Counter-Currents
Odilon Redon, “Silence,” 1900
1,696 words
Translations: Estonian, French, Polish, Spanish
Part 1 of 4
In 1897, Robert Lewis Dabney prophesied the triumph of women’s suffrage based on his estimate of the history and character of the only force opposed to it, Northern conservatism:
This is a party which never conserves anything. Its history has been that it demurs to each aggression of the progressive party, and aims to save its credit by a respectable amount of growling, but always acquiesces at last in the innovation. What was the resisted novelty of yesterday is today one of the accepted principles of conservatism; it is now conservative only in affecting to resist the next innovation, which will tomorrow be forced upon its timidity and will be succeeded by some third revolution; to be denounced and then adopted in its turn. American conservatism is merely the shadow that follows Radicalism as it moves forward towards perdition. It remains behind it, but never retards it, and always advances near its leader.
The political hegemony of the Left was and is based largely on the intellectual hegemony of Leftist ideas, chiefly freedom, equality, and progress. Today’s phony Right shares the Left’s basic worldview, but not their clarity of vision, singularity of purpose, and moral idealism. Rightists are merely tepid or retarded Leftists, who lag behind their brighter classmates. Yet the superior Leftists always bring them round in the end. In every battle between Left and Right, the Left can count on a fifth column inside every Rightist, namely his own deepest moral convictions. If one begins with Leftist premises, sooner or later, one will draw Leftist conclusions and put them into practice.
But politics is not merely a matter of intellectual influence and persuasion. It is not just about changing minds, but changing the world. And that requires organized, concerted, purposeful action. Thus politics is also about vectors of control, chains of command, leaders and followers.
Samuel Francis explained the leftward drift of contemporary politics in terms of leadership. On the Left, the leadership is always to the Left of its constituency, moving them towards ever more radical positions. Furthermore, on the Right, the leadership is also to the Left of its constituency. Thus politics moves steadily to the Left, because the Left’s radical vanguard extends its influence through the whole political spectrum and pulls it along behind.
The Right follows the Left, just as train cars follow the engine. The Leftist cars are at the front of the train and the Rightist cars at the rear, thus they reach the destination later, but in no sense do they have an independent course or motive power. There is just one engine, and the people in the engine determine the direction of the train. The people in charge of the various cars may wear uniforms and carry themselves with an air of authority. But they are just conductors and ticket punchers, along for the ride with the rest of us.
How has the Left attained such power? And can it be attained by the Right and used in reverse? The answers may be found in the Traditionalist school of René Guénon and Julius Evola.
* * *
There is no question that technology, science, and medicine are making remarkable advances. But from a White Nationalist point of view, everything is getting worse politically, culturally, and racially. This is why so many White Nationalists are attracted to Traditionalism, which explains contemporary events in terms of the myth that history moves in cycles—beginning with a Golden Age then declining through Silver, Bronze, and Iron (or Dark) Ages, until a new Golden Age dawns.
But Guénon and Evola did not regard historical decline as a disembodied force. They thought it was produced by concrete, embodied groups of historical agents. Although human agency plays a large role in history, however, most human beings are not historical agents. They are the objects, not the subjects of history. Historical agency is the preserve of tiny elites, vanguards that extend lines of influence and control throughout the entire culture, pulling it ever deeper into decadence. The vast majority of mankind is merely along for the ride.
Guénon and Evola discuss these historical elites under the rubric of “occult war.” It is “occult” merely in the sense of “hidden.” In Evola’s words, it is “a battle that is waged imperceptibly by the forces of global subversion, with means and in circumstances ignored by current historiography.”[1] Evola also writes that the occult dimension of history “should not be diluted in the fog of abstract philosophical or sociological concepts, but rather should be thought of as a ‘backstage’ dimension where specific ‘intelligences’ are at work” (Men, p. 236).
Evola does add, ominously, that these occult forces “cannot be reduced to what is merely human” (Men, p. 235). But occult war is not necessarily connected with the occult in the usual sense of the word, i.e., mysticism and magic, although the two senses do overlap in such groups as the Freemasons.
How does occult warfare produce political and historical change? According to Evola:
The deeper causes of history . . . operate prevalently through what can be called “imponderable factors,” to use an image borrowed from natural science. These causes are responsible for almost undetectable ideological, social, and political changes, which eventually produce remarkable effects: they are like the first cracks in a layer of snow that eventually produce an avalanche. These causes almost never act in a direct manner, but instead bestow to some existing process an adequate direction that leads to the designated goal. (Men, p. 237)
As Evola describes it, occult warfare is essentially identical to metapolitics.
Metapolitics deals with the underlying causes and conditions of political change. Metapolitics operates on two levels: intellectual and organizational. Metapolitical ideas include moral systems, religions, collective identities (tribal, national, racial), and assumptions about what is politically possible. Metapolitical organizations propagate metapolitical ideas, bridging the gap between theory and practice. Examples of metapolitical movements include the European New Right and North American New Right.
