Dan Gardner at PastPresentFuture:
This isn’t only an American phenomenon, however. All across Europe, far-right philosophers — often backed by wealthy funders, including Russians connected to the Kremlin — promote similar themes, to considerable effect. “The West” now has enormous currency within the far-right parties threatening to take power in Germany, France, and beyond.
But what is “the West”?
As with most things that matter, there is a very long history behind the idea of “Western civilization” and related terms, including the German Abendland. In this short piece, I want to briefly sketch that history. It’s fascinating in its own right, I think you’ll agree.
But understanding that history is also urgent. As we’ll see, “the West” is potent vision. But it’s less an idea than a label — a label that has been applied to a startling widely array of ideas, from the humane to the hateful.
Something so malleable and powerful can only be described as the intellectual equivalent of plastic explosive. It should be handled with extreme care.
More here.