the physical world is, again, not something Riemen is interested in.
The book ends with Riemen's description of attending a symposium on the future of Europe. He uses a transhumanist straw-man and then an ostensibly Socratic older gentleman to make the same dull point. True philosophy is metaphysics, the older man tells the attendees; forget "the chatter of the media, the hot air of politicians, the sales talk of commerce, the hollow jargon of academics, it all...says nothing. For it is meaningless."
Wow. Meaningless! The context makes it clear that the reader is supposed to be as awed by this as Riemen clearly is. But firstly, like most of what Riemen says in the book, this man's comments are so general that it is difficult to really agree or disagree with them. Secondly, look, I was a philosophy major, so I enjoy intellectual masturbation as much as the next person. But it seems to me that cultivating nobility of spirit in the masses could take a while, and that in the meantime, as nightmarish as the modern world can often seem, it would probably be a good idea to insure the continued accessibility of drinking water, to fight against climate change, to work (in the US, anyway) towards universal healthcare and gun control, and so forth. Who knows, the capacity for nobility of spirit might even be related to such things.
In any case, the most interesting parts of this book were quotes from Nietzsche, Wittgenstein and Mann, which just made me think that I should be reading them instead.
November 1, 2018
Ενα μικρο βοηθημα για να καταλαβουμε τι ειναι αυτο που μας χτυπαει την πορτα....ΥΓ Να το διαβασεις και να το αγορασεις!
March 5, 2018
I found Rieman’s analysis convincing but his prescriptions a bit vague, nostalgic, and (he’d hate this) elitist. I kept wishing he would use examples or more detailed illustrations of what recapturing the “soul” or “spiritual values” means.
May 6, 2018
Well this one was kind of strange.
I'm sympathetic to its main argument--that qualitative values like virtue and education and civility need to claw back some of the gains that quantitative values such as wealth and success and technological innovation have made in the post-WWII era--but I'm not sure that they're the key to preempting fascism. It was also a highly Eurocentric book--rife with claims about what Europe "means" without sufficiently establishing what and why those things might be.
Lately I've had a bit of a volte-face on the whole demise of norms idea, so perhaps I'm a bit skeptical of these calls for sober repair to the mean through exhortations of abstract concepts, concepts about which consensus is unduly presumed. But I picked up a Corey Robin book at the library this week and will likely save those thoughts for that review.
I'm sympathetic to its main argument--that qualitative values like virtue and education and civility need to claw back some of the gains that quantitative values such as wealth and success and technological innovation have made in the post-WWII era--but I'm not sure that they're the key to preempting fascism. It was also a highly Eurocentric book--rife with claims about what Europe "means" without sufficiently establishing what and why those things might be.
Lately I've had a bit of a volte-face on the whole demise of norms idea, so perhaps I'm a bit skeptical of these calls for sober repair to the mean through exhortations of abstract concepts, concepts about which consensus is unduly presumed. But I picked up a Corey Robin book at the library this week and will likely save those thoughts for that review.
September 18, 2019
"Hakikati parantez içine al, hiç utanmadan gerçekleri çarpıt ve sürekli yalan söyle."
Aslında, çağa karşı koymaktan ziyade çağı anlamak, hatta daha da özelinde bizi anlamak için harika bir minik kitap. Tarihten verdiği örneklerin yanı sıra, aslında dibimizde bile bitiveren bu tohumları fark etmek şart çünkü.
Zira gerçekten de faşizm her zaman aynı şekilde yükseliyor.
"Nasyonal sosyalizm de demokratik bir biçimde, en büyük bir parti bile değilken iktidara geldi. Bir ahlaki bütünlüğün ve tutarlılığın olmayışı ve özellikle muhafazakârların, olduğundan daha fazla güce sahip olduklarını düşünmeleri, nasyonal sosyalistlerin güç kazanmasına yol açtı ki onlar, bu güçten asla vazgeçmeyeceklerdi. Zaten vazgeçemezlerdi, çünkü varoluşlarının biricik nedeni, daha fazla güç kazanmak için güç ve hıncın sürdürülmesiydi. Hayal kırıklığı hınca, hınç şiddete, şiddet ise daha da fazla şiddete yol açar. Bunun sonu yoktur.
Tarih bize bunu öğretir; ama maalesef insan doğası hiç değişmemiştir. Bizi koruması gereken kurumlar, insanların onlara duyduğu güven sayesinde var olur. Demagog ve şarlatanları yönetime getirin ve gelenek hâlini almış ilkelere karşı çıkan bir siyasetçinin, bu tarz bir liderin ülkeyi kurtarabilecek tek kişi olduğu inancını yaymak için kitle iletişim araçlarını kullanın; demokratik anayasal kurumlar, kimse artık onlara inanmadığı için iktidarlarını yitiren yetkililer gibi göz açıp kapayıncaya dek yok olacaklardır."
Şu iki paragrafın evrenselliği, su götürmez. Ve tabii, faşizmin olmazsa olmazı, kitle toplumu:
"Fakat kitle insanı, bireye ve topluma tamamen farklı bakar. Kitle insanı entelektüel ve manevi değerlere karşı bırakın yükümlü olmayı, onlarla karşılaşmak bile istemez. Onu kısıtlayacak hiçbir ölçüt, değer ya da hakikat ona dayatılamaz. Kitle insanı için yaşam hep kolay ve bereketli olmalıdır; o, varoluşun trajik doğasının farkında değildir. Her şey serbesttir, bu yüzden hiç sınır yoktur. Manevi çabalar gereksizdir. Kitle insanı kendinden memnundur ve şımarık bir çocuk gibi davranır. Dinlemek, kendi fikirlerini eleştirel gözle değerlendirmek ve başkalarına karşı düşünceli davranmak şart değildir. Tüm bunlar onun iktidar hissini, kontrol arzusunu güçlendirir. Yalnızca o ve onun gibiler önemlidir, diğerleri uyum sağlamalıdır. Yani kitle insanı her zaman haklıdır ve bunun için gerekçeye ihtiyacı yoktur."
Bu ikisinin ilişkisi de şu şekilde ilerliyor:
"Durmaksızın kendileriyle meşgul olan, ruhlarını doyurmak için küçük ve bayağı zevkler icat eden ve birbirine benzeyen eşit insanların oluşturduğu, sayılamayacak kadar geniş bir kalabalık görüyorum. Bu insanların hepsi, tek tek ya da tümden, başkalarının kaderlerine yabancı gibiler. [....] Tüm bunların üzerinde, bu insanların eğlenmelerini sağlayan ve akıbetlerini gözeten bir vesayet yükseliyor. [....] Vatandaşların, eğlenmekten başka bir şey düşünmedikleri takdirde eğlenmelerine izin veriyor. [....] Tarif ettiğim türden kontrollü, mutedil ve uysal bir kölelik biçiminin, birtakım yüzeysel özgürlük biçimleriyle, hayal edilebileceğinden daha iyi uyum sağlayabileceğini ve halkın egemenliği adı altında benimsetilmesinin pek de imkânsız olmayacağını düşünmüşümdür her zaman."
Özetledim bayağı yalnız. Evet.
Aslında, çağa karşı koymaktan ziyade çağı anlamak, hatta daha da özelinde bizi anlamak için harika bir minik kitap. Tarihten verdiği örneklerin yanı sıra, aslında dibimizde bile bitiveren bu tohumları fark etmek şart çünkü.
Zira gerçekten de faşizm her zaman aynı şekilde yükseliyor.
"Nasyonal sosyalizm de demokratik bir biçimde, en büyük bir parti bile değilken iktidara geldi. Bir ahlaki bütünlüğün ve tutarlılığın olmayışı ve özellikle muhafazakârların, olduğundan daha fazla güce sahip olduklarını düşünmeleri, nasyonal sosyalistlerin güç kazanmasına yol açtı ki onlar, bu güçten asla vazgeçmeyeceklerdi. Zaten vazgeçemezlerdi, çünkü varoluşlarının biricik nedeni, daha fazla güç kazanmak için güç ve hıncın sürdürülmesiydi. Hayal kırıklığı hınca, hınç şiddete, şiddet ise daha da fazla şiddete yol açar. Bunun sonu yoktur.
