America After the End of History: Hegel & Nietzsche’s Philosophies of Liberal Decay in the Trump Era
Lannigan, Mark M.
2023
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This thesis lays out an interpretation of Hegel and Nietzsche’s philosophies of liberal decay and illuminates their relevance to American decay in the Trump era. Beginning with the theoreticians who best diagnose the 21st century American crisis, I elucidate arguments made by Hegel regarding liberalism’s radicalization of the particular will and those made by Nietzsche regarding the liberal will ... read moreto truth and universality to build out their complete theories of decay, encompassing liberal decay’s origin, form, end, and value. I then move to lay out an understanding of how contemporary American decay emerges: politicized, through complete theories of decay on the Left and the Right, and through real, material decay in the American political sphere. In this project, I undertake the task of synthesizing core arguments about liberal decay on the American Left and the American Right and analyze how the arguments of Hegel and Nietzsche resonate. The liberal decay arguments of Hegel and Nietzsche being elucidated and their relevance in American political arguments made clear, I finally end by illuminating aspects of their arguments which do not find a politicized home in the Trump era but which may prove useful to those looking to address material American decay. I find that Hegel and Nietzsche’s convergences on the issues of misunderstood freedom, the undesirability of political standstill, and the positive value of decay when embraced are particularly relevant in this evaluation.
Thesis (B.S.)--Tufts University, 2023.
Submitted to the Dept. of Political Science.read less - ID:
- t722hq958
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