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(http://facebook.com/socialmattermag) (http://twitter.com/socialmattermag) Search Social Matter (http://www.socialmatter.net/) Not Your Grandfather's Conservatism About (http://www.socialmatter.net/about/) Archives (http://www.socialmatter.net/archives/) Submissions/Contact (http://www.socialmatter.net/submissionscontact/) Comments Policy (http://www.socialmatter.net/commentspolicy/) Ascending the Tower (http://www.socialmatter.net/category/ascendingthetower/) Forum (http://forum.socialmatter.net) FRIDAY 27 FEBRUARY 2015 18 (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/02/27/crab bear dugin//#comments) COMMENTS The Crab and the Bear: On Alexander Dugin Written by Ash Milton (http://www.socialmatter.net/author/ashmilton/) Posted in Uncategorized (http://www.socialmatter.net/category/uncategorized/) (http://www.socialmatter.net/wpcontent/uploads/2015/02/dugin1.jpg) I first heard the name Alexander Dugin around the time that “neoEurasianism” was first being noticed by the online alternative Right.The Russian Question had been brought up by figures on the European New Right. An example is Guillaume Faye (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillaume_Faye) and his vision of a European civilization “from Lisbon to Vladivostok”. Dugin fascinates many on the Right because he has gone beyond theory. A man who can both have a conference with Alain de Benoist and also claim to influence minds in the Kremlin has outdone every Western critic of global liberalism. These days even the Western media (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFI6fg8NITg) wants to know about him. At the same time, his name probably sparks more controversy among the Right than ever before. ProKiev voices condemn him as a legitimizer of Russian aggression. Identitiarians hear Search Donate Bitcoin address: 1N2qk7xFQRFrBkBrkshikjYAudLumsP8WQ Recent Posts Weimerica Weekly – Episode 2 (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/12/02/weimerica weeklyepisode2/) Whither Leftism? (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/12/01/whither leftism/) Codreanu On The Ruling Class (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/11/30/codreanu ontherulingclass/) Enabling The Left’s Economic Lies (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/11/29/enabling theleftseconomiclies/) Weimerica Weekly – Episode 1 (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/11/25/weimerica weekly1/) Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/socialmattermag)

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The Crab and the Bear: On AlexanderDuginWritten by Ash Milton (http://www.socialmatter.net/author/ashmilton/) Posted in Uncategorized(http://www.socialmatter.net/category/uncategorized/)

(http://www.socialmatter.net/wp­content/uploads/2015/02/dugin1.jpg)

I first heard the name Alexander Dugin around the time that “neo­Eurasianism” was first beingnoticed by the online alternative Right.The Russian Question had been brought up by figures onthe European New Right. An example is Guillaume Faye(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillaume_Faye) and his vision of a European civilization “fromLisbon to Vladivostok”. Dugin fascinates many on the Right because he has gone beyond

theory. A man who can both have a conference with Alain de Benoist and also claim toinfluence minds in the Kremlin has outdone every Western critic of global liberalism. These dayseven the Western media (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFI6fg8NITg) wants to know abouthim. At the same time, his name probably sparks more controversy among the Right than everbefore. Pro­Kiev voices condemn him as a legitimizer of Russian aggression. Identitiarians hear

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before. Pro­Kiev voices condemn him as a legitimizer of Russian aggression. Identitiarians hearhim cast accusations of racism and wonder why he’s sounding like a Buzzfeed columnist. Putinfans idolize him as the architect of global traditionalist resurgence. The West still dominatesmuch of the globe, and the Cathedral dominates all of the West. Both Dugin and Neoreactionare deconstructing that Cathedral’s ideological operating system. But we shouldn’t assume thatDugin’s project is the same as the Neoreactionary one. As we’ll see, their means andmotivations have some sharp divergences.

For the uninitiated, Dugin calls his theoretical framework the Fourth Political Theory (4PT). Itsname hints at its foundations. Dugin holds that since the Enlightenment, three political theorieshave wrestled for global control. Liberalism came first, and annihilated the old Christian andmonarchic order. When it thinks about society, it focuses on the individual person. Communismcame second, and rose in reaction to Liberalism. It takes the socio­economic class as itssubject. This was because Liberal individualism failed to address the situation of the poor andworking classes, now that the bourgeoisie had overthrown their own masters. The third theory isFascism, and it reacted against both Communism and its Liberal predecessor. It tried toovercome the division of individuals and classes by basing society on a common foundation. Incases like Italy, it took the State as its starting point. In Germany, the racial volk played this role.Communism and Liberalism defeated Fascism, and Liberalism eventually overcame its formerally too, and now stands triumphant. Dugin claims that it can only be challenged by a fourththeory, which learns from the failures of former critiques.

