The Recurrence of the End Times: Voegelin, Hegel, and the Stop-History Movements

The Recurrence of the End Times: Voegelin, Hegel, and the Stop-History Movements explores the relationship between modern political ideologies and the secular eschatological hopes and dreams of a post-Christian society, focusing on the thought of Eric Voegelin. It argues that the idea of history as a teleological path has vast and perverse implications for American foreign and domestic policy.

Format: Hardback
Length: 202 pages
Publication date: 15 March 2022
Publisher: Lexington Books

The Recurrence of the End Times: Voegelin, Hegel, and the Stop-History Movements delves into the profound interplay between contemporary political ideologies and the secular eschatological aspirations of a post-Christian society. Primarily centered around the ideas of 20th-century German émigré political scientist Eric Voegelin, the book posits that our comprehension of the globalized world in which we reside demands an understanding of the enduring impact of the diverse End of History speculators, particularly G.W.F. Hegel, Alexandre Kojève, and Francis Fukuyama. Employing a Voegelinian lens, the author dissects the relationship between these three thinkers, while also asserting that while Voegelin may have misconstrued Hegel, his critiques of the Hegelian approach to history provide valuable insights into the contemporary world. This compelling argument establishes that the notion of history as a teleological trajectory, progressing toward some predefined goal—whether perfect harmony between nations, a technocratic utopia, a return to some romanticized idyllic "state of nature," or what Kojève and Fukuyama referred to as the "universal and homogenous State"—holds profound and perverse implications for the trajectory of American foreign and domestic policy.

The Recurrence of the End Times: Voegelin, Hegel, and the Stop-History Movements explores the deep connection between modern political ideologies and the secular eschatological hopes and dreams of a post-Christian society. Focusing primarily upon the thought of 20th century German émigré political scientist Eric Voegelin, the book argues that we cannot understand the globalized world in which we live unless we appreciate the lasting influence of the various End of History speculators—specifically, G.W.F Hegel, Alexandre Kojève, and Francis Fukuyama. Through a Voegelinian lens, he dissects the relationship between these three thinkers, also claiming that while Voegelin may have misunderstood Hegel, his critiques of the Hegelian approach to history offer fresh and important perspectives on the contemporary world. This makes a forceful argument that the idea of history as a teleological path, leading toward some goal—whether perfect harmony between nations, a technocratic utopia, a return to some romanticized idyllic “state of nature,” or what Kojève and Fukuyama called the “universal and homogenous State”—has vast, and perverse, implications for the trajectory of American foreign and domestic policy.

Weight: 485g
Dimension: 227 x 161 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781793651341