Tarih bize bunu öğretir; ama maalesef insan doğası hiç değişmemiştir. Bizi koruması gereken kurumlar, insanların onlara duyduğu güven sayesinde var olur. Demagog ve şarlatanları yönetime getirin ve gelenek hâlini almış ilkelere karşı çıkan bir siyasetçinin, bu tarz bir liderin ülkeyi kurtarabilecek tek kişi olduğu inancını yaymak için kitle iletişim araçlarını kullanın; demokratik anayasal kurumlar, kimse artık onlara inanmadığı için iktidarlarını yitiren yetkililer gibi göz açıp kapayıncaya dek yok olacaklardır."
Şu iki paragrafın evrenselliği, su götürmez. Ve tabii, faşizmin olmazsa olmazı, kitle toplumu:
"Fakat kitle insanı, bireye ve topluma tamamen farklı bakar. Kitle insanı entelektüel ve manevi değerlere karşı bırakın yükümlü olmayı, onlarla karşılaşmak bile istemez. Onu kısıtlayacak hiçbir ölçüt, değer ya da hakikat ona dayatılamaz. Kitle insanı için yaşam hep kolay ve bereketli olmalıdır; o, varoluşun trajik doğasının farkında değildir. Her şey serbesttir, bu yüzden hiç sınır yoktur. Manevi çabalar gereksizdir. Kitle insanı kendinden memnundur ve şımarık bir çocuk gibi davranır. Dinlemek, kendi fikirlerini eleştirel gözle değerlendirmek ve başkalarına karşı düşünceli davranmak şart değildir. Tüm bunlar onun iktidar hissini, kontrol arzusunu güçlendirir. Yalnızca o ve onun gibiler önemlidir, diğerleri uyum sağlamalıdır. Yani kitle insanı her zaman haklıdır ve bunun için gerekçeye ihtiyacı yoktur."
Bu ikisinin ilişkisi de şu şekilde ilerliyor:
"Durmaksızın kendileriyle meşgul olan, ruhlarını doyurmak için küçük ve bayağı zevkler icat eden ve birbirine benzeyen eşit insanların oluşturduğu, sayılamayacak kadar geniş bir kalabalık görüyorum. Bu insanların hepsi, tek tek ya da tümden, başkalarının kaderlerine yabancı gibiler. [....] Tüm bunların üzerinde, bu insanların eğlenmelerini sağlayan ve akıbetlerini gözeten bir vesayet yükseliyor. [....] Vatandaşların, eğlenmekten başka bir şey düşünmedikleri takdirde eğlenmelerine izin veriyor. [....] Tarif ettiğim türden kontrollü, mutedil ve uysal bir kölelik biçiminin, birtakım yüzeysel özgürlük biçimleriyle, hayal edilebileceğinden daha iyi uyum sağlayabileceğini ve halkın egemenliği adı altında benimsetilmesinin pek de imkânsız olmayacağını düşünmüşümdür her zaman."
Özetledim bayağı yalnız. Evet.
September 20, 2016
Uma fantástica reflexão sobre a sociedade europeia. Gostava de ter mais bases para conseguir expor de uma forma mais clara a minha opinião sobre este livro. Mas, honestamente, estou sem palavras. Principalmente por este livro ter sido escrito em 2010, e por 6 anos depois, infelizmente, já ver algumas coisas abordadas neste livro implementadas na sociedade.
Um livro que todos deveriam ler.
Precisamos de ter consciência.
Um livro que todos deveriam ler.
Precisamos de ter consciência.
February 1, 2018
Es un ensayo valiente. No sólo diría que vale la pena; es, quizás, una reflexión necesaria para comprender y actuar un mundo en donde hace falta llamar a las cosas por su nombre.
Consta de dos ensayos breves e independientes –o más bien un ensayo y una narración–, cada uno con una estructura bastante original y con buen manejo del suspenso, de la argumentación crítica y de las referencias literarias.
En el primero recurre a pensadores como Camus, Mann y Ortega para advertir de la sempiterna semilla del fascismo. Y aunque de pronto llega a pecar de un abuso de la nostalgia, se redime en la segunda parte del libro, una narración de un viaje en el que reflexiona sobre el verdadero significado de la cultura europea. Es la mejor parte del libro.
Sus puntos débiles son una ligera tendencia al lugar común (de pronto, me duele decirlo, con tintes conservadores de señor ñeñeñé) y una tecnofobia que no alcanzo a entender del todo. Me parecen también muy pertinentes sus críticas a Kurzweil & Co., aunque creo que vale la pena escucharlos. Estoy completamente de acuerdo –porque no soy estúpido– en que el progreso tecnológico no implica progreso moral. Pero pasar de ahí a pensar que uno y otro son excluyentes me parece no sólo falaz sino innecesariamente paranoico. Dudo que la mentalidad predominante en Silicon Valley sea la que se caricaturiza en el personaje de Shashi.
Riemen es un pensador necesario, un humanista locuaz y valiente, abierto a salirse de los autores que la élite liberal europea ha llegado a considerar como el canon, abierto al diálogo y a la conversación. Hay que escucharlo sin tragarnos todo lo que dice, con la misma actitud crítica que él mismo defiende tan brillantemente. De este libro, me quedo menos con el contenido en sí –tan verdadero que es obvio– que con la forma en que propone defender aquello en lo que se cree.
Consta de dos ensayos breves e independientes –o más bien un ensayo y una narración–, cada uno con una estructura bastante original y con buen manejo del suspenso, de la argumentación crítica y de las referencias literarias.
En el primero recurre a pensadores como Camus, Mann y Ortega para advertir de la sempiterna semilla del fascismo. Y aunque de pronto llega a pecar de un abuso de la nostalgia, se redime en la segunda parte del libro, una narración de un viaje en el que reflexiona sobre el verdadero significado de la cultura europea. Es la mejor parte del libro.
Sus puntos débiles son una ligera tendencia al lugar común (de pronto, me duele decirlo, con tintes conservadores de señor ñeñeñé) y una tecnofobia que no alcanzo a entender del todo. Me parecen también muy pertinentes sus críticas a Kurzweil & Co., aunque creo que vale la pena escucharlos. Estoy completamente de acuerdo –porque no soy estúpido– en que el progreso tecnológico no implica progreso moral. Pero pasar de ahí a pensar que uno y otro son excluyentes me parece no sólo falaz sino innecesariamente paranoico. Dudo que la mentalidad predominante en Silicon Valley sea la que se caricaturiza en el personaje de Shashi.
Riemen es un pensador necesario, un humanista locuaz y valiente, abierto a salirse de los autores que la élite liberal europea ha llegado a considerar como el canon, abierto al diálogo y a la conversación. Hay que escucharlo sin tragarnos todo lo que dice, con la misma actitud crítica que él mismo defiende tan brillantemente. De este libro, me quedo menos con el contenido en sí –tan verdadero que es obvio– que con la forma en que propone defender aquello en lo que se cree.
February 17, 2018
I don't believe in book burning but I'm okay with contributing this one to paper recycling program.
The author and his book are so terribly divorced from the current reality and any meaningful analysis and understanding of what is happening, that I feel equal parts shocked and embarrassed by reading it. He also endlessly quotes other thinkers, introducing them at dizzying speed of 1.3 per page.
My only hope is that these pages will reincarnate as a better book.
The author and his book are so terribly divorced from the current reality and any meaningful analysis and understanding of what is happening, that I feel equal parts shocked and embarrassed by reading it. He also endlessly quotes other thinkers, introducing them at dizzying speed of 1.3 per page.