(http://www.socialmatter.net/wp­content/uploads/2015/02/dugin4.jpg)

His belief is that the failures of each ideology came from focusing on a single aspect of humanexistence. In fact, our world is a complex of all these things: we individuals are part of an ethno­cultural whole, a political order, and a particular station in that order. The 4PT claims to take aholistic view of the human being and accepts all these realities. Dasein – real existence in theworld – can’t be so slickly reduced to a set of axioms. Humans are different. Ethnicities differ.Cultures and histories differ. Geopolitical realities differ. Because of this, societies developdifferent ways of existing. Liberalism claims to accept differences, but this is mere shadow play.In reality, it imposes a common value framework on all groups. Religion and culture becomeornaments for liberal homogeneity. Neoreaction’s own framework agrees with this analysis. Itcondemns (http://www.newinternationaloutlook.com/2014/12/24/speculations­on­nrx/) the ideathat society can be constructed from an ideological blueprint. The bigger the plan for society, themore unknowns one faces. In fact, Neoreaction takes this further than 4PT. The Eurasian ideaitself, with its vision of a federal union of states and de­Westernized cultures, is more detailedthan anything Neoreaction puts forward. The presumption of knowledge is a dangerous thing tocontend with. Instead, Neoreaction intends to be a toolbox to be used according to different setsof needs.

There are further comparisons. Western social science distinguishes between theoreticalmodels and the “real world”. Both 4PT and Neoreaction critique this. Dugin talks about “practiceas theory”, and believes that one cannot separate lived experience from ideology; Neoreactiondiscerns the prerequisites to Civilization from the historical record rather than manifestos.Liberalism claimed to leave individuals free to choose their own ways of living; the modernLiberal agrees, provided they make the proper choice. With Dugin, Neoreaction recognizes theslight of hand. All three have come to understand that unrestricted personal freedom is inimicalto an enduring social order. The only difference is that the latter two are honest about it.Furthermore, Neoreactionary thought has overcome theological divides in the concept of Gnon– Nature or Nature’s God. Gnon’s laws cannot be suspended by activist judges or

deconstructed by university professors. Societies must discover them and structure themselvesaccordingly. Meanwhile, Dugin has taken inspiration from the German Conservative Revolution(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative_Revolutionary_movement) and the TraditionalistSchool (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditionalist_School). As Dugin says in The Fourth PoliticalTheory (http://www.4pt.su/en/content/fourth­political­theory):

“Conservative revolutionaries want not only to slow time down, like the liberalconservatives, or return to the past like traditionalists, but to pull out from the structure ofthe world the roots of evil…and in so doing [fulfil] some kind of secret, parallel, non­

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evident intention of the Deity itself.”

But Dugin’s response to these ideas also leads us to some of the clashes between WesternRightists and the Fourth Political Theory. Dugin has consistently charged the ideology ofprogress as racist, and the West as being a “globally deployed model of…ethnocentrism, whichis the purest manifestation of racist ideology.” When he so closely echoes the rhetoric ofuniversity SJW’s, those otherwise sympathetic become understandably suspicious. There aretwo things we need to note. The first is that racism isn’t actually the accurate term to describewhat Dugin means. In Fourth Political Theory, he states that racism also exists among cultures,classes and even technology. Clearly, “chauvinism” or “supremacy” would be more accuratewords than “racism”. Dugin’s supporters explain (http://www.4pt.su/en/content/real­dugin) thatthe term illustrates that the West uses ideology in the same way it once used race and religion –to justify itself as the standard for Civilization. But it’s worth noting that the word also allowsDugin to attack Western liberalism on its own basis.

