Imperium: The Philosophy of History and Politics

Rationalism according to Yockey is an abstraction, nonfactual to the 20th century, because it does not denotes to the world of the action, which is primal in the 20th century's age of absolute politics, but to the world of thought. Even though rationalism tried to eliminate religion, It turned into a new religion itself, since man has natural necessity of religion. Rationalism worships reason, thus everything which can not be explained by it was proclaimed not to be real. Thus rationalism denies the existence of culture-soul. It uses non-organic method to explain development of culture and fails because of it, since it does acknowledges destiny, which is essential for every living organism. Yockey rejects rationalism, and thinks that there is no point of criticizing it because it is a religion and the age of rationalism according to Yockey is product of spirit of the particular life-phase of culture-organism. Thus the rise of rationalism in 19th was an organic necessity, but with approachment of 20th century, rationalism should be swept away by the resurgence of authority, state and religion.

Along with rationalism, Yockey rejects materialism, which also denies culture-soul since it does not recognizes anything beyond material world. Materialism gave rise to the money-thinking, which dominated the West since 19th century. With the resurgence of authority, materialism should also give way to the spirit of the new age, late civilization.

Yockey views Marxism as an extension of rationalist and materialist thought. Developed by the Jewish philosopher Karl Marx, it contains strong anti-Western strain. Marx could not fully comprehend Hegel's dialectic method, since he was part of different culture and misapplied it. Marxism was an expression of dominance of economics, accompanying the age of rationalism and materialism. It tries to explain everything through economics, rendering every aspect of societal existence - politics, war, law, culture, philosophy and etc. - as a mere reflection of economy. Nevertheless, Yockey sees strong will to power in Marxist theory, since it declares the establishment of communism to be inevitable. According to Yockey, in the age of crisis, where criticism leads to denial of culture, Marxism was an attempt to deny the culture-man, his soul, animalize him through economics.

Yockey views Freudianism as another tendency of the age of rationalism and materialism. It reduces man to sexual impulses. Thus, it was another attempt to deny culture-man, to animalize him by sexualizing him. Although, in one aspect Freudianism reflects the mark of the spirit of the new age - its emphasize on irrational.

Yockey rejects Darwinism as another tendency of 19th century materialism and rationalism. This was an attempt of denying culture-man through animalizing him by the means of biology. Yockey criticizes the notion of struggle for existence, according to him such struggle does not exist in nature because resources are abundant. On the other hand, there is struggle for power, since ultimate purpose of every conflict is to increase power. He rejects the theory of evolution, claiming it is not supported by palaeontological findings, asserting that they only disclose stable specie forms. Yockey describes Darwinism as merely "projection of capitalistic mind". He also claims that Darwinism is tautological. Although he accepts mutation theory as legitimate explanation of how species appear, although he rejects that it is triggered by external environment, "mechanical-utility causes". Yockey claims that this process is determined by inner, spiritual necessity of organism, it is "actualizing of that which is already possible", not just "an accident, a playground for external causes". Matter is only actualization of spiritual.

Yockey rejects democracy as a failed form of government. Although democracy does not rejects authority like Anarchism does, it seeks to expand its power base to the whole population instead of selected minority. Thus democracy embarked upon campaign against aristocracy and absolute monarchy. Although democrats rejected nobility, they did not want to abolish it entirely, but rather thought to turn whole population into nobility. Thus democracy forced every member of society to participate in the rule of government, even if they did not have an independent opinion, democracy forced opinion onto them. This marked transition of political power from military and religious sphere to the social sphere. Yockey claims that even though Napoleon, one of the greatest democratic leader, launched democratization, he ended up with his marshals as noblement. This showed contradictory nature of democracy, and here marked its weakness. In the age of economics, the Finance used democracy to mobilize its enormous potential, will to power, to overthrow monarchy, but eventually the Finance "bought" democracy itself. He emphasized that to run a campaign for office one needs media and press to form public opinion in his favor, his other activities also require huge money resources. Thus party politicians became dependent on the Finance, and now the West is ruled by plutocracy, even though they retained the name "democracy" for the optics. Yockey believes that this was destiny of democracy, and its appearance in the age of economics signifies that its life-mission was to ensure dominance of economic sphere. Although 20th century spirit of resurgence of authority will reject what he calls "democracy-liberalism complex" as a whole and usher the West into Imperium with state-form based on authority, power, honor and spirit of the age.