Small metapolitical changes can lead to vast political transformations over time. For instance, the values articulated in the Sermon on the Mount eventually overthrew the whole ancient world. But since metapolitical causes are often remote from political effects, and since metapolitical causes are often abstract and esoteric ideas entertained by only a few, metapolitics is invisible to most people, who focus only on the concrete and immediate. Metapolitics is, therefore, “occult” in the literal sense of the word, i.e., “hidden.” But it is often hidden in plain view and need take no special precautions to conceal itself from the public eye.
* * *
The concept of occult warfare is the Traditionalist contribution to what is generally derided as “conspiracy theories,” including both history and speculation regarding “secret societies.” This truly is hazardous territory.
Not a day goes by when my colleagues and I do not conspire together to advance the agenda of the North American New Right. And not a day goes by when our enemies do not conspire to advance their agenda. Yet if you raise the topic of conspiracy, most people are trained to roll their eyes. They do this because they are told that it is what smart people do. Many of them also have direct experience of preposterous conspiracy theories advanced by fevered, aggressive kooks. There is no question that most conspiracy theories are cranky and false, many of them ridiculously so. But what better way to conceal real conspiracies from serious, sober inquiry than fake ones that taint any discussion of conspiracy with an air of madness?
Evola, however, is “careful to prevent valid insights from generating into fantasies and superstitions,” including a paranoid tendency “to see an occult background everywhere and at all costs” (Men, p. 238). He treats all assumptions about occult warfare as mere “working hypotheses” put forth to integrate and explain empirical data. He claims that when a phenomenon cannot be entirely explained by known causes, one is entitled to conclude that unknown causes exist and to speculate about their nature.
I would like to add that some of these unknown causes might merely be random factors, since there is no reason to assume that all historical events are the product of conscious intentions (open or occult). Accidents do happen in history. But when one observes human affairs moving steadily in one direction, one is entitled to conclude that this is no accident and that conscious design is at work. And if the conscious designs of the obvious agents do not suffice to explain historical trends, then we are entitled to posit hidden agents and designs at work.
Among the testimonies that Evola considers are Benjamin Disraeli’s claims that, “The world is governed by people entirely different from the ones imagine by those who are unable to see behind the scenes,” and:
The public does not realize that in all the conflicts within nations and in the conflicts between nations there are, besides the people apparently responsible for them, hidden agitators who with their selfish plans make these conflicts unavoidable. . . . Everything that happens in the confused evolution of peoples is secretly prepared in order to ensure the dominion of certain people: it is these people, known and unknown, that we must find behind every public event. (Men, pp. 238–39)
Evola also treats the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion as evidence of occult warfare. Evola recognizes that the Protocols are not actual protocols but rather a literary presentation of a secret agenda for world domination. But in his view, the veracity of the Protocols cannot be proved or disproved by tracing their origins. Instead, their truth is proven by their correspondence to actual events. Thus, “The value of the document as a working hypothesis is undeniable: it presents the various aspect of global subversion (among them, some aspects that were destined to be outlined and accomplished only many years after the publication of the Protocols) in terms of a whole, in which they find their sufficient reason and logical combination” (Men, p. 240).
Note
1. Julius Evola, Men Among the Ruins: Post-war Reflections of a Radical Traditionalist, trans. Guido Stucco, ed. Michael Moynihan (Rochester, Vt.: Inner Traditions, 2002), p. 235.
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24 comments
In Hinduism at least, the Cycle of the Ages is seen in Cosmic Terms – and thus as impersonal and inexorable. The Ancient Greeks likewise I believe. Savitri Devi seemed to accept this without going into the why of it. She was more interested in the Men who tried to buck “the System” – and who would prepare for the final struggle. Degeneration is a reason why men don’t fight for the Light – but it’s no Excuse. Thus the Law of Compensation is invoked: those who struggle now against the Darkness, Deadness, and Lies will be greatly blessed in return, both now and in the Age to Come.
In my attempts at occult practical politics I’ve a very poor batting average. I post mostly over at sodahead.com. I get very few approval points on average, but the quote below I posted about three days ago.
It got 8 “raves” from other sodahead member, which is almost the avearage number of raves received by the conservative poster “zippcodey.” So maybe this post is something of the style that works in covert ops??
“The Democrat game plan is to import enough aliens to out vote conservative whites.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?…
Conservatism will not survive two more election cycles, and in the short term the Democrats will have to galvanize their base by promoting hatred of whites.
As one person said on the web some years ago, what is coming is a civil war between whites over the presence of non-whites in America.
The end result will be a number of political states will emerge out of the present day United States. The Soviet Union and more so Yugoslavia are the precedents for what is to happen to us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?…
This is what the Dems are going to reap for their attempt to “pack” the electorate the way their hero Franklin Roosevelt tried to “pack” the Supreme Court.”