(http://www.socialmatter.net/wp­

content/uploads/2015/02/dugin5.jpg)Dugin takes as one of his premises that all cultures andpeoples – including the European West – must determine for themselves how they choose toexist. In that sense, 4PT undermines modern Progressivism’s condemnation of Western identityand heritage. The 4PT is a weaponized ideology: its stated purpose is to take over from thefailures of Liberalism. Western countries have often used liberal ideology to undermine states inopposition to Western interests. From Russia(http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/61509/thomas­carothers/the­backlash­against­democracy­promotion) to Egypt (https://radishmag.wordpress.com/2014/07/31/arab­spring/#democracy­promotion), Western NGO’s have funded groups with liberal sympathies, asthe ideology is particularly useful in such ventures. Since it focuses on the individual, Liberalismcan delegitimize a political order by focusing on select groups who view themselves as beingexcluded from the political process. Of course, Western countries themselves do this all the timethrough electoral and speech regulations. Implicit in our laws is the admission that noteveryone should have equal involvement in the political process. If the 4PT gains influence,Russia and other countries will have a strong ideological counterweapon to this tactic.

Nevertheless, this is not the only issue on which Dugin seems to compromise with ideologiesantithetical to the values of the Right. While an ideological anticommunist, he has defended(http://openrevolt.info/2014/09/01/alexander­dugin­orthodox­eurasianism/) the Soviet Union asan expression of the Russian worldview.

“Thanks to those who will be engaged in the defense of the Republic of Novorossia andwho experience this particular Eurasian Orthodox identity, the rest of the Russianpopulation will learn more about its ideological identity. At the same time, theachievements of the Soviet Union will not be excluded but included in a broader contextrid of orthodox Marxism, materialism and atheism. That is the Eurasian ideology: it mainlyincludes the legacy of orthodoxy of the Byzantine monarchy and Russian nationalism, notto mention the Russian interpretation of Soviet history as briefly expressed in NationalBolshevism.”

To understand Dugin’s reasoning, we need to distinguish between ideological communism andthe geopolitical entity of the USSR. Communism as an ideology is rejected by Dugin as thefailed second political theory. Communism as a system of government was absorbed into abroader Russian culture and worldview. Hence, Stalin is today remembered by many Russians(http://news.yahoo.com/carnegie­stalin­still­admired­ex­soviet­lands­193309610.html) notprimarily as a Communist, but as a strong central ruler in the Russian tradition of autocracy.Similarly, the modern Communist Party of the Russian Federation supports cooperation with theRussian Orthodox Church(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_the_Russian_Federation#Party_program).This is due to the Left­Nationalist faction(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_the_Russian_Federation#Internal_factions)currently controlling the party. The same pattern is reflected in the Donetsk and LuganskPeoples’ Republics attempting to secede from Ukraine. Soviet institutions, nationalist rhetoric,and Orthodox religion are woven together by supporters of Russian rule. For Dugin, this is part

(http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/12/01/whither­leftism/#comment­22024)

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Applied metaphysics

and Orthodox religion are woven together by supporters of Russian rule. For Dugin, this is partof an organic process. Under bolshevism, the Russian people suffered mightily. From Stalin on,they were also a superpower. In the post­Soviet age, the Russian mind must reconcile itself toits own historical experience.

Neoreaction’s similarities with 4PTalso contain its differences:both seek to deconstruct the liberalideological premises laid in theEnlightenment. But Dugin isworking in a society which holdsfundamentally illiberal values,mores, and worldviews.Neoreaction exists in the sanctumof Liberalism, the West itself. If 4PTis a ship to let Russia sail on its ownpath, Neoreaction is a lifeboat witha map and compass that we hope

against hope will get us to shore. Dugin looks at civilizations which must choose whether tofollow the West’s path or not. Neoreaction looks at societies which must choose whether tofollow Civilization’s path or not – and most seem to have chosen the latter. Moreover,Neoreaction stands firmly in a tradition of empirical analysis which Dugin categorizes as partand parcel of the Western “Atlanticist” thinking Russia rejects. The programmer who built anideology in his garage stands in stark contrast to the bearded philosopher holding a rocketlauncher in South Ossetia. As both ideologies accept differences, this isn’t necessarily a point ofconflict. But it’s crucial to understanding the distinctions in methodology.

Both 4PT and Neoreaction are deeply concerned with Civilization. But this may also be the mostfundamental point of distinction between the two schools of thought. For 4PT, the mainemphasis is on the right to difference. Of course, Neoreaction agrees that different peoples andcultures must find their own particular modes of Civilization. But Dugin goes further, almost intorelativism. He proclaims:

“There will be no universal standard, neither in the material nor in the spiritual aspect.Each civilisation will at last receive the right to freely proclaim that which is, according toits wishes, the measure of things. Somewhere that will be man, somewhere religion,somewhere ethics, somewhere materialism.”

