Julius Evola-Race as a Builder of Leaders

Evola As He Is

Race as a Builder of Leaders

In order to make possible a better understanding of the relations between Julius Evola and the S.S. cadres and, particularly, with their leader, Heinrich Himmler, and, beyond this, of Evola's views on the setting-up of a new elite in the 30's and during WWII, here is an article published in Regime Fascista on the 2nd of May 1939, 'La Razza quale Costruttrice dei Capi'. With an article by Heinrich Himmler translated into Italian ('Principi per una Nuova Elite Politica-Razzista', in Regime Fascista, 15/6/1939 - 'Principles for a New Politico-Racial Elite') and two other articles by Evola on this matter, 'L'Animatore delle 'SS' e il Problema delle Nuove Elette', in Regime Fascista, 17/12/1940 - 'The Driving Force behind the 'SS' and the Problem of the New Elites' ; 'Le 'SS', Guardia e 'Ordine' della Rivoluzione Crociuncinata', in Vita Italiana, August 1938 - 'The 'SS', Guard and 'Order' of the Revolution under the Sign of the Swastika'), it can be found in a small volume published by Associazione Culturale Raido.

RACE AS A BUILDER OF LEADERS

In our previous article in the Diorama, we wondered whether, besides the general applications of racial and national hygiene, and, naturally, the defense of our genetic heritage against cross-breeding and hybridisation, the doctrine of race should be limited to being a matter of 'teaching' or, in our country, should sooner or later become the basis of a true 'education', with special tasks of a spiritual and political nature with respect to a certain racial elite. In other words, it must be wondered whether, at home, given similar necessities, we should undertake projects similar to those of German National Socialism, which, despite its being of more recent development than Italian Fascism, have already taken concrete shape, such as their setting up of the Adolf Hitler Schule, of the cadets of the Order Ordensburger, of the S.S. corps and its schools for leaders and with the national Politische Hermehunganstante. In fact all these German institutions show a definite intention to proceed to a political selection, in which racial considerations must have a fundamental role and the value of a real formative force.

THE FUTURE LEADING CLASS

In general, it must be acknowledged that the problem of the future ruling class is one of the most essential ones for the movements of restorative nature: it can be postponed in the first stages of the struggle for the conquest of power and of consolidation against external enemies, but, in a second phase, it must be tackled in order to perpetuate and stabilise that organism that the manifestation of 'the men of destiny' has created. Far from being confined to the sphere of academia or from exhausting itself in cultural and propagandistic forms, the doctrine of race should thus contribute to the achievement of such a task. Of course, the prerequisite, here, is that such doctrine is understood in a global manner, and is therefore not limited to the biological and anthropological sphere ('racism of first degree'), but is led also to consider race as a reality of the soul, of the character and of the way of life, and, finally, race as 'world-outlook' and race of the spirit ('racism of second and third degree').

Every kind of indiscriminate ethnic adulteration, on the one hand, is the consequence of a degenerated inner sensibility and of the tyranny of materialistic, individualistic and sentimental considerations, and, on the other hand, is the cause of the further degeneration of peoples and civilisations ; this must be borne in mind. Precise considerations of 'racism of first degree' should thus not be neglected in the creation of a new ruling class, and, certainly, as things stand at present, in Italy above all, it is not impossible that physical appearances peculiar to a given race may be accompanied by the psychic traits of a different race. It cannot be disputed, however, that, except in exceptional cases, when the research and the subsequent selection is restricted to a sphere defined by the correspondence to this racial physical type that we consider as higher, namely the Nordic Aryan, we are more likely to find corresponding  spiritual qualities than we would through haphazard research, which ignored this physical racial typology and this sign of a heredity and of an origin, maybe buried, but unlikely to be completely extinct, which a relative racial purity in a physical and anthropological sense constitutes. And the advantages of the effects of the action of prestige and of visible exemplars cannot be ignored, whenever heads, leaders, have, physically, a particular virile presence, are in the common sense of the expression, 'well bred' rather than small bespectacled, ill-favoured, mongrelised men.

FURTHER SELECTIONS

Once, by means of the racism of first degree, a given sphere and a first selection are identified, we should proceed, through the racism of second and third degree, to further tests, in an exploration of deeper and more essential qualities than those of the outer appearance. A definite characteristic of the current renovative movements is their anti-intellectualism or, if you prefer, their anti-rationalism. Such movements are pervaded with heroic and active forces, irreducible to abstract reason. One of the decisive tasks for our future will be that of connecting the myths of such movements with a blood instinct: certain ideas and expressions, which are a 'driving force' only in that they have a suggestive power on the national masses, must find a mode of expression that, at least in an elite, relates organically to race and tradition in the deepest sense, so as to differentiate the ideas of our movement from the collectivist expressions and myths that can sometimes exert the same power on masses, but are a complete denial of everything that stands for stock, tradition, fatherland.

