The Sunset of Tradition and the Origin of the Great War

475 Pages·2018·2.262 MB·English

by  Alexander Wolfheze

The Sunset of
Tradition and
the Origin of
the Great War
O setting sun! though the time has come,
I still warble under you, if none else does,
unmitigated adoration.
The Sunset of
Tradition and
the Origin of
the Great War
By
Alexander Wolfheze
The Sunset of Tradition and the Origin of the Great War

By Alexander Wolfheze

This book first published 2018

Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Copyright © 2018 by Alexander Wolfheze

All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without
the prior permission of the copyright owner.

ISBN (10): 1-5275-0606-1
ISBN (13): 978-1-5275-0606-0
To the young people of the world: a guide to the history of the Night Land
In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate
CONTENTS

List of Tables ............................................................................................... x

Preface ........................................................................................................ xi
“Childhood’s End” ................................................................................ xi
The Dismal Science ............................................................................ xiii
The Second Persona .......................................................................... xviii

Acknowledgements ................................................................................ xxiii

Introduction ................................................................................................. 1
Aim ........................................................................................................ 1
Organization ........................................................................................... 9
Caveat Lector ....................................................................................... 13

Chapter One ............................................................................................... 18
Modernity
1. From Tradition to Modernity ........................................................... 18
2. The Dark Age ................................................................................... 31
3. Apocalypse ....................................................................................... 35

Chapter Two .............................................................................................. 53
Ideology
1. The Origins of Historical Materialism ............................................. 53
2. The Premises of Historical Materialism ........................................... 59
3. The Ideologies of Historical Materialism ........................................ 66

Chapter Three ............................................................................................ 88
Conspiracy
1. Modernity’s Occult Origins ............................................................. 88
2. Modernity’s Secret War ................................................................... 95
3. Modernity’s Conspiracies .............................................................. 101
viii Contents

Chapter Four ............................................................................................ 127
Ecocide
1. From (cid:544)(cid:1895)(cid:539)(cid:544)(cid:542)(cid:553)(cid:541)(cid:544)(cid:546) to Ecocide ............................................................ 127
2. The Industrial Revolution .............................................................. 136
3. The War against the World ............................................................ 144

Chapter Five ............................................................................................ 155
Regression
1. From Community to Society .......................................................... 155
2. The Regression of the Castes ......................................................... 166
3. The Social Symptoms of Modernity .............................................. 178

Chapter Six .............................................................................................. 207
Narcissism
1. The Discovery of the Unconscious: Psycho-Analysis ................... 207
2. The Ascendancy of the Unconscious: Trauma & Psychosis .......... 213
3. The Hegemony of the Unconscious: the Narcissism Epidemic ..... 218

Chapter Seven .......................................................................................... 222
Decadence
1. La belle époque .............................................................................. 222
2. L’art pour l’art ............................................................................... 233
3. Fin-de-Siècle .................................................................................. 238

Chapter Eight ........................................................................................... 244
Anomy
1. The Decline of Nomos & Kathechon ............................................. 244
2. The Rise of Democracy ................................................................. 254
3. The Rise of Nationalism ................................................................ 267

Chapter Nine ............................................................................................ 284
Imperialism
1. From Imperium to Imperialism ...................................................... 284
2. “The War of the Worlds” ............................................................... 314
3. The High-Water Mark of Modern Imperialism .............................. 329

Chapter Ten ............................................................................................. 345
Count-down
1. Sacred Chronology ......................................................................... 345
2. Profane Chronology ....................................................................... 357
3. Time-line of the Twilight ............................................................... 381
The Sunset of Tradition and the Origin of the Great War ix
Postscript ................................................................................................. 388

Appendix A: Summary ............................................................................ 390

Appendix B: The Ten Wonders of the Modern World ............................ 393

Appendix C: Again, Perennial Philosophy .............................................. 424

Bibliography ............................................................................................ 429

Epitaphs ................................................................................................... 431

Notes ........................................................................................................ 435