This makes the difference clear. Dugin imagines many different civilizations. Civilization issimply a particular people’s mode of being – its culture, self­conception, and so forth. ButNeoreaction goes further. Modes of being have consequences. They can make you master ofthe globe or they can send you to a humiliating historical grave. Beyond the many particularcivilizations, there is a common phenomenon of Civilization proper. Violence and force are itsfoundation, because they are the tools used to create law and order. When people can live inpeace and safety, they have the incentive to have families, invent, and improve themselves.When this is reinforced with responsibility to the common good, people invest in the future. Thestructures may differ, but the effect is the same: society flourishes. But when authority breaksdown, families are abandoned, and the common good forgotten, a society will collapse.Sometimes, enough is protected that it can repair and be reborn. More often, it gets overrun andabsorbed by healthier rivals. While 4PT focuses on the particular, Neoreaction is more willing toaddress those universal truths that all civilizations must contend with. And if it has no quarrelwith Russia taking its own path, it can also see the omens that point to its incredible fragility atthe present time. Any Eurasian future becomes less likely when the future of Russia itself is

uncertain. From demographic collapse to economic woe, no stirring promises of a unitedRussian sphere can mask the problems besetting it. Neoreaction may have some lessons forMr. Dugin yet, Atlanticist or not.

Next week’s article will be a neoreactionary analysis of Russia itself. It will cover geopolitical anddomestic issues, as well as the Russian talent for weaponizing ideology.

Related Posts:1. Russia Is Not Our Saviour (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/03/06/russia­saviour/)2. An Introduction to the European New Right

(http://www.socialmatter.net/2014/12/20/introduction­european­new­right/)3. Different Mentalities (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/03/02/different­mentalities/)4. North Korea is Russia’s Pacific Pivot (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/03/11/north­

korea­russia­east­pacific­pivot/)

Dugin (http://www.socialmatter.net/tag/dugin/) Eurasianism (http://www.socialmatter.net/tag/eurasianism/)

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18 Comments

Dugin (http://www.socialmatter.net/tag/dugin/) Eurasianism (http://www.socialmatter.net/tag/eurasianism/)Fourth Political Theory (http://www.socialmatter.net/tag/fourth­political­theory/) Neoreaction(http://www.socialmatter.net/tag/neoreaction/) russia (http://www.socialmatter.net/tag/russia/)

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Thrasymachus (http://deconstructingleftism.wordpress.com)February 27, 2015 ­ 13:29:00 (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/#comment­11173)

The current Russian regime is what I would call “pseudo­nationalist”, in that it appropriatesnationalist elements where helpful to get the support of the population, as the New Dealregime did, but has other goals. Dugin using the phrase “racism” is pretty silly, like anyone witha couple brain cells can’t see through that one.

The current American regime threw off all pretense of nationalism with the selection of Obama,although it was effectively dead with the arrival of Clinton and Rubin/Citibank.

Reply (/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/?replytocom=11173#respond)

Barely IntrepidFebruary 27, 2015 ­ 14:39:10 (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/#comment­11176)

Dugin represents a powerful opportunity for the growing NXr movement. His politicalphilosophy, as well summerized in this article, complements NXr and even nationalism. It’stempting to criticize or even oppose movements that only partially embrace the tenants of whatwe subscribe. Honestly though, the new right needs allies. We’re fighting a major uphil battleand political clout, even if it’s thousands of miles away, still matters.

The Fourth political theory sets geopolitical foundations on which NXr can grow. That’s fuckingparamount considering the alternatives. What’s more, it posseses an organic foundationalidentity in Orthodox Christianity and thus far, opposes universalist claims. That’s makes it afriend to the growing new right movements in the west, and more importantly, an enemy toliberalism and Islam.

Reply (/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/?replytocom=11176#respond)

Ash MiltonFebruary 27, 2015 ­ 15:28:41 (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/#comment­11178)

Dugin and the 4PT are absolutely not an enemy to Islam. Dugin views Islam as a key allyagainst global liberalism, and as an integral traditional religion of the Eurasian sphere.

I’ll be addressing next week what Russia’s interest in promoting 4PT and similar ideologieswould be.

Reply (/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/?replytocom=11178#respond)

Donovan Greene (http://iamlegionnaire.wordpress.com)February 27, 2015 ­ 17:46:35 (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/#comment­11183)

I think it is quite proper to understand Neoreaction as an outgrowth of Atlanticist though, albeitone that frequently strains against the confines and inveighs against the shibboleths of itsintellectual lineage. It is what it is, like it or not, but the circumstances of its birth dictate that itbe forced to walk down a different path than the Eurasianism of Dugin’s. The two are certainlyfellow travelers with much in common, but I suspect time will show that they do not have thesame destination on common after all.

