Suchergebnisse

THIS ARTICLE ANALYZES THE IDEOLOGY OF THE SO-CALLED GERMAN "NEW RIGHT" AND EXPLAINS ITS APPARENT FAILURE IN THE 1990S IN TERMS OF BOTH IDEOLOGICAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS. AFTER DISSECTING THE "CONCEPTUAL ANATOMY" OF NEW RIGHT THINKING AND HIGHLIGHTING THE IMPORTANCE OF REWRITING THE HISTORY OF NATIONAL SOCIALISM FOR NEW RIGHT INTELLECTUALS, IT IS ARGUED THAT THE PHENOMENON HAS TO BE UNDERSTOOD AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF VARIOUS STRANDS OF CONSERVATIVE THINKING IN WEST GERMANY. CONTRARY TO OBSERVERS WHO HAVE CLAIMED AN ANALOGY WITH THE 1920S "CONSERVATIVE REVOLUTION', THE NEW RIGHT WAS AKIN TO THE NATIONALIST INTELLECTUALS IN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC, AND SUFFERED FROM THE SAME STRUCTURAL DILEMMA WHICH CONSERVATISM HAD ENCOUNTERED THERE. ITS FAILURE IS ATTRIBUTED TO A LACK OF IDEOLOGICAL INNOVATION, AN EXCESSIVE FIXATION ON THE 68ERS AS THE IDEOLOGICAL ENEMY, AND, FINALLY, A LACK OF PARTY SUPPORT. CONCLUSIONS ABOUT GERMAN POLITICAL CULTURE ARE THEN DRAWN FROM THE FAILURE OF THE NEW RIGHT.

IT HAS OFTEN BEEN POINTED OUT THAT CARL SCHMITT'S STYLE SEEMS TO OSCILLATE BETWEEN AN OBJECTIVE, COLD MODE THAT CLAIMS TO DISCOVER THE HARD TRUTHS ABOUT POLITICS, AND A FEVERISH EXPRESSIONISM WHICH AIMS TO IDENTIFY THE ENEMY AND EVEN TO INCITE HATRED. THIS OPPOSITION, IT SEEMS, COMES DOWN TO ONE BETWEEN SUPPOSEDLY CRYSTAL-CLEAR DEFINITIONS AND DISTINCTIONS ON THE ONE HAND, AND A FREQUENT USE OF IMAGES, METAPHORS AND MYTHS ON OTHER. THIS ARTICLE ARGUES THAT ALL THESE WERE ELEMENTS OF THE PECULIAR METHOD WHICH SCHMITT PRACTISED. THIS METHOD WAS "IDEOLOGICAL" ACCORDING TO ALL THE MEANINGS COMMONLY ASCRIBED TO "IDEOLOGY" EXCEPT THE STRICTLY MARXIST ONE. EVEN IF THESE IDEOLOGICAL ELEMENTS OF SCHMITTIAN THOUGHT WERE AT FIRST SIGHT CONTRADICTORY, THEY IN FACT COMPOUNDED EACH OTHER AND PROBABLY INCREASED THE IMPACT OF SCHMITT'S POLITICAL THEORY.

DURING THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC, GERMANY WAS A LIBERAL, DEMOCRATIC, CAPITALIST, WELFARE STATE. THE TENSIONS BETWEEN THESE VARIOUS CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WEIMAR REPUBLIC HELPED BRING ABOUT ITS DEMISE. THIS ESSAY EXPLORES THE SHARED CRITIQUE OF SUCH A REGIME DEVELOPED BETWEEN 1918 AND 1933 BY CARL SCHMETT AND HANS FREYER. THE APPROACH PURSUED HERE ATTEMPTS TO PUT SMITT'S WORKS INTO MORE HISTORICALLY ACCURATE PERSPECTIVE. IN THE CASE OF BOTH FREYER AND SCHMITT, THEIR GIFTS HELPED UNDERMINE SUPPORT FOR LIBERAL DEMOCRACY IN GERMANY, AND INDEED WERE INTENDED TO DO SO; THIS PAPER, HOWEVER, FOCUSES ON THEIR SOCIAL AND POLITICAL THOUGHT RATHER THAN ON THEIR INFLUENCE.

Presents an essay by Justus Moser (1720-1794) on illegitimate children. Shows how many of the characteristic themes of modern conservative thought are prefigured here. (JLN)

The contributors of this volume seek to answer such questions as: 'How did the Germans overcome 'Germanic Ideology', or did they?' 'Why is there no libertarianism in Germany?' 'What do German conservatives wish to conserve?'. Emphasizing shared patterns of thought, the contributors trace the contours of political thought in a divided nation with a difficult past, and ion the shadow of the culture and political values of the United States.