My only hope is that these pages will reincarnate as a better book.
May 23, 2012
Um livro para ir mantendo à mão de semear, para não nos esquecermos da manifestações fascistas que vão acontecendo diáriamente. Afinal nem ocupa assim tanto espaço nem nada.
December 28, 2023
O autor descreve com precisão o tipo de líderes fascistas e as estratégias que usam para controlar as massas. Achei muito pertinente o recurso a referências de outros pensadores para fundamentar melhor a sua visão. Contudo, senti um certo saudosismo a um passado que talvez nunca tenha existido (a meu ver).
Um livro relevante nos dias que correm, recomendo.
Um livro relevante nos dias que correm, recomendo.
October 28, 2018
We have a choice to make: "Will we accept the return of barbarism or will we fight for the rebirth of nobility of spirit?"
There is much to love in this little book, but the highlight is certainly the symposium at Schloss Waldersee, and the speeches of Walter and Radim.
There is a central thread running through the two essays that constitute this slim volume: The loss of philosophy - the care of the soul and attention to immaterial realities - opens the way to barbarism - fascism. Put another way, the obsession with quantity and the neglect of quality creates vacuity. And into this vacuum, fascism easily slips.
Riemen defines fascism on page 21 as "the political cultivation of our worst irrational sentiments: resentment, hatred, xenophobia, lust for power, and fear!"
Rieman includes a quote from Fellini - who knew a thing or two about fascism - even earlier on pages 15 and 16:
So yes, it's that kind of book. And if that doesn't pique your interest and demonstrate the timeliness of Rieman's essays, perhaps nothing will.
In the second essay, "The Return of Europa," Rieman presents the thoughts of several speakers at a symposium in Wolfegg, Germany. It is strongly reminiscent of a Platonic dialogue, and that's probably intentional: the final speaker recounts that his teacher derived the greatest benefit from returning to Plato. This speaker, Radim, is himself later referred to as "the ghost of Socrates."
In this essay, Rieman argues that "our technological ingenuity cannot conceal our...spiritual poverty" and Europe, properly understood, is not a "tradition of customs," but rather a "quest for true humanity," that is, a philosophical quest, a quest that can never be competed. It is an ongoing quest for meaning, and that meaning resides in an exploration of higher, metaphysical values. How unfortunate then, that Europe - and America - are mired in merely physical values. This preoccupation with the physical is a "way of thinking that cannot show us any meaning" and "therefore creates plenty of space for the irrational, including the insane political passions of nationalism, anti-semitism, racism, and fascism."
According to Riemen, the way out, the best deterrent to barbarism/fascism, is a return to the original meaning of philosophy, the inspired vital search for the significance of things and the illumination of understanding of one's own situation in the world" in other words - Cicero's - "Cultura animi, filosophia est." (The cultivation of the soul, that is philosophy.) This return to philosophy as an essentially humanistic endeavor ennobles the soul, and
Riemen's essays should certainly provoke thought. Beyond that, I would hope they inspire action...
There is much to love in this little book, but the highlight is certainly the symposium at Schloss Waldersee, and the speeches of Walter and Radim.
There is a central thread running through the two essays that constitute this slim volume: The loss of philosophy - the care of the soul and attention to immaterial realities - opens the way to barbarism - fascism. Put another way, the obsession with quantity and the neglect of quality creates vacuity. And into this vacuum, fascism easily slips.
Riemen defines fascism on page 21 as "the political cultivation of our worst irrational sentiments: resentment, hatred, xenophobia, lust for power, and fear!"
Rieman includes a quote from Fellini - who knew a thing or two about fascism - even earlier on pages 15 and 16:
Fascism always arises from a provincial spirit, a lack of knowledge of real problems and people’s refusal – through laziness, prejudice, greed or arrogance – to give their lives deeper meaning. Worse, they boast of their ignorance and pursue success for themselves or their group, through bragging, unsubstantiated claims and a false display of good characteristics, instead of drawing from true ability, experience or cultural reflection. Fascism – Fellini continues – cannot be fought if we don’t recognize that it is nothing more than the stupid, pathetic, frustrated side of ourselves, which doesn’t belong to any political party and of which we should be ashamed. To curb that part of ourselves we need more than activism for an anti-fascist party, because latent fascism hides in all of us. It once gained a voice, authority and trust and it can do so again.
So yes, it's that kind of book. And if that doesn't pique your interest and demonstrate the timeliness of Rieman's essays, perhaps nothing will.
In the second essay, "The Return of Europa," Rieman presents the thoughts of several speakers at a symposium in Wolfegg, Germany. It is strongly reminiscent of a Platonic dialogue, and that's probably intentional: the final speaker recounts that his teacher derived the greatest benefit from returning to Plato. This speaker, Radim, is himself later referred to as "the ghost of Socrates."
In this essay, Rieman argues that "our technological ingenuity cannot conceal our...spiritual poverty" and Europe, properly understood, is not a "tradition of customs," but rather a "quest for true humanity," that is, a philosophical quest, a quest that can never be competed. It is an ongoing quest for meaning, and that meaning resides in an exploration of higher, metaphysical values. How unfortunate then, that Europe - and America - are mired in merely physical values. This preoccupation with the physical is a "way of thinking that cannot show us any meaning" and "therefore creates plenty of space for the irrational, including the insane political passions of nationalism, anti-semitism, racism, and fascism."
According to Riemen, the way out, the best deterrent to barbarism/fascism, is a return to the original meaning of philosophy, the inspired vital search for the significance of things and the illumination of understanding of one's own situation in the world" in other words - Cicero's - "Cultura animi, filosophia est." (The cultivation of the soul, that is philosophy.) This return to philosophy as an essentially humanistic endeavor ennobles the soul, and
"nobility of spirit is the most potent weapon against the degeneration of democracy...whereby demagogues, stupidity, propaganda...and the lowest of human instincts increase their dominance until they inevitably give birth to the bastard child of democracy: fascism."
Riemen's essays should certainly provoke thought. Beyond that, I would hope they inspire action...
September 27, 2025
Una de les lectures més necessàries per afrontar el retorn d'aquest monstre que ara torna. Concís, lúcid i inspirador.
February 17, 2018
Only about a fourth (and it's a small enough section given how short the book is) of this work was what I was expecting and interested in, the reasons for fascism's persistence, the warning signs of its resurgence, and ways to combat it's pernicious spread. And all things considered it's a succinct, pithy analysis of the issue, I found it intriguing and educational, and I had high hopes for the rest of the book. Another volume on exclusively those topics would suit me just fine.
The rest I could honestly do without. The author suddenly shifts tone and perspective, writing more of a travel log than a political essay, complete with his musings and preferences on a couple elite European hotels. For the last 120 pages or so fascism and it's spread are only obliquely mentioned, the loss of morals, the decline of European values, and the spiritual bankruptcy of science and commerce take center stage instead. I found it difficult not to interpret this whole latter section of the book as merely the soliloquy of a conservative, upper class, Euro-centric academic, secure and sheltered in his ivory tower of grand hotel symposiums and conferences with like minded intellectuals. At it's very worst it reminded me of a common, irritating scenario in which an older individual lays out exactly what they think is wrong with the world today (overemphasis on speed and quantity, superficiality, addiction to immediate gratification, the examples in this book are so ubiquitous in today's society I need hardly list them,I could just as easily being the sentence "Kids these days..." and let you fill in the gaps with the same complaints we've all heard before), without a clear solution to these apparently evident problems let alone a word on how they relate to fascism. Needless to say It's not what I anticipated or care for and it makes for terribly dull reading.