Yockey sees political nationalism as a force of Civilization crisis which fractures culture. Yockey believes that every nation is a expression of certain aspect of culture-soul, and it rises to dominance in certain life-phase of culture, where it is backed by spirit of the age which it represents, while every other nation within organism of culture tries to emulate it. As an example Spain dominated during the early colonialism, since it was carrier of the idea of papacy and empire. In 19th century dominant power in England, which is expression of economical thinking and materialism, thus its rise with the age of economics, materialism and rationalism was an organic necessity. Since every age has its own nation-form, in the 19th century nation was equated with language and territory, when in the past it was equated with loyalty to dynasty. This cased major wars across the continent. Yockey thinks that political nationalism fractured Europe, since it was misdirecting its spiritual energy to inner power struggle. The ruling class in the beginning of 19th century thought of nationalism as force bringing chaos, so they colluded across the Europe to stop its rise, but their plans were unsuccessful because it contradicted organic necessity of culture. The age of nationalism was so powerful that it even made many people think that nations create their own culture, not culture creates nations, however it did not last long, since soon it was replaced by class war. During this nationalism was transformed into creative force by Bismarck. Yockey believes that what he calls petty-statism should be abandoned in the stage of late civilization. Not only the upcoming age and destiny of Western culture demands the mobilization of its forces into Imperium, but also since in aftermath of World War II extra-European forces, USSR and USA occupied Europe, it can effectively resist them only in form of single political entity. However, specific characteristics of every nation will be retained in this union. Yockey emphasizes that nationalists in European countries already were acknowledging interests of Europe as a whole while opposing the World War 2 and advocating union. Yockey asserts that the history has been developing according to triadic law of Hegel and Fichte: thesis was Papacy, antithesis was political nationalism of 19th century, while the 20th century's spirit fuses these Ideas into synthesis - powerful Western Imperium, which retains nations, as positive creations of previous ages, but directs their whole willpower to actualization of the Culture-Idea of the West. Yockey states that culture can satisfy itself inwardly, but in order for its idea to actualize in the world of facts, in the age of Absolute Politics, where politics reclaim their central meaning and culture becomes main motive behind wars, It must fight against the extra-European forces occupying it, after expelling them it should build the biggest empire ever seen to "bring banner of Western civilization" at every corner of the world.

Yockey rejected 19th century's scientific racialism, which he termed as "racial snobbery" and considered to be another aspect of the Age of Materialism. His particular disagreement with National Socialism was based on this topic. He considered National Socialism in Germany to be "misalliance of the Past and Present", of the 19th century racialist thought and 20th century resurgence of authority. He rejected the concept of biological purity of race and the eugenics, as well as understanding understanding of history in terms of race and placing race in center of the world-outlook. His main concern with the 19th century racialism was its materialism and static taxonomy. Yockey developed his own concept of race, which he divided in objective and subjective parts. Objective meaning of race encompasses skull and body shape which he believed was determined by macrocosmic rhythms and was tied to land, asserting that it signified unity and totality of living organisms on particular land (he thought that these characteristic was shared by white as well as black Americans and animals on North American continent), stock and heredity determining other features like skin color, and also race's will to power and it being part of culture's destiny. Yockey emphasized this last part, ultimately concluding that the high culture defines race, not opposite. Races are the raw material for cultural expression, differing in their degree of will to power. The will power of the race is not static, it is strong if race is in the service of fulfillment of culture's destiny in spirit of particular Age. For example England during the age of rationalism was in the service of culture's destiny since it was carrying the National Idea which was dominating the spirit of that age, so the forces of that epoch were backing the English race increasing its willpower and enabling it to conquer vast territories making it the biggest empire in history. Yockey said that spiritual superiority also aided France to wage successful revolutionary wars and embark upon campaign which conquered almost whole Europe under Napoleon, only to be stopped by Russia due to its material superiority which outnumbered spiritual superiority. Thus will to power is an instinct for power, however it can be increased by spiritual energy guiding the race serving the purpose of culture's destiny. Yockey believed that Russia's will to power is particularly strong in this age after World War 2, since it emerged as victorious power and had same Northern stock as Westerners, although Yockey views Russia as barbarian and primitive culture which is not part of the Western organism and thus of white Western race. Under the subjective meaning of race Yockey means inner feeling of belonging to the cause of culture. Under this aspect he differentiates between the "man of race", which have honor and dignity, and "man without race" who are degenerate and decadent. He posted that men of race exist in every culture. Since culture determines race and for its necessity it widens the scope of race, its material for fulfillment of destiny, Yockey believed that men of race across the world willing to fight for the Western cause should be accepted instead in the society irrespective of the objective criteria. He thus supports assimilation, unless its total, encompassing every aspect of person's identity, however, he discusses example of African Americans as a possible exception, because they were not being able to assimilate, possibly for very vast physical differences, also it is maybe because of primitive culture of African Americans which positions them against high culture of the West. He also argues that Jews tried to assimilate in the Western culture when it became accessible to them in 18th century due to rise of materialism and rationalism, when the Jew was revered by the Westerners as an role-model for civilized man, however Jews were not able to assimilate because previous organic antisemitism of the West cause by the friction of cultures defined the cultural mission of the Jewish Nation-Race-Religion-Church as destruction of the West, thus the development of the West towards its fulfilment made Jews more united in opposition to it, thus Jews, being accepted in the Western society, assumed the position of parasitic culture distorters. However, anticipating the future fulfillment of Western culture in a powerful Eurasian imperium, Yockey expected to see the emergence of a robust, white Western race, which would crash the culture distorters.

