Shared misconceptions, the great unifier

Both the headline editors at The New York Times and Steve Bannon have made the dubious claim that Julius Evola influenced Italian fascism. I have tried to explain why the idea that Evola had a considerable impact on either Mussolini or his senior ideologues is probably wrong, even though the baron’s writings might have impressed the dictator personally.

A greater problem for the well-meaning authors at The New York Times and beyond is that an honest list of somebodies who did influence, inspire or sympathize with Mussolini’s movement, at least early on, might sound like an advertisement for fascism. Slate reminds its readers that Puccini once set his hopes on Mussolini as a savior of the nation, more or less. (Puccini tilted towards Fascism; Trump likes Puccini; therefore, Trump must be a fascist: so goes Slate‘s syllogism.)

On a marginal note, somehow in my mind Evola and Guénon are connected with Lovecraft. It must be an impression out of the 1990s: Cthulhu’s due at the end of Kali-Yuga – updated now to Kek Meets Cthulhu.

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