The rest I could honestly do without. The author suddenly shifts tone and perspective, writing more of a travel log than a political essay, complete with his musings and preferences on a couple elite European hotels. For the last 120 pages or so fascism and it's spread are only obliquely mentioned, the loss of morals, the decline of European values, and the spiritual bankruptcy of science and commerce take center stage instead. I found it difficult not to interpret this whole latter section of the book as merely the soliloquy of a conservative, upper class, Euro-centric academic, secure and sheltered in his ivory tower of grand hotel symposiums and conferences with like minded intellectuals. At it's very worst it reminded me of a common, irritating scenario in which an older individual lays out exactly what they think is wrong with the world today (overemphasis on speed and quantity, superficiality, addiction to immediate gratification, the examples in this book are so ubiquitous in today's society I need hardly list them,I could just as easily being the sentence "Kids these days..." and let you fill in the gaps with the same complaints we've all heard before), without a clear solution to these apparently evident problems let alone a word on how they relate to fascism. Needless to say It's not what I anticipated or care for and it makes for terribly dull reading.
January 16, 2024
Ensayo breve y clarividente que advierte sobre los peligros del resurgimiento del fascismo en la época actual pero que es, a la postre, una oda a los valores fundamentales que cimentaron la idea de Europa: la nobleza del espíritu, la valentía, la cultura y la filosofía, el cultivo del alma. De la mano de autores como Albert Camus, Thomas Mann o Nietzsche, Rob Riemen hace un llamamiento urgente, no exento de cierto idealismo, para que no olvidemos que lo que una vez ocurrió (por mucho tiempo que haya pasado, por mucho que creamos que nunca más ocurrirá) puede ocurrir de nuevo. Apelando a la educación, los valores y la ética, el autor advierte sobre lo que suponen la ausencia de estos en una sociedad cada vez más conformista y autocomplaciente.
October 21, 2017
A timely and essential read by one of the great thinkers of our time.
June 29, 2021
“No século XX, os fenómenos de massas, a histeria de massas, não resultam do aumento da população, sendo antes, uma consequência fundamental do psiquismo deste homem moderno, destituído de espírito e indiferente. O medo e o desejo dominam o comportamento das massas. E quando estás começam a governar, quando a democracia se torna uma democracia de massas, a democracia deixa de existir.”
April 8, 2025
livro com reflexões importantes para os dias de hoje. contudo, o take sobre como a juventude só quer prazer e nada mais é muito boomer coded
September 5, 2019
Assaig il·lustratiu i necessari per entendre l'Europa i el feixisme del segle XXI. Al pot petit hi ha la bona confitura!
January 14, 2018
“Gracias a su lucidez y valentía, Albert Camus y Thomas Mann pudieron entender algo que hoy en día muchos politólogos son incapaces de admitir. En 1947, ambos lanzaron una advertencia: la guerra ha terminado, pero el fascismo no fue vencido. Aunque se demore algunas décadas, volverá otra vez. No lo reconoceremos por sus ideas, pues el fascismo no tiene ninguna, pero sí por sus acciones y su política. Una política del resentimiento, el miedo y la ira. Ése es el esqueleto fascista: incitación a la violencia, un vulgar materialismo, un nacionalismo asfixiante, xenofobia, la necesidad de señalar chivos expiatorios, la banalización del arte, el odio por la vida intelectual y una feroz resistencia al cosmopolitismo.”
¿Cómo combatir el fascismo? Cicerón lo dijo ‘Cultura animi, philosophia est ’. El cultivo del alma, eso es la filosofía. Retomar urgentemente las materias de humanidades, la cultura, el arte, la literatura y la filosofía y regresarlas a la educación y a la vida diaria, esta es el arma ante tanta banalidad y estupidez que existe en nuestra sociedad actual enfocada a los números, el dinero y a los placeres efímeros, esta enfocada a la cantidad y no a la calidad.
Un ensayo fantástico que funciona como un espejo sobre la sociedad actual.
¿Cómo combatir el fascismo? Cicerón lo dijo ‘Cultura animi, philosophia est ’. El cultivo del alma, eso es la filosofía. Retomar urgentemente las materias de humanidades, la cultura, el arte, la literatura y la filosofía y regresarlas a la educación y a la vida diaria, esta es el arma ante tanta banalidad y estupidez que existe en nuestra sociedad actual enfocada a los números, el dinero y a los placeres efímeros, esta enfocada a la cantidad y no a la calidad.
Un ensayo fantástico que funciona como un espejo sobre la sociedad actual.
April 23, 2019
This book definitely gave me a lot of things to think about, but I think the most valuable words come not from Riemen but from Walter, whose speech is paraphrased. I would strongly question the sharp Eurocentrism hidden underneath apologies for the return to the "classical" values. What about India, China, Africa, Latin America?
Riemen speaks passionately and romantically about a better past, but which past is he referring to? The Classical Greeks? Could that be considered "European"? A greek democracy which did not allow for women nor segregated classes to participate in public affairs?
The Medieval Ages which Riemen strongly denigrate in the first part of the book? The Illustration, which effectively enabled Europe to invade and conquer a great number of territories across Africa and Asia, and mess up with local affairs in such degree that we're still dealing with the violent leftovers?
I agree, though, with the idea of the mass-man and the mass-man democracy, as well as with the idea of science and technology allowing us to create value and knowledge but not human transcendence.
Riemen speaks passionately and romantically about a better past, but which past is he referring to? The Classical Greeks? Could that be considered "European"? A greek democracy which did not allow for women nor segregated classes to participate in public affairs?
The Medieval Ages which Riemen strongly denigrate in the first part of the book? The Illustration, which effectively enabled Europe to invade and conquer a great number of territories across Africa and Asia, and mess up with local affairs in such degree that we're still dealing with the violent leftovers?
I agree, though, with the idea of the mass-man and the mass-man democracy, as well as with the idea of science and technology allowing us to create value and knowledge but not human transcendence.
June 29, 2023
tf is he on
July 1, 2025
POWERFUL set of essays. Originally written in 2010 on the rise of fascism in Europe, it follows, word for word, what is happening in the US right now.
February 18, 2023
A very interesting find in my local library.
This book focuses mainly in its first half about how Europe,in the beginning of the twentieth century had the chance to be united and promote the ideals of democracy,but instead chose to follow mass-men,leaders who encouraged xenophobia,resentment and nationalist feelings.
The author gives us several examples from thee intellectuals of the time,who warned what was going to happen but weren’t listened to.
Some of the symptoms of the declining quality of democracy were the desire to live in excess,drive to achieve technological advancement but not spiritual,and the surrender of will to men and spokesmen that were furthering their own agenda and dreams of power instead of the progress of the people who elected them.
The second half is a fictional account of the philosopher who tries to find out whether princess Europa will ever walk our shores again.It starts from the ostentatious hotel that promotes individuals of high intelligence,but when our character finds out that ideal to those ‘intellectuals’ is going back to the dark ages,he quickly gets disappointed.
After he changes venues to a more humble hotel,he discovers the man who to him resembles Socrates the most,and who reminds him that the ideal of the European spirit is in his grasp and the choice is his on whether or not he will strive towards it and uphold it,or surrender to the never ending chipping of what it means to be human.
Favourite quotes:
“Living is truth,doing what is right,creating beauty-only in these actions is man who he should be,only then will he be free.He who remains a slave to his desires,emotions,impulses,fears,and prejudices and does not know how to use his intellect cannot be free.”
“In this society, the economy is dominated by the spirit of commerce,which wants to earn money at the cost of everything else(people,environment,quality) and which requires anyone who falls under its spell to conform,to be competitive,productive,efficient,and commercial-above all,not oneself.Education is no longer intended as a process of character formation to help people live in truth and create beauty,carry out justice,and convey a certain wisdom.It has degenerated into an instrument for the transfer of everything useful,knowledge that is usable for the economy and everything you need to know in order to earn money.”
“...the economic crisis is de facto a moral crisis that won’t be solved with more surveillance;that we will never be able to gauge or articulate our deepest experiences without the language of the muses; and that violence can be banished not with more laws or stronger punishments but only through the development of conscience.”