In his criticism of Marxism, Yockey claims that both capitalism and socialism are not economic system, and seeing them in purely materialistic nature is the result of the spirit of the 19th century. On the other hand, they are "socio-ethical principles", expressions of the culture-soul. Capitalism saw its golden age in the 19th century, representing individualism and hedonism. However, Yockey also claims that Marxian vision of socialism is the another side of the coin of capitalism, since it made an appeal to the capitalistic instincts of the lower classes. It sought to engage in class warfare and taking away their wealth, placing above economic self-interest of the lower classes, just like capitalism placed self-interest of the upper classes on the higher plane. True socialism, which is ethical socialism, on the other hand rejects the old notion of struggle of "man against man, group against group, class against class, everyone against the State". It sees organisms as a unity and precludes any struggle between component parts of it. Capitalism and Marxism both belong to the spirit of the 19th century, while ethical socialism is form of an age of authority and political imperialism.

Yockey, claiming that the Western culture is ushering into the age of absolute politics, where the main scene where the History is unfolding is the world of facts and action, while the culture becomes the main reason of wars, sees the concentration camps as technique of political suppression of opponents which represents the spirit of the new age. Since in the age of materialism and rationalism, the age of cant everything is masked and hidden, political conflicts are conducting through moralizing them, and making true intentions hidden, in the age of resurgent authority everything is evident, so political terror is conducted openly by the parties of conflict. However, he rejects that Jews were gassed in National Socialist Germany in concentration camps, claiming that it was another attempt of Jewish forces of making National Socialist look evil, thus it was moral propaganda. He claims that the gas chambers were faked to discredit the Germany.

Yockey considers Russia to be primitive and barbarian culture, which is not part of the Western organism. Moreover, since the rise of high culture positions primitive cultures against it, Russia, being neighboring territory of the West, defined itself through denying the Western culture. Its attitude towards the West is illustrated in the phrase - Rotten West. However, due to influence of the Varangians, who invaded Russia from Scandinavia, its elite like Romanov dynasty was pro-Western. However, they were hated by the primitive masses, the men of instincts, who remained anti-Western and thought the destruction of the West. Spiritual center of the gravity of "True Russia" is in instinct. It was defined by the idea of Third Rome, as a mystical successor of the Byzantine empire. The upper stratum can never accomplish the idea when masses are completely devoid of it, thus Romanovs never succeeded in westernizing Russia except in appearance. When the Western nations called on Russia against Napoleon, they saw it as a Western nation, as it was maintaining Western look under Romanovs, thus it was Western in appearance and Russian troops who occupied Paris were acting like Westerners. Even during the First World War England allied with Russia, however, after dethroning Romanovs and rise of Bolsheviks the nations of Westerner culture were united against Russia even though they were in war against each other because they now finally saw Russia as an alien because it dropped its Western look, and thus as a threat. Yockey asserts that primitive mass always opposed Romanovs, because their pro-Westernism was destructive to the primitive Russian soul. The overthrow of Romanovs was supported by masses. The attempts of it existed in previous centuries as well, as shown by the insurrection of the Streltse against Peter the Great, and of Pugachev's insurrection during Catherine the Great's reign. Yockey views Bolshevik Revolution as a revolt of anti-Western primitive mass headed by culture parasite - the Jew. Jews in the Russia were cultural aliens, thus organic conflict arose between Jews and Russians, resulting in pogroms. The Tsarist regime persecuted the Jews, and marked out a Pale of Settlement in which permanent residency by Jews was allowed and beyond which Jewish residency, permanent or temporary, was mostly forbidden. Jews headed the Bolshevik Revolution, driven by hatred toward Romanovs, capturing and shooting them after revolution, drawing Cabalistic sign above their bodies. They were supported by the primitive masses, but the "True Russia" did not succeed, since it sought to destroy everything Western, while Bolsheviks conducted industrialization, and generally had "fetish" of Western technology. Thus there was contradiction between primitive Russian and Jewish soul governing it, the fact which Yockey thought should have been exploited by the West since the possibility existed of the new upper stratum ending like Romanovs. Yockey thought that Russia could not be assimilated in the Western culture because it was outside the land of Western organism. He believed that Russia would have been the enemy of the West as long as it existed as a political unit, nevertheless his analysis of Russia was somehow more favorable than that of America for the purposes of the Cold War. Both were ruled by culture distorters, however they were positioned against each other by the power struggle as two dominant forces after World War 2. Russia was located in the northeastern hemisphere, where the power was concentrated, thus America would have to pay more costs in the war. America was using "financial diplomacy" in its half of Europe, thus buying loyalty from puppet states. This method of conducting foreign affairs was representing the spirit of 19th century, the age of cant. It was disadvantageous since the enemy could have easily bought its puppets by paying higher price. On the other hands, Russia received loyalty through political terror, which is more open way of subjugation, thus Russia was more true to the spirit of the 20th century, the age of absolute politics. This method could also more easily awaken Europeans against the enemy. Yockey thought that both USSR and USA were destructive to Europe, both could harm it materially, both were ruled the Jew, the culture distorter, however, in the age of absolute politics, the Western will to power was superior to Russian will to power, while the USA was spiritual colony of Europe and its will to power harnessed by the Jews and directed against Europe was more destructive. Thus Yockey believed that Russia could harm Europe only materially, while USA both materially and spiritually, so his conclusion was more or less more favorable of USSR over USA.