SAJ pal and contributor Gary Lachman has posted an article over at <a href="http://www.realitysandwich.com/an_american_fascism" target="_blank">Reality Sandwich</a> as a prelude to his forthcoming book <em>Politics and the Occult: The Left, the Right, and the Radically Unseen. </em>

<em></em>Writes Gary:

<em>"contrary to popular belief, occult politics does not always mean far-right or fascist politics, and I devote some time to dispelling the myths surrounding the "occult roots" of National Socialism. I argue that there has been a "progressive," enlightened occult politics too, perhaps most clearly seen in Annie Besant's key role in Indian independence, but also in the efforts of figures like Rudolf Steiner to introduce a more spiritually oriented current into early 20th century European politics.</em>

<em>Nevertheless, following WWI, occult politics takes a decidedly right turn, with important figures like du Lubicz and Evola espousing an outright fascist sensibility, and Guenon and Eliade joining in. Modernity itself becomes the central issue, and in this, far-right occultists, and far-left neo-Marxists become comrades in arms, both deriding the irredeemable wasteland of the modern world. This theme, of the retreat from modernity, seems to me a central challenge of our time."</em>

As always with <em>Reality Sandwich</em>, the discussion in the comments section following Gary's piece is very lively, this time with to-and-fro between Gary and Daniel Pinchbeck about the meaning and interpretation of the date 2012, so make sure you scroll down.

Read <a href="http://www.realitysandwich.com/an_american_fascism" target="_blank">An American Fascism</a>