Reply (/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/?replytocom=11183#respond)

Reed PerryFebruary 27, 2015 ­ 19:45:18 (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/#comment­11187)

I think its important to note that the 4PT and nRx are unfinished ideas. Eurasianism, on theother hand, is specific. I often wonder if “nrx” will no longer exist in a few years, having evolvedinto something stronger and clearer. The 4PT also, does not really exist. Its defined by what itisn’t. When it emerges its unlikely it will be called “the Fourth Political Theory.”

In many ways I consider nRx to be the American Fourth Political Theory, which again, is onlydefined by what it opposes at this point. Regardless of the critical reception it receives inrightist circles, I consider Dugin’s work to be some of the most important new writing inexistence with the strongest summaries of liberal totalitarianism. He (and his cadre) is my maininfluence. I’m also suspicious that Moldbug was a secret Dugin reader. Too much overlap in

Page 6: The Crab and the Bear_ on Alexander Dugin - Social Matter

influence. I’m also suspicious that Moldbug was a secret Dugin reader. Too much overlap intheir arguments to ignore.

Regarding the Muslim thing… Islam is strangely immune to liberalism and that is worthstudying. Many Islamic critiques of liberalism also contain some great points. Although Islam isobviously a degenerate barbarian religion with no place in civilization other than a museum, itis worth studying.

Reply (/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/?replytocom=11187#respond)

Ash MiltonFebruary 28, 2015 ­ 01:10:59 (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/#comment­11199)

NRx as the Anglo­Western fourth political theory is an interesting point. I hadn’t consideredit from that perspective. On a theoretical level, Dugin would probably agree with this notionsince NRx draws from the empirical Western tradition. It’s more appropriate for the Westernmindset. Of course NRx itself is a toolbox like 4PT is. I see that some of our SouthernAmerican friends are going beyond the theory and applying these ideas to their own context– see the #SRx hashtag.

Since I have leanings toward the Traditionalist school myself, I’m “friendlier” toward Islamthan a lot of people in this sphere of things. I more or less view current fundamentalism asthe Islamic equivalent of Protestant literalism and puritanism. There are still traditionalIslamic groups which have kept a lot of the classical heritage they received centuries ago.These are also the primary schools which Dugin engages with and promotes as appropriatefor Eurasia. Daesh and the Wahhabis are doing their level best to eradicate this heritage, allthe way down to historical monuments and books.

That said, the relationship between Islam and the West has to do with a lot more than thereligion proper. Austria’s new law caught my attention as a sensible approach to thesematters.

Reply (/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/?replytocom=11199#respond)

Reed PerryFebruary 28, 2015 ­ 01:50:19 (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/#comment­11200)

NRx is damningly factional. I grossly underestimated this until I contributed here.Considered myself a “traditionalist” as you do, until recently (like last week, haha). I justrealized that I don’t really know what that means anymore, and the variations are sohuge in the definition. There is a very serious identity problem in the Neoreaction and itsreally troubling, – I mean the factionalism. When I first started reading writers (like thosehere on this site) it was exhilarating, I felt like there may be hope. But there is nothingresembling a consensus, which is why debate can become obnoxious. Perhaps itspremature to suggest some kind of formal organization or leadership, but that’s reallywhat Dugin has going for himself.

4PT helps me rationalize the ideological vacuum that exists.

I sympathize with your take on Islam. I’ve even wondered if a caliphate is preferable towhat we have. The three monotheisms, the Abrahamic religions, seem bound for battle­royale. Similar to the quest for the Fourth Theory, I try wishing another religious option

into existence, but this “Gnon” thing doesn’t really do it for me. The church is derelict asfar as I can see.

Reply (/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/?replytocom=11200#respond)

Ash MiltonFebruary 28, 2015 ­ 02:49:41 (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/#comment­11202)

I mean Traditionalist as in the school of Rene Guenon.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditionalist_School

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditionalist_School)

Remember that Gnon is just a placeholder to be used in the context of NRx analysis,and not as a personal or social way of understanding that reality. In real life, this isGod, the gods, Heaven, Nature, etc. I’m not Christian myself, but I see a lot ofpromise in the Orthodox Church’s expansion into the West. The traditionalists in theCatholic Church also have a strong community. Small phyles, but resilient.

