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Oswald Spengler was one of the most important thinkers of the Weimar Republic. In Oswald Spengler and the Politics of Decline, Ben Lewis completely transforms our understanding of Spengler by showing how well-connected this philosopher was and how, at every stage of his career, he attempted to intervene politically in the very real-life events unfolding around him. The volume explains Spengler's politics as the outcome of a dynamic interplay between his meta-historical considerations on world history on the one hand, and the practical demands and considerations of Realpolitik on the other hand.
About the author
Ben Lewis is a Leverhulme Early Career Researcher at the University of Leeds. He has taught German language, politics and history at King’s College London and the University of Sheffield. In total, he has edited and translated four volumes of texts by European socialist thinkers: Karl Kautsky on Democracy and Republicanism (2019); Clara Zetkin: Letters and Writings (2015; with Mike Jones) Karl Kautsky on Colonialism (2013; with Mike Macnair); and Zinoviev and Martov: Head to Head in Halle (2011; with Lars T. Lih).
He has delivered papers at multiple international academic conferences (including Chicago, London and Paris)
Summary
Oswald Spengler and the Politics of Decline explains the outcome of Spengler’s meta-historical considerations on world history and the practical demands of Realpolitik. This volume takes a novel approach to one of the most important thinkers of the Weimar Republic and his contributions to the complex discourse of German national renewal.
