This article was downloaded by: [McMaster University]

On: 22 December 2014, At: 22:53

Publisher: Routledge
Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered
office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Modern Italy
Publication details, including instructions for authors and
subscription information:
http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/cmit20

Social and Political Thought of Julius

Evola
a
Federica Colleoni
a
University of South Florida, Tampa
Published online: 21 Feb 2014.

Click for updates

To cite this article: Federica Colleoni (2014) Social and Political Thought of Julius Evola, Modern
Italy, 19:1, 95-96, DOI: 10.1080/13532944.2013.871425

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13532944.2013.871425

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the
“Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis,
our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to
the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions
and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors,
and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content
should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources
of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims,
proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever
or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or
arising out of the use of the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any
substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,
systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms &
 Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-
and-conditions
Downloaded by [McMaster University] at 22:53 22 December 2014
 Modern Italy 95

Social and Political Thought of Julius Evola, by Paul Furlong, Abingdon and New York,
Routledge, 2013, x þ 176 pp., £24.95 (paperback), ISBN 978-0-415-83127-7

Furlong’s work fills a lacuna in the study of extremist thought and in so doing confirms the
importance of Routledge’s series dedicated to ‘Research in extremism and democracy’, of which
this is the thirteenth volume. The Italian philosopher Julius Evola (1898 –1974), theorist of
traditionalism, anti-modernism and spontaneism (apolitia) and author of works such as Rivolta
contro il mondo moderno (1934), Gli uomini e le rovine (1953), Cavalcare la tigre (1961), and
the intellectual autobiography Il cammino del cinabro (1963), exerted an important influence on
extreme right-wing thought, both in Italy and across Europe. The book examines his thought
within an intellectual, political and biographical context in a way that is astute, precise and
engaging. It shows Evola’s connections with figures such as Sibilla Aleramo, René Guénon,
Arturo Reghini, Giuseppe Bottai, and Giovanni Gentile, as well as with Fascism, National
Downloaded by [McMaster University] at 22:53 22 December 2014

Socialism, the Catholic Church, the new Italian right, and the European right – links that are
complex and often controversial.
The book consists of eight chapters, including the introduction and conclusion. In the
introduction, Furlong gives an excellent portrayal of this problematic writer, starting from the
early days when Evola embraced the study of European thought and religious doctrines. At the
root of his thought was an interest in Gnosticism, European idealism and Buddhist practices, as
well as the belief in a transcendent a priori reality, which only a specific elite group of men could
access and perceive. European nihilistic thought, esotericism and ‘cultured magic’ (attributable
to Reghini) were also among Evola’s interests, which finally led to him meeting Guénon, a
scholar convinced of the potential rebirth of Western spirituality through Masonic ritualism – an
idea that Evola appeared sceptical of. With Imperalismo pagano (1928), Evola insisted on the
importance of Roman values to Fascism and he attacked Christianity and the Catholic Church,
prefiguring the concept of ‘traditional state’ that he was to develop in his future writings. Furlong
clearly identifies key biographical and cultural references at every point of Evola’s intellectual
trajectory. The concepts of transcendence and of the ‘absolute individual’ are the cornerstones of
Evola’s ideas of ‘detachment’ and ‘perennialism’ (which goes beyond and transcends the mere
‘traditionalism’ of a distinct community), and ‘wisdom’ (the process of initiation, or gnosis).
In Chapter two, Furlong examines the ideas expressed in Saggi sull’idealismo magico
(1925), the relationship between Evola and European and Italian idealism, the harsh criticism of
Croce and Gentile, and Evola’s concepts of ‘Io’, the ‘individual’, and ‘magical idealism’, the
latter capable of promoting contact with the ‘Spirit’ (later identified by Evola with ‘tradition’).
Chapter three explores the meaning and significance of ‘tradition’ in Evola’s political
thought, particularly in his 1934 work, Rivolta contro il mondo moderno. Here, Furlong focuses
on ‘how Evola downplays the racist and anti-Semitic elements that dominated much of his
writing in the 1930s and replaces them with a more positive view of the role of European ideals
in world history’ (p. 38), and examines the differences between Evola and Guénon.
In Chapter four, Furlong explains how, in Gli uomini e le rovine (1953), Evola theorised a
traditionalist state, proposing a political doctrine for the forces of counter-revolution that was
capable of opposing ideologies stemming from the French Revolution (such as liberalism) but
without giving detailed guidance on how to achieve this. The fundamental principle of this state
was neither legal nor constitutional but spiritual, transcendent, and linked to a higher order that
was once conceived as sacred (in these ideas Evola was influenced by Mircea Eliade, Rudolf
Otto and Joseph de Maistre). The term ‘L’Ordine’ also indicated a concept of male social class,
based on theories of myth and symbolism. In this chapter, Furlong masterfully exposes
 96 Book Reviews