Reply (/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/?replytocom=11202#respond)

Reed PerryFebruary 28, 2015 ­ 04:27:09 (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/#comment­11204)

http://imgur.com/4I6NOLq (http://imgur.com/4I6NOLq)

Mark Citadel (http://citadelfoundations.blogspot.com)March 4, 2015 ­ 21:12:44 (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/#comment­11398)

The distinction between Traditionalist and Reactionary is really only one of intent andcontext.

Those living before the dawn of the Kali Yuga, so ‘pre­Enlightenment’ may be

Page 7: The Crab and the Bear_ on Alexander Dugin - Social Matter

Those living before the dawn of the Kali Yuga, so ‘pre­Enlightenment’ may beconsidered Traditionalists, as their Tradition was passive in nature. There was noother competing political ideology. However, those who seek the restoration of theWorld of Tradition in the post­Enlightenment era can be deemed Reactionary, as wedo have political ideologies opposing us and thus are forced intro conflict with them.

A Reactionaries goal is really to become a Traditionalist… to remove all competingideologies to Tradition, the main one now being liberal democracy.

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Orthodox Laissezfairist (http://orthodoxlaissezfairist.blogspot.com/)February 28, 2015 ­ 09:30:28 (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/#comment­11215)

It’s interesting that he considers Communism part of Russian identity, because survivingRussian royalists, the White émigrés, claimed that Communists couldn’t be Russian. It issimilar to how Taiwanese consider themselves to be the true Chinese, and don’t consider thePRC Chinks Chinese at all. Dump Alexander Dugin; if you want real Russian Conservatismread Ivan Ilyin.

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Mark Citadel (http://citadelfoundations.blogspot.com)March 4, 2015 ­ 21:21:52 (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/#comment­11399)

One thing to bear in mind when discussing Dugin, who definitely falls under the larger umbrellaof Reaction (though as a rather bizarre and specifically Russian brand) is that as well as beingan intellectual, he is involved in actual policy and this has a MASSIVE impact on what he saysand how he behaves as compared to your typical Reactosphere blogger. When Dugin sayssomething that seems to be hypocritical, or in contention with something he has written, he isoften doing so for political expediency. Thus, the Russian regime will call the Ukrainiangovernment ‘far right fascists’ when the Kremlin is actively involved in aiding groups that fit thatdescription far better around Europe. Dugin knows the game, and he plays it. More power tohim. That’s how you win. You can think about fair play after the enemy is destroyed.

I do often think his influence is overstated. His star has faded within the Kremlin in recentyears. I don’t even think he holds his University professorship anymore after being dismissed.He does still have the ear of a key lawmaker though.

Dugin’s concept of Eurasianism is a little too supernational to be pulled off in my opinion, buthe has the right idea. What’s more, he’s Orthodox, so he and I have a common bond so tospeak.

Russia is not the ‘great white hope’… yet. There is a lot that needs to happen before that canbe said, but it is a country whose political elite and surprisingly popular opinion are on apositive trajectory, and trajectories make all the difference in the world. Promotion ofReactionary ideals in the Slavic world is the most promising prospect if we want a tangiblebase of operation and support, perhaps in the future even funding will stem from Russia forsubversive Reactionary projects in the west and elsewhere.

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Akira (https://4threvolutionarywar.wordpress.com/)March 5, 2015 ­ 22:42:40 (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/#comment­11439)

There are very real conflicts between 4PT and NRx. Whatever alliance may be possible, wehave very serious differences that are not negotiable. My point here is not to argue them butrather to make them clear:

1­The total and intransigent opposition to racism is fundamental to 4PT. We recognize thewhite liberal racism of the west as the source of all the worst aspects of modernity. We are onthe side of its victims. All races are welcomed into our ranks.

(Everyone who thinks Dugin is a racist white nationalist is a damned illiterate.)

2­4PT is pro­Jewish and pro­Islamic. We oppose racist Zionism and the Wahabistabomination, but not Judaism or Islam. We have supporters in both Tel Aviv and Teheran.Some of the founders and most important cadre of the Eurasianist movement are Rabbis andMuftis. All other religions are equally welcomed.

3­4PT recognizes race as a social construction. We are heavily influenced by the structuraland cultural anthropology of the new left as well as the sociological analysis of Marxism.