We therefore think of a selection of the second stage, to be carried out by means of a precise and repeated close examination of the political sensitivity within a group that would have already met the requirements of the physical racial selection. It would involve examining, here, to what extent the root ideas of the Fascist revolution could really speak to the blood, so as to be translated into a deeper reality than what proceeds either from common sense or from a confused enthusiasm. Those who succeed in proving, through appropriate tests, an adequate capacity with regard to this, to be developed and strengthened with appropriate disciplines, could be entrusted with positions of high political importance, with what would be called in Germany 'die Ueberwachung der national- socialistischen Weltanschauung' ('supervision of the National Socialist world view'). Just as the Church set up, in its own field, a Holy Office with the mission of supervising all that is related to orthodoxy, the elite in question, on the basis of its Fascist instinct and its racial awareness, should control all that, in the Italian culture, is related, directly or indirectly, to the principles that condition the Fascist renewal and are at the root of its development. One of its tasks would be to undertake a cultural purification and improvement. It must be seen to that, at home, tasks of vital importance do not sink into the bureaucratic swamp and into mere measures understood and carried out to the letter, but not to the spirit, which, in such a sensitive and differentiated field, is the essential thing.

TOWARDS A NEW 'ORDER'

In Germany the most serious and concrete attempt to create an elite is constituted by the above-mentioned S.S. corps (abbreviation of Schutz Staffel). It is interesting that Heinrich Himmler, head of this corps, which may be called 'Guard and Order of the Nazi Revolution', is at the same time head of the Secret State Police (Gestapo) and that other leaders under his command have similar positions. Notably, Himmler along with his entire corps are answerable directly and solely to Hitler. What we learn from this is the necessity that the concept of 'police' go beyond the narrow scope that was one's own in the old democratic and positivist State, in which it had only to do with delinquents and, at most, with subversives in the most narrow and direct sense of the word. The new totalitarian State represents an organism which must defend itself against not only true lesions, but also against every subtle infiltration, everything that may weaken it and facilitate the action of germs and toxins. What is needed, in these respects, is an action that is not only defensive, but also preventive and counter-offensive. In this connection, the tasks that become apparent do not have much to do with some paragraph of the penal code or other. They require rather a subtle action of surveillance and of protection, which considers the moral and spiritual as very important and has the nature of a Holy Office in the best sense more than it has the nature of a 'police', because of the awareness that the true power of revolution lies in the vision of the world and in its great fundamental ideas and that their distortion or their weakening would also herald a fatal decline of the party-political organism in the narrow sense of the term. In this field too, it is evident that nothing would be more lethal and ineffective than bureaucratism, nothing more essential than a subtle sensitivity, a racial sensitivity, an instinct able to develop even in areas bordering on the occult.

Since our attention was justly drawn to the document known as 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion', we must ask whether the difficulties of the task of forming elements that can be at least equal in their capabilities to the secret leaders of world subversion and would know all their instruments can afford to be in any way under-estimated. Considering this, we can see what importance this idea of a racial-spiritual elite to which we devoted the previous considerations must have. As it develops, it could be allowed to grow beyond the mere national field and even that of an organisation such as the famous Intelligence Service, carrying out tasks that, since they are currently limited to their own national area, remain potentials only even in the National-Socialist S.S. itself. That is to say that, in this way, it is possible to rise to the idea of a Military Order, in the ancient, mediaeval sense, which is also spiritual, constructed to defend tradition and to attack the enemy in all its forms, visible and invisible, wherever it is and whatever disguise, social, political, cultural or even scientific, it assumes: in short, the positive counterpart of the solidarity of the world-wide conspiracy and international front of subversion.

Naturally, before getting to that stage, a long period of training, selection and internal and external, political and social organisation of the elite in question will be needed. At this stage, however, the main thing is to become aware of the requirements and to set down the principle: to go beyond the generic, political, propagandistic and popular stage of racial awareness, to arrive at the constructive, serious, discriminating and educative stage by setting up appropriate institutions and entrusting with precise responsibilities those who possess by historical good fortune suitable qualifications to lead, with more than just words or theories, what could really be called a seminar of future leaders.

Julius EVOLA

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