“Culture is conservative because it retains all that is timeless and of spiritual value.Culture is also elitist because only the most excellent can be sufficiently timeless and valuable.Everything that claims to be culture but is not an expression of timeless spiritual values is not culture but fashion.Culture,however,is never purely conservative and elitist,because the essence of all culture is the unremitting quest to discover truth and give expression to it.”
“Scientific truth is never more than reality,the facts,that which we can see,touch, and calculate.It is reason,rational,but reason can never determine value,it has no meaning.Reason can describe,it can inform us about the facts,but it cannot tell us what the moral significance of those facts is,because it does not know what good is or what evil is.
Science,and this is the greatest gift,enables us to know nature but not the spirit.Science has to work with theories and definitions,but the human spirit cannot be captured in theories and definitions, and neither can our moral order,the recognition of what is or is not a just society.That knowledge belongs to a different truth,a truth that science cannot know because it’s metaphysical truth.Perhaps out of envy prompted by the fact that there is another,higher truth,science has tried to deprive us of that truth,to make us forget it,to make us believe that everything that exists is scientific,has to be scientific,otherwise it’s not important.”
“...the great and honourable in man manifest themselves as art and science,a passion for for truth,creation of beauty,and the idea of justice.These are the things a democracy,a true democracy,will cultivate,because democracy is the form of government that attempts to elevate human beings,to enable them to think and to be free.”
“...it is the soul, the immortal soul,that makes a human being human.By virtue of their possession of a soul,human beings are the only creatures fully aware of their own vulnerability,their own mortality.That is the fundamental anxiety felt by every man or woman.”
This book focuses mainly in its first half about how Europe,in the beginning of the twentieth century had the chance to be united and promote the ideals of democracy,but instead chose to follow mass-men,leaders who encouraged xenophobia,resentment and nationalist feelings.
The author gives us several examples from thee intellectuals of the time,who warned what was going to happen but weren’t listened to.
Some of the symptoms of the declining quality of democracy were the desire to live in excess,drive to achieve technological advancement but not spiritual,and the surrender of will to men and spokesmen that were furthering their own agenda and dreams of power instead of the progress of the people who elected them.
The second half is a fictional account of the philosopher who tries to find out whether princess Europa will ever walk our shores again.It starts from the ostentatious hotel that promotes individuals of high intelligence,but when our character finds out that ideal to those ‘intellectuals’ is going back to the dark ages,he quickly gets disappointed.
After he changes venues to a more humble hotel,he discovers the man who to him resembles Socrates the most,and who reminds him that the ideal of the European spirit is in his grasp and the choice is his on whether or not he will strive towards it and uphold it,or surrender to the never ending chipping of what it means to be human.
Favourite quotes:
“Living is truth,doing what is right,creating beauty-only in these actions is man who he should be,only then will he be free.He who remains a slave to his desires,emotions,impulses,fears,and prejudices and does not know how to use his intellect cannot be free.”
“In this society, the economy is dominated by the spirit of commerce,which wants to earn money at the cost of everything else(people,environment,quality) and which requires anyone who falls under its spell to conform,to be competitive,productive,efficient,and commercial-above all,not oneself.Education is no longer intended as a process of character formation to help people live in truth and create beauty,carry out justice,and convey a certain wisdom.It has degenerated into an instrument for the transfer of everything useful,knowledge that is usable for the economy and everything you need to know in order to earn money.”
“...the economic crisis is de facto a moral crisis that won’t be solved with more surveillance;that we will never be able to gauge or articulate our deepest experiences without the language of the muses; and that violence can be banished not with more laws or stronger punishments but only through the development of conscience.”
“Culture is conservative because it retains all that is timeless and of spiritual value.Culture is also elitist because only the most excellent can be sufficiently timeless and valuable.Everything that claims to be culture but is not an expression of timeless spiritual values is not culture but fashion.Culture,however,is never purely conservative and elitist,because the essence of all culture is the unremitting quest to discover truth and give expression to it.”
“Scientific truth is never more than reality,the facts,that which we can see,touch, and calculate.It is reason,rational,but reason can never determine value,it has no meaning.Reason can describe,it can inform us about the facts,but it cannot tell us what the moral significance of those facts is,because it does not know what good is or what evil is.
Science,and this is the greatest gift,enables us to know nature but not the spirit.Science has to work with theories and definitions,but the human spirit cannot be captured in theories and definitions, and neither can our moral order,the recognition of what is or is not a just society.That knowledge belongs to a different truth,a truth that science cannot know because it’s metaphysical truth.Perhaps out of envy prompted by the fact that there is another,higher truth,science has tried to deprive us of that truth,to make us forget it,to make us believe that everything that exists is scientific,has to be scientific,otherwise it’s not important.”
“...the great and honourable in man manifest themselves as art and science,a passion for for truth,creation of beauty,and the idea of justice.These are the things a democracy,a true democracy,will cultivate,because democracy is the form of government that attempts to elevate human beings,to enable them to think and to be free.”
“...it is the soul, the immortal soul,that makes a human being human.By virtue of their possession of a soul,human beings are the only creatures fully aware of their own vulnerability,their own mortality.That is the fundamental anxiety felt by every man or woman.”
April 1, 2020
Nie mam za wiele czasu na lekturę tytułów, które się w Polsce nie ukazały (choć to nieprawda, bo trochę czytam ”rzeczy”, które na szczęście nigdy się nie ukażą), ale na książkę “To Fight Against This Age: On Fascism and Humanism” Roba Riemena się rzuciłem, bo opisy i wywiady (m.in. w Michała Nogasia w “Książkach”) zapowiadały, że będzie to lektura uruchamiająca na nowo procesy myślowe. Nie zawiodłem się.
Główna teza Riemena brzmi: rozwój społeczeństwa masowego doprowadził do pojawienia się populizmu, który w efekcie dał nam faszyzm, a kryzys gospodarczy “nadużycia społeczne” (“social abuses”) to jedynie składniki wspierające jego rozwój. Zdaniem Riemena nadużywamy słowa “populizm”, by nie mówić wprost o “faszyzmie”. Zobaczmy to na przykładzie. Paweł Wodziński, dyrektor Teatru Scena Prezentacje mówi w wywiadzie Arkadiuszowi Gruszczyńskiemu:
“Mówiąc wprost: zastanawiamy się nad modelem, który nastąpi po rządach populistycznej prawicy. Co trzeba zrobić, żeby zacząć myśleć o demokratycznej polityce, gdzie szukać nowych rozwiązań ekonomicznych?”
Populizm jest tu przeciwstawiony demokracji, ale zdaje się być jakąś dopuszczalną formą sprawowania rządów. Formy niedemokratyczne lepiej rozmiękczyć i zamiast “faszyzm” stosować formułki łagodniejsze, bo wszyscy boimy się tego słowa, które kojarzy nam się od razu z ludobójstwem, ale przecież konsekwencją populizmu jest wzrost nacjonalizmu, który prowadzi do wykluczenia obcych a następnie ich pacyfikacji. Ergo - ludobójstwa. “Zmiana słów niesie za sobą zmianę faktów’ pisze holenderski filozof. Czy Wodziński mówi zatem wprost, czy jednak stosuje zasłonę dymną? A może my powinniśmy w końcu zacząć nazywać po imieniu to, co się dookoła nas dzieje? Riemen zachęca do odwagi.
Riemen pokazuje jak jego teza obecna była w dziełach filozofów i filozofek, specjalistów i specjalistek od socjologii i politologii i robi to nie tylko sprawnie, ale niezwykle czytelnie i wciągająco. Pisze, że “strach i pożądanie kierują zachowaniem mas. Gdy masy zaczęły rządzić, a demokracja stała się masowa, zaczęła zanikać”. Oczywiście dążenie do elitarności demokracji, jak było u jej zarania, jest dzisiaj niemożliwa i byłaby przeciwskuteczna, ale musimy rozpoznawać te zachowania polityków i polityczek, które prowadzą do schlebiania potrzebom mas.
