Men Among the Ruins: Post-War Reflections of a Radical Traditionalist

Description

Julius Evola's masterful overview of the political and social manifestations of our time, the "age of decline" known to the Hindus as the Kali Yuga. * Reveals the occult war that underlies the crises that have become a prevailing feature of modern life. * Includes H. T. Hansen's definitive essay on Evola's political life and theory. Men Among the Ruins is Evola's frontal assault on the predominant materialism of our time and the mirage of progress. For Evola and other proponents of Traditionalism, we are now living in an age of increasing strife and chaos: the Kali Yuga of the Hindus or the Germanic Ragnarok. In such a time, social decadence is so widespread that it appears as a natural component of all political institutions. Evola argues that the crises that dominate the daily lives of our societies are part of a secret occult war to remove the support of spiritual and traditional values in order to turn man into a passive instrument of the powerful. Evola is often regarded as the godfather of contemporary Italian fascism and right-wing radical politics, but attentive examination of the historical record--as provided by H. T. Hanson's definitive introduction--reveals Evola to be a much more complex figure. Though he held extreme right-wing views, he was a fearless critic of the Fascist regime and preferred a caste system based on spirituality and intellect to the biological racism championed by the Nazis. Ultimately, he viewed the forces of history as comprised by two factions: "history's demolition squad" enslaved by blind faith in the future and those individuals whose watchword is Tradition. These latter stand in this world of ruins at a higher level and are capable of letting go of what needs to be abandoned in order that what is truly essential not be compromised.

Julius Evola (1898-1974) was one of the leading authorities on the world's esoteric traditions and wrote Revolt Against the Modern World, Introduction to Magic, The Mystery of the Grail, The Hermetic Tradition, The Yoga of Power, Meditations on the Peaks, The Doctrine of Awakening, and Eros and the Mysteries of Love.

"Evola is one of the most interesting minds of the [world] war generation. He has a really astounding knowledge at his disposal." * Mircea Eliade, author of The Sacred and the Profane * "Evola writes in lively prose with fascinating detail. . . . To read his description of higher spiritual states is like watching a champion mountain climber on a vertical glacier." * Gnosis * "Disgusted by the cruelty and artificiality of communism, scorning the dogmatic, self-centered fascism of his age, Evola looks beyond man-made systems to the eternal principles in creation and human society. The truth, as he sees it, is so totally at odds with the present way of thinking that it shocks the modern mind. Evola was no politician, trying to make the best of things, but an idealist, uncompromising in the pursuit of the Best itself." * John Michell, The New View Over Atlantis * "Men among the Ruins is Julius Evola's most notorious work: an unsparing indictment of modern society and politics. Evola rises above the usual dichotomies of left and right, liberal and conservative, through a trenchant critique of the metaphysics that lies at the base of modern values, challenging us to reconnect our lives and our institutions to the timeless spiritual standard that guided our ancestors. Men among the Ruins is not a work for complacent, self-satisfied minds . . . it is a shocking and humbling text that will be either loved or hated. Evola's enemies cannot refute him; they can only ignore him. They do so at their peril." * Glenn A. Magee, author of Hegel and the Hermetic Tradition * "Not for the feint of heart. His writing typically demands a concentration of focus and a strong level of comprehension." * Robert James Buratti, New Dawn, July-August 2002 *