Amerika

Over at Counter Currents, Christopher Pankhurst reviews my first book, Nihilism: A Philosophy Based In Nothingness And Eternity. Along with an earlier review by Peter Heft, this is among my favorite writings about the book because it grasps the difficult essence of its topic, active nihilism.

In particular, the review establishes this excellent summary of my realistic support for nationalism:

On the second point, racial politics, Stevens is clear that he does not support a sort of colour blind politics, and he emphasizes that all cultures need to preserve their own ethnos in order to flourish. He does, however, reject any notions of racial supremacy, and also remains sceptical of any suggestion that particular ethnic groups are uniquely responsible for the present illness of the West. His view is that multiculturalism and diversity are attempts to mould societies into a particular egalitarian form and that they have proven to be wholly unworkable.

He also captures a succinct vision of the opposition to rationalization a.k.a. “rationalism”:

What Stevens would like to see more of is a pragmatic assessment of the way that societies work and an efficient implementation of best practice. Instead of this, we can see that people tend to decide (or are told) what is true and false, what is good and evil, and they then go to any lengths they need to in order to make reality conform to the expectations that these prior beliefs engender.

The whole thing is worth reading, and provides a great example of how to do a literary book review, which is distinct from the political approach that most reviewers have taken or the philosophical one that Mr. Heft pursued. Check out Mr. Pankhurst’s review of Nihilism at Counter Currents.

Tags: Books, christopher pankhurst, counter currents, nihilism, Nihilism: A Philosophy Based in Nothingness and Eternity, review