Riemen pisze o kwestiach czasem oczywistych, jak to, że nie uczymy się na historii, że faszyzm nie jest wyzwaniem, a ostrzeganie przed nim to nie jest “sianie paniki”, a rozpoznawanie faktycznego problemu. Dla nas chyba najciekawszym będzie wizja Europy, o której pisze Riemen w drugiej części swojej książki, w której pokazuje jak wizja jednoczących się społeczeństw powstała na bazie antyfaszystowskiej i jak dzisiaj jest to demontowane.
“Nie jest przypadkiem, że powrót ruchu faszystowskiego jest powiązany z nazywaniem kraju x, y czy z “ponownie wielkim”. Jest w tym podkreślenie potęgi siły militarnej i fałszywa obietnica powrotu do nieosiągalnej przeszłości. “Wielkość” stoi w opozycji do wielkości cnót (...) wyobraźni i empatii, życia w prawdzie, tworzenia piękna i sprawiedliwości. W tym objawia się prawdziwa wielkość ludzkości. O to chodzi w demokracji”. My wstajemy z kolan, co sięga po podobne resentymenty.
Esej Riemena to niezwykle ciekawy, antyfaszystowski, erudycyjny manifest. Póki co niestety niedostępny w języku polskim.
Główna teza Riemena brzmi: rozwój społeczeństwa masowego doprowadził do pojawienia się populizmu, który w efekcie dał nam faszyzm, a kryzys gospodarczy “nadużycia społeczne” (“social abuses”) to jedynie składniki wspierające jego rozwój. Zdaniem Riemena nadużywamy słowa “populizm”, by nie mówić wprost o “faszyzmie”. Zobaczmy to na przykładzie. Paweł Wodziński, dyrektor Teatru Scena Prezentacje mówi w wywiadzie Arkadiuszowi Gruszczyńskiemu:
“Mówiąc wprost: zastanawiamy się nad modelem, który nastąpi po rządach populistycznej prawicy. Co trzeba zrobić, żeby zacząć myśleć o demokratycznej polityce, gdzie szukać nowych rozwiązań ekonomicznych?”
Populizm jest tu przeciwstawiony demokracji, ale zdaje się być jakąś dopuszczalną formą sprawowania rządów. Formy niedemokratyczne lepiej rozmiękczyć i zamiast “faszyzm” stosować formułki łagodniejsze, bo wszyscy boimy się tego słowa, które kojarzy nam się od razu z ludobójstwem, ale przecież konsekwencją populizmu jest wzrost nacjonalizmu, który prowadzi do wykluczenia obcych a następnie ich pacyfikacji. Ergo - ludobójstwa. “Zmiana słów niesie za sobą zmianę faktów’ pisze holenderski filozof. Czy Wodziński mówi zatem wprost, czy jednak stosuje zasłonę dymną? A może my powinniśmy w końcu zacząć nazywać po imieniu to, co się dookoła nas dzieje? Riemen zachęca do odwagi.
Riemen pokazuje jak jego teza obecna była w dziełach filozofów i filozofek, specjalistów i specjalistek od socjologii i politologii i robi to nie tylko sprawnie, ale niezwykle czytelnie i wciągająco. Pisze, że “strach i pożądanie kierują zachowaniem mas. Gdy masy zaczęły rządzić, a demokracja stała się masowa, zaczęła zanikać”. Oczywiście dążenie do elitarności demokracji, jak było u jej zarania, jest dzisiaj niemożliwa i byłaby przeciwskuteczna, ale musimy rozpoznawać te zachowania polityków i polityczek, które prowadzą do schlebiania potrzebom mas.
Riemen pisze o kwestiach czasem oczywistych, jak to, że nie uczymy się na historii, że faszyzm nie jest wyzwaniem, a ostrzeganie przed nim to nie jest “sianie paniki”, a rozpoznawanie faktycznego problemu. Dla nas chyba najciekawszym będzie wizja Europy, o której pisze Riemen w drugiej części swojej książki, w której pokazuje jak wizja jednoczących się społeczeństw powstała na bazie antyfaszystowskiej i jak dzisiaj jest to demontowane.
“Nie jest przypadkiem, że powrót ruchu faszystowskiego jest powiązany z nazywaniem kraju x, y czy z “ponownie wielkim”. Jest w tym podkreślenie potęgi siły militarnej i fałszywa obietnica powrotu do nieosiągalnej przeszłości. “Wielkość” stoi w opozycji do wielkości cnót (...) wyobraźni i empatii, życia w prawdzie, tworzenia piękna i sprawiedliwości. W tym objawia się prawdziwa wielkość ludzkości. O to chodzi w demokracji”. My wstajemy z kolan, co sięga po podobne resentymenty.
Esej Riemena to niezwykle ciekawy, antyfaszystowski, erudycyjny manifest. Póki co niestety niedostępny w języku polskim.
March 1, 2018
Una dedicatoria a Eveline, un epígrafe tomado de O lo uno o lo otro de Sören Kierkegaard que habla sobre lo trágicocómico de nuestra época, un Índice, una Introducción y dos ensayos, constituyen este libro breve. Quiero poner a la amble consideración del lector 10 observaciones de la primera lectura que he hecho de este par de textos. Sólo quiero decir, antes de empezar mi enumeración de tópicos, que el pensamiento crítico y el fortalecimiento de un humanismo real, solidario y espiritual requiere lucidez y valentía. Con esas dos cualidades trato de poner por escrito algunos destellos que va dejando la reflexión de Rob Riemen (Paises Bajos, 1962)
1.- Vivimos en una época de decadencia en la que han ido desapareciendo los vínculos espirituales que sostenían lo que ahora parece derrumbarse. Cuando vemos que las élites gobernantes no responden adecuadamente a las circunstancias cambiantes y sólo atienden a sus propios intereses hay una legítima preocupación por lo que nos depara como civilización. ¿Qué podemos esperar de esta era incierta? ¿Por qué hay crisis?
2.- “El uso del término populista –dice Riemen -, es tan sólo una forma más de cultivar la negación de que el fantasma del fascismo amenaza nuevamente a nuestras sociedades y de negar el hecho de que las democracias liberales se han convertido en su contrario: democracias de masas privadas de su espíritu democrático.”(p. 14) Un sentido de crisis, inseguridad o volatilidad de mercados, amenazas de terror o de guerra son las causas declaradas de una clima de miedo. Habrá que ser valientes, como quería, Leone Ginzburg (1909- 1944) para enfrentar la inevitable muerte.
3.- Federico Fellini (1920-1993) reflexionaba y recordaba en su madurez que el fascismo no era otra cosa que una forma provinciana de dar significado a la crisis. Sin una reflexión detrás, movido por la necesidad de combatir el miedo, la ignorancia o el resentimiento, se fabricaron recetas para salir de la crisis. “Volver a hacer América grande, otra vez” es el mejor síntoma en el que vemos este espíritu provinciano capaz de hacer resurgir un fascismo-populismo-democracia de masas, latente en las sociedades occidentales. El hecho no es privativo de Norteamérica. El hombre masa habita todo el planeta. El hombre masa de Ortega y Gasset sigue allí.
4.- El primer ensayo sobre El eterno retorno del fascismo fue publicado en 2010 para una reducida audiencia europea. En su momento causó polémica pero pasó inadvertido cuando además del Breixit surge y se afianza la candidatura de Donal Trump. El segundo ensayo es una historia que cuenta el viaje del autor a dos hoteles emblemáticos de la civilización europea: Gran Hotel Waldhaus y el Schloss Waldersee. Durante ese viaje participa y escucha en cada sitio dos encuentros organizados por el respectivo hotel, dos versiones de cómo y porqué no se ha dado El Regreso de Europa.
