I am an empiricist. Evidence matters. If you want to say something like “bad things always happen if you try to centrally plan an economy,” the fall of the Soviet Union and Cold War China were great pieces of evidence. North Korea’s current stagnation, next to the booming vitality of the South, is yet more evidence.

When Julius Evola claims that

“[formatting error] my perspective there is no arbitrariness, subjectivity, or fantasy, just like there is no objectivity and scientific causality the way modern men understand them. All these notions are unreal; all these notions are outside Tradition.”

and

“The truths that may reveal the world of Tradition are not those that can be "learned” or “discussed;” either they are or they are not.“

I get the feeling that I’m not about to see a lot of actual evidence that Evola’s system provides a more stable and livable world for people who aren’t transcendentalist philosopher-kings.

These arguments, to me, signal "reality is what I say it is, not what you think or see.” I’m all for people trying to “transcend reality” and all, but it seems like an occupation better left to sages on mountaintops rather than kings.

If a king wants to prioritize “transcending reality,” the French have a wonderful device to help with that, I hear:

“Execution of Louis XVI” by Graveur; Isidore-Stanislas Helman (1743-1806?). Graveur (eau-forte); Antoine-Jean Duclos (1742-1795). Illustrateur; Charles Monnet (1732-180.?). - Bibliothèque nationale de France. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Sorry for the snark, but this light of Tradition is reading more like a cult founder’s manifesto than a serious document of political theory. Ignoring evidence and popular opinion is a piss-poor way to run a state, unless you like bloody revolutions.

I’m going to take a few days off of this to clear my head because this is one of the most frustrating intellectual experiences of my life. Will return in a few days.