important and complex themes of Evola’s thought to do with the law, dignity, freedom, power,
and bourgeois society.
Chapter five examines Evola’s concept of the nation-state and nationalism (initially
understood by Evola as a negative force, but later as a ‘prelude to the rebirth’ of tradition), his
critique of Fascism and the ideas of empire and imperialism (theorised alongside the concepts of
‘knowledge’ and ‘action’), and his criticism of Europe and of the two contemporary empires –
the American and the Soviet.
Chapter six highlights the development of Evola’s ideas in the postwar period, especially in
Cavalcare la tigre, in which he advises authoritarian elites to assert traditional values before the
current era runs its ruinous course, thus adopting the approach of ‘apolitia’, or ‘detachment’.
Furlong shows how this concept has been interpreted by members of the Italian far right (e.g.
Rauti, Freda and Almirante) and pays close attention to the interpretation of the French ‘New
Right’ philosopher Alain De Benoist. The chapter concludes with an examination of the Evolian
Downloaded by [McMaster University] at 22:53 22 December 2014

concept of ‘differentiated’ man.

Chapter seven deals with Evola’s ideas on race, sexuality and gender, and clarifies how the
racist current within Evola’s thought was more spiritual than biological in conception, in
contrast to Nazi anti-Semitism.
In his conclusion, Furlong identifies the similarities and differences between Evola and other
modern intellectuals (including Gramsci), emphasising the importance in today’s world of
giving careful consideration to right-wing intellectual thought. The accompanying bibliography
is detailed, up to date and extremely useful for the specialist reader, although anyone interested
in Italian culture and literature in general will find this volume helpful.
Furlong’s work is intelligent, well documented and nearly always fluent, and combines
Italian history and philosophy in a way that is at once innovative and well balanced.

Federica Colleoni
University of South Florida, Tampa
fcolleoni@usf.edu
q 2014, Federica Colleoni
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13532944.2013.871425

The Holocaust in Italian Culture, 1944 – 2010, by Robert S.C. Gordon, Stanford, Stanford
University Press, 2012, 296 pp., £21.50 (paperback), ISBN 978-0-8047-6346-2

During our summer holiday in Italy I dragged my family to the Villa Torlonia in Rome to see
where Mussolini lived with his family while he was the Duce and the new Museo della Shoah,
chronicling and commemorating the persecution of the Jews in Italy under Fascism. As we
trudged along the Via Nomentana under a blazing sun I tried to sustain their morale by
explaining that they were about to see a site of dramatic importance in Italy’s recent history and
also witness something that signified a portentous development in the country’s present-day
sensibility. My information about the latter came from a fine article on the plans for a Holocaust
memorial in Rome written by Robert Gordon in the Jewish Quarterly and the book under review.
When we finally turned into the grounds of the Musei di Villa Torlonia, I was somewhat
perturbed to see no sign of building or any signage indicating an incipient Holocaust museum.
However, Gordon had warned that as of late 2012 construction had still not commenced so this