5.- La aparición del fascismo como fenómeno de masas dominadas por el odio, el miedo o la ignorancia no es nueva. El virus, sin embargo ha quedado latente y es lamentable que en todos los círculos intelectuales, económicos y políticos de Europa se tienda a minimizar o incluso a negar que un fascismo vivo es capaz de engendrar más división, una guerra o la destrucción definitiva y total del ser humano. Ya no es la amenaza nuclear la clave de lectura política; ahora es la amenaza del hombre resentido, el tema que ocupa esta nueva era en la que la civilización democrática está en crisis. El hombre y el átomo son energía que no se crea o se destruye sino que sólo se transforma.
6.- ¿Si ya no tienen credibilidad las instituciones, podemos creer aún en las personas? Las instituciones democráticas han fracasado: La Iglesia, los Partidos Políticos y los Gobiernos Nacionales de Europa han dado muestras suficientes de hipocresía social como para sospechar que la conservación de su poder es más importante en ellas que el ejercicio colectivo de la reconstrucción de la dignidad humana. Existe una disyuntiva de carácter moral en la que: o bien nos dejamos llevar por las influencias recibidas de la civilización científico-técnica, o bien elegimos el cuidado del alma humana. La dignidad, la libertad, la búsqueda de la verdad y la justicia no son programas ni plataformas políticas son historias de vida que describen la naturaleza esencial de la civilización democrática auténtica. ¿Cómo se va a conjurar el fantasma de la guerra en Europa, del terrorismo en el mundo, de la corrupción y la impunidad de toda la tierra?
7.- Quien no conoce la Historia está condenado a repetirla. Saber de dónde venimos y quiénes somos en verdad no sólo como individuos sino como naciones y como civilización supone un Espíritu abierto, curioso y escucha atento de los hechos y los cuentos que hemos vivido. El rapto de Europa por parte de Zeus y el renacimiento de esta princesa en la isla de Creta dieron origen a la civilización occidental del mundo. ¿Cuál es el origen de tu vida, de la vida de tu pueblo, de la vida de tu país o continente? Hay claves valiosas en las grandes historias del mundo.
8.- “Estamos todos a favor de la libertad”, “Nosotros no somos el problema, ellos lo son”, “El mayor peligro es esto o aquello”, “Estamos a favor de la vida, apoyamos a los marginados y excluidos”, “Somos anti-algo porque eso representa una amenaza…etc.; todas estas consignas en un contexto donde la realidad es una mentira que se sostiene y ordena todo lo demás, es el señuelo de una tendencia al regreso siempre latente del fascismo. Ni la Iglesia, ni el Partido Político, ni el Foro Económico Mundial hacen realidad lo que dicen que defienden. Esta incongruencia institucional creo el caldo perfecto para la tibieza de la corrupción (¿qué tanto es tantito?) y la impunidad ( ¡ pero si no sólo he sido yo ! )
9.- La búsqueda vital e inspirada del significado de las cosas y la iluminación de entender nuestro lugar en el mundo nace de la necesidad de cuidar y cuidarse de las mentiras de las que estamos todos rodeados. Si nos juntamos a platicar de cosas del alma que nos ayuden a ser más humanos, más hermanos y más universales en nuestros procesos, estamos construyendo la civilización espiritual de la humanidad. Esta es la propuesta de lo que podemos, queremos y debemos hacer por el Bien, la Belleza, la Verdad y la Justicia: humanismo occidental.
10.- “Porque una filosofía, una forma de pensar que no puede enseñarnos ningún significado y que, por lo tanto, no puede ofrecernos guías ni criterios, deja mucho espacio para el desarrollo de lo irracional, incluida las insanas pasiones políticas del nacionalismo, el antisemitismo, el racismo y el fascismo.” (p. 117) Escribo una reseña de este par de ensayos y recomiendo que se lea el otro libro traducido al español de Rob Riemen: Nobleza de espíritu. Una idea olvidada (Taurus, 2016)
1.- Vivimos en una época de decadencia en la que han ido desapareciendo los vínculos espirituales que sostenían lo que ahora parece derrumbarse. Cuando vemos que las élites gobernantes no responden adecuadamente a las circunstancias cambiantes y sólo atienden a sus propios intereses hay una legítima preocupación por lo que nos depara como civilización. ¿Qué podemos esperar de esta era incierta? ¿Por qué hay crisis?
2.- “El uso del término populista –dice Riemen -, es tan sólo una forma más de cultivar la negación de que el fantasma del fascismo amenaza nuevamente a nuestras sociedades y de negar el hecho de que las democracias liberales se han convertido en su contrario: democracias de masas privadas de su espíritu democrático.”(p. 14) Un sentido de crisis, inseguridad o volatilidad de mercados, amenazas de terror o de guerra son las causas declaradas de una clima de miedo. Habrá que ser valientes, como quería, Leone Ginzburg (1909- 1944) para enfrentar la inevitable muerte.
3.- Federico Fellini (1920-1993) reflexionaba y recordaba en su madurez que el fascismo no era otra cosa que una forma provinciana de dar significado a la crisis. Sin una reflexión detrás, movido por la necesidad de combatir el miedo, la ignorancia o el resentimiento, se fabricaron recetas para salir de la crisis. “Volver a hacer América grande, otra vez” es el mejor síntoma en el que vemos este espíritu provinciano capaz de hacer resurgir un fascismo-populismo-democracia de masas, latente en las sociedades occidentales. El hecho no es privativo de Norteamérica. El hombre masa habita todo el planeta. El hombre masa de Ortega y Gasset sigue allí.
4.- El primer ensayo sobre El eterno retorno del fascismo fue publicado en 2010 para una reducida audiencia europea. En su momento causó polémica pero pasó inadvertido cuando además del Breixit surge y se afianza la candidatura de Donal Trump. El segundo ensayo es una historia que cuenta el viaje del autor a dos hoteles emblemáticos de la civilización europea: Gran Hotel Waldhaus y el Schloss Waldersee. Durante ese viaje participa y escucha en cada sitio dos encuentros organizados por el respectivo hotel, dos versiones de cómo y porqué no se ha dado El Regreso de Europa.
5.- La aparición del fascismo como fenómeno de masas dominadas por el odio, el miedo o la ignorancia no es nueva. El virus, sin embargo ha quedado latente y es lamentable que en todos los círculos intelectuales, económicos y políticos de Europa se tienda a minimizar o incluso a negar que un fascismo vivo es capaz de engendrar más división, una guerra o la destrucción definitiva y total del ser humano. Ya no es la amenaza nuclear la clave de lectura política; ahora es la amenaza del hombre resentido, el tema que ocupa esta nueva era en la que la civilización democrática está en crisis. El hombre y el átomo son energía que no se crea o se destruye sino que sólo se transforma.
6.- ¿Si ya no tienen credibilidad las instituciones, podemos creer aún en las personas? Las instituciones democráticas han fracasado: La Iglesia, los Partidos Políticos y los Gobiernos Nacionales de Europa han dado muestras suficientes de hipocresía social como para sospechar que la conservación de su poder es más importante en ellas que el ejercicio colectivo de la reconstrucción de la dignidad humana. Existe una disyuntiva de carácter moral en la que: o bien nos dejamos llevar por las influencias recibidas de la civilización científico-técnica, o bien elegimos el cuidado del alma humana. La dignidad, la libertad, la búsqueda de la verdad y la justicia no son programas ni plataformas políticas son historias de vida que describen la naturaleza esencial de la civilización democrática auténtica. ¿Cómo se va a conjurar el fantasma de la guerra en Europa, del terrorismo en el mundo, de la corrupción y la impunidad de toda la tierra?