4­4PT recognizes modern nationalism as a social construction. We prefer a healthytraditionalism built around the sacred and the ethnos to the diseased modernist conception ofthe nation.

5­4PT regards the market based society as a complete abomination. We are even more anti­capitalist than Marxists and even more anti­globalist than Anarchists. We also reject socialismand every other ideology that orders society around economics as such.

Page 8: The Crab and the Bear_ on Alexander Dugin - Social Matter

6­4PT is inspired by the madmen and heretics of both the right and the left. We mix Evola,Nietzsche, Heidegger, Junger, and Schmitt, with Debord, Gramsci, Foucault, Baudrillard,Deleuze, Derrida, and Sorel (just to begin with). When Dugin talks of a sacred front beyondright and left *he actually means it*. This is not Troy Southgate bullshit. We have a Communistinternational and a Makhnovist brigade of Ukrainian Anarchists fighting next to our gloriousEurasianist cadre to liberate Ukraine from the nazi­neoliberal Junta.

7­4PT is a revolutionary theory for a revolutionary movement. Eurasianism is the revolutionarymovement. The global revolutionary alliance is the coalition of this movement. Therevolutionary conflict is a global geopolitical war between the American neoliberal empire andthe rest of the world. (That means you, American.) We are on the side of everyone else.

8­4PT is hostile to the entire civilization of western liberalism, not merely its worst aspects ornastiest parts. We believe your civilization is imploding and we have always intended to help italong. Now that your deranged elites are making war with Russia, the gloves are really goingto come off. (You are going to pay for Victoria Nuland and her cookies.)

9­Push has come to shove with the fascist and racist factions of the European new right inUkraine. The era of fellow traveling with them is over. We will never forget the hideous crimescarried out by these degenerate traitors, or that they so cravenly allied themselves with a USstate department coup intended to feed the people of Ukraine to the vultures of neoliberalism.Neo­nazis have always been illiterate snitches, and now they have shown their true colors asallies of Barack Obama and liberalism.

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Hadley BennettMarch 5, 2015 ­ 22:54:37 (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/#comment­11441)

Question: Are you ethnically Russian, based in Russia, or both?

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Ash MiltonMarch 6, 2015 ­ 02:33:30 (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/#comment­11446)

I’m rather interested in seeing how you plan on keeping the nationalists and communistsfrom turning their arms on each other the moment there’s a lull in the great crusade againstthe West. The enemy of your enemy is not your philosophical brother in arms, and Lenin’senemies learned that very quickly.

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Mark Citadel (http://citadelfoundations.blogspot.com)March 6, 2015 ­ 22:39:43 (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/#comment­11482)

I do not think such differences are irreconcilable. You desire the downfall of the currentworld order as much as we do. Insomuch as such a post­Atlanticist world will have vasttracts of land that require states and societies, this is where the Reactionary would seek tolay down roots. No Reactionary wishes any war with another society of Traditionalcharacter, such as the one that you describe to be built in Russia. Our enemies are thesame. Our goals, while perhaps ideologically nonidentical and geographically disparate,may serve each others’ purposes.

Any harm you can cause the political order of the West is much obliged on our part, and wecertainly have no love for the Ukrainian power grab by NATO. I think most Reactionarieswould say, full steam ahead to Kiev if you wish.

I will however critique 4PT as veering dangerously close to the very mistakes made byMussolini’s Fascists, that is submerging oneself in an anti­Modernist, Reactionary mindset,but rather than going all the way in, creating a kind of makeshift ideology picking out the bitsyou like from the World of Tradition. If the Vedic Tradition proves correct, the Golden Agewill not be some half­pure, Frankenstein’s monster of past ideals, but in fact the full rebirthof our ancestors’ ordered world. Some of the in­depth constructive criticisms leveled at 4PTby Neoreaction are valid and Dugin would do well to study them.

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GCMMarch 16, 2015 ­ 23:02:52 (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/#comment­11800)

According to Dugin, the whole Internet should be banned, “I think that Internet as such, as aphenomenon is worth prohibiting because it gives nobody anything good.

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Ted Colt (http://tteclod.wordpress.com/)July 14, 2015 ­ 12:04:38 (http://www.socialmatter.net/2015/02/27/crab­bear­dugin/#comment­15618)

An authoritarian can be identified by advocating for limits upon what can be published.

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Page 9: The Crab and the Bear_ on Alexander Dugin - Social Matter

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