Just for the sake of discussion, if Evola’s conjecture is correct that humans are not entirely responsible for the hidden forces shaping history, what can be done about it? Seriously, I don’t mean to ridicule the topic. Can Traditionalists assemble in secret and cast counter-spell magic to ward off the non-human forces?
Evola is leaving open the possibility of something like divine providence.
Since he and Guenon refer to ‘infra-human’ I understood his words to mean something like demons, but I wasn’t sure what exactly they meant. What are they talking about?
I think the primary point is not whether supernatural beings exist and are directing human affairs, etc., but that numerous secret societies and sects act on the claim that they represent these ‘beings’, often with a written charter or an elaborate pedigree ‘proving’ their descent from ancient orders, or that the leaders are in communication with ‘hidden masters’, and are inaugurtaing a ‘new age’ based on arcane wisdom, in the ‘service of humanity’.
Hence, such outfits have often co-operated with materialists including communists and espoused athetistic doctrines to overthrow spiritual rivals; in particular Catholicism. Example, the rival cults of the Goddess of Reason and of Nature set up in Jacobin France on the ruins of the Church. Something similar happened in Mexico.
Guenon and Evola regarded ‘anti-tradition’, such as Marxism, Jacobinism etc. as tools of ‘counter-tradition’. That is why ‘counter-tradition’ societies have been involved with ‘anti-tradition’ mvoements such as Marxism: a dialectical process which they call ‘the conflict of polarities’.
It is often difficult to determine who is serving what interests, since ‘counter-tradition’ is what Guenon and Evola regarded as ‘counterfeit’, adopting the veneer of traditionalist ideas and symbols.
Hence, the question is not whether one views such beliefs as a load of bollocks, but that they are being implemented on a practical level, in particular by Masonry and derivatives, of which there are many.
(Gratuitous ad.: look out for my forthcoming book on the subject from Arktos Media Ltd.).
Yes and after the Monarchy was overthrown, the Jacobins worshiped the Goddess of Reason by installing Prostitutes on Church altars – thus adding profanity and 3rd Wave Feiminism to the chalice of impurity.
The Whore of Babylon is an important symbol to the Illuminati.
Your book sounds interesting. In general, I’d say conspiracy theories are outcast positions for good reason. The theories are usually absurd (Mossad did 9/11 using controlled demolition). At the same time, Mason or what you might call “counter tradition” images do seem to show up in some pretty odd places like the Israeli Supreme Court building (supposedly funded by the Rothschilds) and the American IRS building. This article discusses the IRS symbols. It’s hard to know what to make of it.
…the art in front of the IRS building in Maryland describes in a symbolic matter the true source of power behind the American (and world) government, its spiritual and political philosophy, its perception of the masses and so forth. But while the symbolism is unmistakably Masonic, your local front-porch Freemasons have nothing to do with the occult elite. Those in power are part of the highest, hidden levels of the order – what we like to call the Illuminati.
http://vigilantcitizen.com/sinistersites/sinister-sites-irs-headquarters-maryland/
Lew in blockquote:
Very substantial observation. Short answer: we must draw the distinction between “humanity” of the Soil- which is the foundation of Culture – and “Mankind” – which is of the Spirit, adn transforms Culture in accordance with the process of Civilization.
An example from Judaism – we, merely animals, are “Humanity.” They, being Gods, are “Mankind.” The braying of a thousand donkeys from the farm means nothing, as long as the donkeys stay in their place.
This is why dealing with Jews can be so perplexing. They aren’t really “talking” to you, in the sense of engaging in a dialogue among equals. They are trying to find the pattern of sounds and symbols that will control you, the barnyard animal, without the whip. Thus, this is not, and to them, can not be a dialogue in the true meaning of the term. You do not argue with animals. You tolerate them until you find the proper control systems; preferably, soft, unnoticed control systems, linked to warm, positive feelings of safety, and the expense of freedom, and approval, at the expense of isolation.
An excellent example is the technique of Wordism, where we create a Word to describe something, and then get trapped in our definition of what it is, even as the object or process being described changes.
An excellent example of “hidden in plain view” control systems can be sen in the Derren Brown show, “The Heist,” where he demonstrated the power of soft control systems in organizations I repeat in organizations that act to shape human behavior. Remember, in “The Heist,” Brown convinced ordinary people to become armored car stick-up artists, in a matter of a few days, through controlling the Symbols that they accepted blindly, and allowed them to transform their Personae, and thus, their lives.
The bridge between the Gods, and the Heavens, outworking their plans on Earth, is you – and the choices you make. This makes true freedom, and true free will, all the more important. This is a battle for the control of you by any means necessary, starting with your Mind – the soft, warm, prison you carry with you, and the one where you hold the jailer’s key.
