Eric Voegelin.pdf - Geschwister-Scholl-Institut für Politikwissenschaft

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part having to do with what from Voegelin we learn has been
the misuse of the „eschaton“ in political theory — I decline to
go down that road. I would have less objection to the adjective
„apocalyptic“, except that I think that „expressive“ has the
advantage of including hooliganism and other decidedly
unapocalyptic manifestations of deadly violence in not so civil
„Civil Society“. Finally, one could follow Hans Jonas and use
the term „nihilistic“ to connote both gnostic and existentialist
orientations toward the cosmos, and by extension contrast
„rational“ or instrumental with „irrational“ or nihilistic
violence. Neither the ancient gnostics nor the modern
glorifiers of violence are ultimately nihilistic, however,
because they experience their ecosystemic rejection as
liberating and find life — the new life of uncompromising
rejection or cosmic reality — full of meaning. So, following
Fennema I say: Yes, the term expressive violence may be
unfamiliar, but get used to it, for it is the best we have
available. Furthermore, while it may be unfamiliar, it is
anything but „vague“ — to anticipate a criticism from those
still under the sway of the instrumental view.
Voegelin teaches the importance of avoiding anachronism in
political interpretation. That is why searching for the historical
roots of a contemporary complex of ideas, experience, and
behaviors is so crucial to political theory. We are not permitted
to ignore those roots: on the contrary, we must dig around for
them and expose them to light. It is important to know, for
example, that optimism and pessimism are neologisms,
historically speaking; the same with racism. Thus, it is
improper to describe the Greek tragedians as pessimists as
Nietzsche does, because there were no pessimists before
Schopenhauer. Likewise, it is improper to call Plato a racist, as
Popper does, because, among many other reasons, racism as