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Cyclical history as theorized by Spengler and other is a fringe type of historical analysis rejected by historians. And it is actively used as a neo-fascist dog

Cyclical history as theorized by Spengler and other is a fringe type of historical analysis rejected by historians. And it is actively used as a neo-fascist dog-whistle. That’s not a way to show my moral superiority, it’s what they do.

snomad 5y ago
Is Spengler the only person describing cyclical history? Probably not since someone above your post mentioned > Ibn Khaldun, 14th century Muslim scholar from Tunisia
- dgellow 5y ago
  No, he’s not the only one. But he is a reason the meme is used as a dog whistle by the far-right, which is what I was talking about.
api 5y ago
I agree that it's sort of a fashy dog whistle, but the concept of cyclic history did not originate with Spengler. This was probably the dominant view of the nature of time and history up until at least the last thousand years, maybe later.
- dgellow 5y ago
  I don't think you should be downvoted for saying what you said, but I feel that you missed the point my comment was trying to make. My point is: the dog whistle/modern meme is basically a reference to Spengler and others, because their ideologies align relatively well with the patchwork of neo-fascist ideas. That's what they hint to and promote. That's why I explicitly mentioned Spengler and the 20th century. Lot of other people developed some form of a cyclical history but that's not really relevant here.
an9n 5y ago
> rejected by historians which historians? And why should we pay any attention to their consensus?
R0b0t1 5y ago
Cyclical history isn't false. Population boom/bust cycles exist in humans just like they do in every other animal. Humans reach the carrying capacity of their environment and then reach out via war for more resources. Ascribing any fixed time scale to the cycle is going to be fallacious as it depends on environmental factors.
- htfu 5y ago
  Russia was hardly ever saturated and is now aging and depopulating. However false or not false it may be it clearly doesn't apply here.
- dgellow 5y ago
  "Cyclical history" as theorized by Spengler and others during the 20th century is a whole set of bullshit. That's what my comments are explicitly about, I don't understand how people can miss this.

snomad 5y ago

Is Spengler the only person describing cyclical history? Probably not since someone above your post mentioned > Ibn Khaldun, 14th century Muslim scholar from Tunisia

dgellow 5y ago
No, he’s not the only one. But he is a reason the meme is used as a dog whistle by the far-right, which is what I was talking about.

api 5y ago

I agree that it's sort of a fashy dog whistle, but the concept of cyclic history did not originate with Spengler. This was probably the dominant view of the nature of time and history up until at least the last thousand years, maybe later.

dgellow 5y ago
I don't think you should be downvoted for saying what you said, but I feel that you missed the point my comment was trying to make. My point is: the dog whistle/modern meme is basically a reference to Spengler and others, because their ideologies align relatively well with the patchwork of neo-fascist ideas. That's what they hint to and promote. That's why I explicitly mentioned Spengler and the 20th century. Lot of other people developed some form of a cyclical history but that's not really relevant here.

an9n 5y ago

> rejected by historians which historians? And why should we pay any attention to their consensus?

R0b0t1 5y ago

Cyclical history isn't false. Population boom/bust cycles exist in humans just like they do in every other animal. Humans reach the carrying capacity of their environment and then reach out via war for more resources. Ascribing any fixed time scale to the cycle is going to be fallacious as it depends on environmental factors.

htfu 5y ago
Russia was hardly ever saturated and is now aging and depopulating. However false or not false it may be it clearly doesn't apply here.
dgellow 5y ago
"Cyclical history" as theorized by Spengler and others during the 20th century is a whole set of bullshit. That's what my comments are explicitly about, I don't understand how people can miss this.