The New International Anti-Modern Movement
Location
Bigfoot Room 124
Start Date
22-4-2023 2:25 PM
End Date
22-4-2023 3:40 PM
Publication Date
2023
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities | Law | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Description
In recent years, we have seen the rise of what frequently gets described as “right-wing” or “hate-based” movements. Such descriptors though may fall short of the cultural and intellectual “interdisciplinarity” of the streams of thought going into those developments, and they may also fall short on tracing the motivations of its members or even possible cures for the problems causing it.
This presentation will trace back some of the current extremist ideas to anti-modern counter-utopian ideas, thus rooting current developments in a deep but also deeply contradictory rejection of modernity, the narrative of progress, and a strangely globalized anti-cosmopolitan movement.
We will also explore the connections between science denial – at the examples of Covid, evolution and climate change, esotericism, beliefs in outdated concepts of political sovereignty, and the rejection of modern democracy in favor of unclear models of political organization that have easily fallen prey to agitations by modern autocrats. By making clear those connections and exposing the intellectual contradictions contained within, I am hoping to provide some thoughts on countering such developments while at the same time appreciating the necessity of an honest critique of modernity and contemporary political developments.
Description Format
html
Recommended Citation
Kneis, Philipp, "The New International Anti-Modern Movement" (2023). International Conference on Hate Studies. 72.
https://repository.gonzaga.edu/icohs/2023/seventh/72
Full Text of Presentation
wf_no
Media Format
flash_audio
Session Title
Rejecting Modernity and the Rise of Hate Groups, Radicalism and Xenophobia
Type
Panel
The New International Anti-Modern Movement
Bigfoot Room 124
In recent years, we have seen the rise of what frequently gets described as “right-wing” or “hate-based” movements. Such descriptors though may fall short of the cultural and intellectual “interdisciplinarity” of the streams of thought going into those developments, and they may also fall short on tracing the motivations of its members or even possible cures for the problems causing it.
This presentation will trace back some of the current extremist ideas to anti-modern counter-utopian ideas, thus rooting current developments in a deep but also deeply contradictory rejection of modernity, the narrative of progress, and a strangely globalized anti-cosmopolitan movement.
We will also explore the connections between science denial – at the examples of Covid, evolution and climate change, esotericism, beliefs in outdated concepts of political sovereignty, and the rejection of modern democracy in favor of unclear models of political organization that have easily fallen prey to agitations by modern autocrats. By making clear those connections and exposing the intellectual contradictions contained within, I am hoping to provide some thoughts on countering such developments while at the same time appreciating the necessity of an honest critique of modernity and contemporary political developments.