7.- Quien no conoce la Historia está condenado a repetirla. Saber de dónde venimos y quiénes somos en verdad no sólo como individuos sino como naciones y como civilización supone un Espíritu abierto, curioso y escucha atento de los hechos y los cuentos que hemos vivido. El rapto de Europa por parte de Zeus y el renacimiento de esta princesa en la isla de Creta dieron origen a la civilización occidental del mundo. ¿Cuál es el origen de tu vida, de la vida de tu pueblo, de la vida de tu país o continente? Hay claves valiosas en las grandes historias del mundo.
8.- “Estamos todos a favor de la libertad”, “Nosotros no somos el problema, ellos lo son”, “El mayor peligro es esto o aquello”, “Estamos a favor de la vida, apoyamos a los marginados y excluidos”, “Somos anti-algo porque eso representa una amenaza…etc.; todas estas consignas en un contexto donde la realidad es una mentira que se sostiene y ordena todo lo demás, es el señuelo de una tendencia al regreso siempre latente del fascismo. Ni la Iglesia, ni el Partido Político, ni el Foro Económico Mundial hacen realidad lo que dicen que defienden. Esta incongruencia institucional creo el caldo perfecto para la tibieza de la corrupción (¿qué tanto es tantito?) y la impunidad ( ¡ pero si no sólo he sido yo ! )
9.- La búsqueda vital e inspirada del significado de las cosas y la iluminación de entender nuestro lugar en el mundo nace de la necesidad de cuidar y cuidarse de las mentiras de las que estamos todos rodeados. Si nos juntamos a platicar de cosas del alma que nos ayuden a ser más humanos, más hermanos y más universales en nuestros procesos, estamos construyendo la civilización espiritual de la humanidad. Esta es la propuesta de lo que podemos, queremos y debemos hacer por el Bien, la Belleza, la Verdad y la Justicia: humanismo occidental.
10.- “Porque una filosofía, una forma de pensar que no puede enseñarnos ningún significado y que, por lo tanto, no puede ofrecernos guías ni criterios, deja mucho espacio para el desarrollo de lo irracional, incluida las insanas pasiones políticas del nacionalismo, el antisemitismo, el racismo y el fascismo.” (p. 117) Escribo una reseña de este par de ensayos y recomiendo que se lea el otro libro traducido al español de Rob Riemen: Nobleza de espíritu. Una idea olvidada (Taurus, 2016)
May 26, 2019
I'm glad I read this as a reminder of other philosophers, poets, and political scientists whose names I took note of that I would like to revisit. What I will do next before revisiting them, however, is to discover and rediscover the female philosophers and writers who were never referred to in this book. Hannah Arendt came up at one late point, but, partly because of the overwhelming number of quotes from others in the first half, and the scenario in the second half that was also only male, the views seemed so male and European-centric that I wondered what I was missing almost as often as I appreciated being reminded of important ideals that we have to strive to renew.
What wasn't here was how to renew these ideas, and perhaps this is just a small treatise reminding us of the dangers of fascism and not only what it brings us, but what it obscures: those values Riemen repeats over and over and over again: truth, goodness, beauty, justice, compassion, and wisdom. The reminder that finding what we have in common is more important than where we are different.
The economic/technological vs humanistic/relational divide is highlighted--as an educator, I'm concerned about this in higher education and throughout our educational system. The idea that we need to recapture the understanding that science does not encompass all knowledge and yet that science, along with other disciplines, are important to understand. The importance of education that is focused on liberal arts in the fundamental way of learning about oneself and one's own truths.
This feels like a cautionary tale we sympathizers are all already aware of and that seeks to undergird the current state of affairs with the knowledge already provided by thinkers of the past. We are being handed a reminder that these fears are not new, that the debate is ongoing, and that we must change course. But how we do so in the complexity that is each of our countries and our mix of cultures is not clear. This was a thought-provoking book, both in what it provided and what it omitted. A simple answer can't be had, and perhaps that is what is frustrating. We hear the author reflecting and transcribing and comparing and contrasting. And then . . . . What "sticks" for each of us? Where can we each begin to respond?
What wasn't here was how to renew these ideas, and perhaps this is just a small treatise reminding us of the dangers of fascism and not only what it brings us, but what it obscures: those values Riemen repeats over and over and over again: truth, goodness, beauty, justice, compassion, and wisdom. The reminder that finding what we have in common is more important than where we are different.
The economic/technological vs humanistic/relational divide is highlighted--as an educator, I'm concerned about this in higher education and throughout our educational system. The idea that we need to recapture the understanding that science does not encompass all knowledge and yet that science, along with other disciplines, are important to understand. The importance of education that is focused on liberal arts in the fundamental way of learning about oneself and one's own truths.
This feels like a cautionary tale we sympathizers are all already aware of and that seeks to undergird the current state of affairs with the knowledge already provided by thinkers of the past. We are being handed a reminder that these fears are not new, that the debate is ongoing, and that we must change course. But how we do so in the complexity that is each of our countries and our mix of cultures is not clear. This was a thought-provoking book, both in what it provided and what it omitted. A simple answer can't be had, and perhaps that is what is frustrating. We hear the author reflecting and transcribing and comparing and contrasting. And then . . . . What "sticks" for each of us? Where can we each begin to respond?
January 21, 2026
Es un ensayo interesante para adentrarse en la reflexión sobre el fascismo. Considero que es ligero y tiene muchas luces sobre aspectos de nuestra sociedad contemporánea. Rescato mucho como se hace un historial de reflexiones de muchos autores, desde Goethe, Nietzsche, Ortega y Gasset, hasta Thomas Mann. La descripción de la demagogia y las pulsiones pasionales del fascismo, son una advertencia hacia nosotros.
Lo que no le gustó: el eurocentrismo. Parece que el autor ignora o no quiere admitir todas las caras de Europa. Sobretodo en la segunda parte, en el segundo ensayo, hay una idealización de la cultura europea por sobre cualquier otra forma de pensar o cultura. Pareciera que piensa que solo los europeos pueden salvar occidente y que su cultura es superior. Se cometen los mismos vicios que en un apartado el autor critica.
Considero, como siempre tiene que ser, hay que ser críticos con lo que se lee y no está mal no estar de acuerdo en algunas posturas, hace que se haga un diálogo y un debate con la lectura. Aún así, recomiendo la lectura.
Lo que no le gustó: el eurocentrismo. Parece que el autor ignora o no quiere admitir todas las caras de Europa. Sobretodo en la segunda parte, en el segundo ensayo, hay una idealización de la cultura europea por sobre cualquier otra forma de pensar o cultura. Pareciera que piensa que solo los europeos pueden salvar occidente y que su cultura es superior. Se cometen los mismos vicios que en un apartado el autor critica.
Considero, como siempre tiene que ser, hay que ser críticos con lo que se lee y no está mal no estar de acuerdo en algunas posturas, hace que se haga un diálogo y un debate con la lectura. Aún así, recomiendo la lectura.
November 1, 2018
This gets 5 stars for the thinking and discussion it provoked between myself and my two daughters, not because I agree completely with everything he says. The diagnosis of the ills of modern society is spot on. I think he idealizes European humanism more than reality warrants. And no solutions are offered, other than we have to "fix" education & universities. A good thought-provoking read - I read it twice back-to-back - but only an introduction to the subject.
April 17, 2019
Puedo decir que después de varios meses de haberlo leído, sigo recurriendo a él, porque definitivamente es un texto atemporal.
Habla de la nueva era del fascismo (sí, ese que no ha desaparecido, sólo se ha disfrazado) y de cómo se ha ido inmiscuyendo en nuestro día a día: amigos, tenemos que abrir los ojos sí o sí.
Si les late la política, los medios de comunicación y básicamente 'el caos global', se los recomiendo ampliamente.
Habla de la nueva era del fascismo (sí, ese que no ha desaparecido, sólo se ha disfrazado) y de cómo se ha ido inmiscuyendo en nuestro día a día: amigos, tenemos que abrir los ojos sí o sí.
Si les late la política, los medios de comunicación y básicamente 'el caos global', se los recomiendo ampliamente.
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