To return to Lew’s opening sentence, we are not “entirely responsible for the hidden forces shaping history.” We ARE responsible for how we choose to accept them, reject them, and transform them, using our Minds, and our Souls. The Greatest Mystery is this: they only have the power over us that we allow them, and we are the source of their Power.
Truly GET that last point, and the rest falls into place.
Colin Wilson’s “The Mind Parasites” is a book that really explains this very well. So does the movie, “Fight Club.”
Fourmyle,
Your comments are amazingly good sometimes. Your second and third paragraph above on the nature of dialog with Jews is brilliant. Also, you cleared up the “Wordism” concept for me. I was never entirely clear on what it meant until I read your comment.
Lew:
Thanks for the kind words.
I read Hoffer, and realized “Wordism” is an easy term to misunderstand. By always looking for Whitaker’s Unmentioned Third Position – or what I call the Zeroth Postulate – I am forced to reread on general semantics, and “neurolinguistic programming.”
First prize goes to Derren Brown, whose show, “The Heist,” kept me awake for more than a day, as I reviewed all of the soft forces that acted on me throughout my life like the hurricane that can push a straw through a wooden board.
“Wordism,” just to be clear, is where me make a “Word” – a term used to define – into an ideology, quite unwittingly. As all ideologies seek to become religions, we see how words tat are used to control – “democracy,” “feminism,” “Civil Rights” – are designed, literally weaponized, with their explicit linkages to desired emotional states.
When you get to the area of spiritual development, and the religions that are the cultural lenses through which the supersensible is framed, you can see why Constantine wanted his own Church to rule an Empire with. After all, is it easier to rule a province with expensive soldiers, all too visible reminders of why the citizens are taxed so heavily, or with one priest, who they have has the power to remit sins, and control your entry to the Kingdom of Heaven? Don’t forget, the confessional is an excellent source of intelligence on the real concerns of the citizenry.
Much more effective than soldiers, and much cheaper, to boot. If they carry your prison around in their Minds all the time, so much the easier, and pay for for prison maintenance, to boot, your work is done.
That’s why the North American New Right is so important. Rejecting the false intellectual framework supplied to us is a beginning. It is replacing it with something that is much more congruent with the greater Reality we are trying to manifest in our lives that is all the more important. As Harold Covington noted concerning White Nationalist activism, “A century of incompetent, bitter failure, is enough.”
The importance of financial contributions to counter-currents is obvious.
And are all Races equally susceptible to Wordism? I doubt it. I’d say our weakness is this regard ranks right up there with all the stuff about the Ice Age Empathy now encoded in our genes.
Lew, my personal interpretation of this is that historical forces are often beyond the control of anyone, but historical agents can make use of them to achieve objectives. Some examples are disasters such as plagues, floods, tsunamis, radiological contaminations, etc., which cannot be predicted or prevented, but provide opportunities for groups to gain control of a society. A more common example might be economic crises, which can function like a tsunami, a force that is beyond any government or organization’s ability to stop. The Great Depression was such an event, which provided opportunity for political change, which was seized by various Nationalist historical actors, who rose to power across Europe, transforming entire nations. These Nationalist groups were involved in secretive cabals, esoteric symbols and hidden conspiracies (and can thus be described as “occult”) before and after taking the reigns of power. Similarly it could be argued that WW1 was another such event, a bloody and devastating conflagration that soon raged out of the control of anyone to stop, which allowed historical agents to overturn an ancient regime and install Communism in Russia.
Is it possible Evola was referring to something akin to organizational “super organisms” or collective intelligences? For example corporations and or cartels exercising a type of collective intelligence?
Nick Dean
Thanks for the history lesson. I had no idea. …
What I alluded to was specifically in regard to the subject under discussion – Initiation and Counter-Initiation.
I have just read Why Civilizations Self-Destruct by Elmer Pendell which gives a socio-biological explanation of cyclic history and shows how civilization have a degenerative component to it that has to be counteracted in oder to prevent decline. It struck me that this countermeasure was forced upon Jews as an out-group within European civilization and we are now subject to its consequences. Isn’t Pendells theory a more plausible explanation than “occult-warfare”?
Well what is Pendell’s theory?
Evolution works by environmental pressure giving a higher survivability to certain traits witch gives those high in these traits a higher survivability than those low in these traits. When environmental pressures promote traits that are essential for civilization such as intelligence, innovation, cooperation etc man will begin the long and winding road towards higher living. The more advanced the civilization the more the evolutionary pressures that made civilization possible disappear for a variety of reasons, thus making history cyclical. http://archive.org/details/WhyCivilizationsSelf-destruct
Yes, well, that all makes sense. And in America and Europe, people heeded those concerns and instituted eugenics laws to counteract them. But who opposed and repealed eugenics legislation and why? When you unravel that question, we are right back at occult warfare.
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