''The Fourth Political Theory'' (russian: Четвертая политическая теория, ) is a book by the Russian
philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
and
political analyst Aleksandr Dugin, published in 2009. In the book, Dugin states that he is laying the foundations for an entirely new
political ideology, the fourth political theory, which integrates and supersedes
liberal democracy,
Marxism, and
fascism.
In this theory, the main subject of politics is not
individualism,
class struggle
Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor.
The forms ...
, or
nation, but rather
Dasein (existence itself).
The book has been cited as an inspiration for Russian policy in events such as the
war in Donbas.
Thesis
In the book, Dugin states that he wishes to devise an entirely new political theory to replace what he identifies as the previous three dominant political theories:
liberalism,
fascism and
communism. According to Dugin, his aim is to take elements from all three, 'neutralise and decontaminate' negative aspects such as
racism (in the case of fascism) and incorporate them into this new ideology. He refers to this ideology as a 'timeless, non-modern theory' valid for all time.
Dugin views liberalism as having 'defeated all its competitors'. He refers to the derision of the past by liberals and the modern concept of 'progress' as being seriously flawed, going so far as to describe it as racism and even 'moral genocide against the past'.
From the three other political theories, he discards the aspects he finds unacceptable and highlights what he sees as the positive qualities. He combines them to form a new political theory based on the 'ethnos', describing this as ‘the greatest value of the Fourth Political Theory as a cultural phenomenon; as a community of language, religious belief, daily life, and of sharing resources and efforts; as an organic entity’.
Reception
''
Commonweal'' called it "a schizoid mix of
Heideggerian
Martin Heidegger (; ; 26 September 188926 May 1976) was a German philosopher who is best known for contributions to phenomenology, hermeneutics, and existentialism. He is among the most important and influential philosophers of the 20th centur ...
-
Deleuzian
Gilles Louis René Deleuze ( , ; 18 January 1925 – 4 November 1995) was a French philosopher who, from the early 1950s until his death in 1995, wrote on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. His most popular works were the two volu ...
ontology,
postmodern relativism, anti-liberal fist-pounding, and megalomaniacal geopolitics".
See also
*
Eurasia Movement
The Eurasia Movement is a Russian political movement founded in 2001 by the political scientist Aleksandr Dugin.
The organization follows the neo-Eurasian ideology, which adopts an eclectic mixture of Russian patriotism, Orthodox faith, anti-mo ...
*
National Bolshevism
*
Third Position
References
External links
Official ''Fourth Political Theory'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fourth Political Theory, The
Eurasianism
National Bolshevism
Political books
Russian non-fiction books
Political philosophy literature
2009 non-fiction books
Books about fascism
Fascist works
Syncretic political movements
Political spectrum