/lit/ - Literature

>>11494207
Kissinger wrote his senior thesis on it

>>11494207
>Kissinger likes it
What's so bad about that? Adorno also liked it, but criticized Spengler's romanticism of heroism.

>>11494312
Someone here needs to actually commit to getting and transcribing that thesis for us.

>>11494207
yes you should. It's a good read. Also, I recommend reading "Oswald Spengler: A Critical Estimate" by H. Stuart Hughes for some discussion of Spengler's ideas and related writers.

>>11494319
The more I've studied Kissinger, the less I'm convinced he had an actual plan. He seems to just have been a smart man reacting to events, not pursuing any worthwhile agenda.

>>11494367
Thanks for the input. I think I may add it to da stack.

>>11494423
>He seems to just have been a smart man reacting to events, not pursuing any worthwhile agenda.
Having such improvisational talent and quick thinking skills makes me respect him even more.

>>11494207
It's worth a read. Changed how I view many things. There seems to be some people on /lit/ that don't like decline or Spengler, probably because some idiots from the right like it.

>>11494423
>The more I've studied Kissinger, the less I'm convinced he had an actual plan. He seems to just have been a smart man reacting to events, not pursuing any worthwhile agenda.
lmao @ worthwhile agenda
gas yourself. "planning" is some retard communist shit.

>>11494207
>should I read x
I'll tell you what you should have done but it's too late now you've humiliated yourself for all time: you should have read the book yourself and then posted some interesting content to improve both the quality of this board and our knowledge.

How much time have you spent perusing this post and reading synopses, when by now you could be 3/4 of the way through the introduction and at least start a thread discussing his main ideas which will develop alongside your reading.

But instead your thread is a place for low-effort anons to huff themselves up by saying "yes you should read". For shame, anon. It looks like its getting past your bedtime. Nightey night.

>>11494499

>Moral compasses r 4 fags the post.

Embrace Jesus, kill your id, and commit yourself to some vision of mankind.

>>11494539
Sorry, currently working through pic related. I don't think it's unreasonable to check if this book is truly worth reading, or just right-wing dreck.

>>11494641
>Right-wing dreck

>>11494435
Meh. I think anyone can react to events, I think it takes a great mind (tm) to look beyond how things are, and work towards how things could be.

>>11494657

holy shit, and by posting that picture YOU'RE predicting a renaissance of the doge meme. bro.... if it actually comes back i will praise u anon.

Anyone know a good unabridged version to get? The only ones I've found seem to be some amateur publishing house scans of the original or some shit. OUP, I think, has an abridged one. You'd think a popular work like this wouldn't be so hard to find.

>>11494815
Check the sticky.

It drags on a bit and I got annoyed by how much he loves Goethe but it's pretty important historically if you want to have any understanding of the spirit of the early 20th century, especially between the world wars.

>>11494815
As I've been saying, there needs to be an updated unabridged version.

>>11494423
Nixon said Kissinger was a rare Jew you could trust. He had no plan. He was faithfully serving his master.

>>11494207
Read Man and Technics before that. If you like it, go ahead and read The decline of the West.

>>11495728
Thanks for this recommendation. It's EXACTLY the kind of thing I enjoy and it's very difficult to come by.

>>11494207
that's a weird name for a buddhist monk

>>11496001
kek

it's not something you start with
read
The Outline of History by H.G. Wells

>>11494815
https://archive.org/details/Decline-Of-The-West-Oswald-Spengler

>>11494815
i've been reading the scanned version you mentioned and so far it's not bad.
It's basically like buying a used book with underlining and some check marks, but the quality of the binding is good.

>>11496298
Nice but there needs to be an actual updated unabridged version published.

Started reading it without any kind of preparation because I'm not a fag but I'm starting to regret it since many references completely fly over my head.

>>11496914
So anything one might want to read beforehand?

>>11497656
the references he's talking about are to History, Architecture, Music, Art, etc. You'd have to have doctrate in History to get it all.

If it confuses you, just look it up as you go. I read and didn't worry about references that went over my head. You don't need them, but they give a context to his thought. Besides, unless you know nothing about History, you'll understand it.

>>11494207
>t it treats history deterministically
this is the main reason i like it, no room for the retarded infants to come in and wail about praxis

>>11494312
Wouldn't mind reading this to be honest.

>>11497953
Same

>>11496742
what needs to be updated?

>>11494207
If you think things are in decline then the last thing you should be reading is something that affirms it. You have nothing to gain from that, only more misery down the road.

>>11499195
Or hope that the great Chinese super AI Guangzhou Homo Hyperborians destroy the mullatto wage-slaves and the yidstizo ruling class, leaving the culture of the bugmen in flames.

This invites optimism I find.

>>11494322
Not possible, it's deliberately kept under wraps, can't be bought online and only exists in paper form -- requiring it to be read in person. I'm guessing access would only be given to a select few (((individuals))) within Kissinger's close circle.

>it treats history deterministically

What's wrong about analyzing history in a deterministic way?

>>11499604
Lies. It is in the Harvard library. There are a few anons there who can just go and pull it out. All they would have to do is bring a laptop or tablet into the library with them and transcribe everything into a word document. One even mentioned they were also interested but too lazy to type up that much. Nice conspiracy theory though.

>>11499195
I really don't think it's that pessimistic. The whole thesis is that cultures like flowers go through a cycle from sprout over a brief blossom to withering away so it sucks if you are stuck with the decaying remains of a once great culture but overall, for humankind and a future you won't get to see, it's somewhat reassuring.

>>11494207
I got bored reading about math and stopped reading it

>>11494207
Greg Johnson wrote a lot about it.
Interestingly, there's an interview with this title that was just resurrected:
https://www.counter-currents.com/2018/07/a-lost-interview/
They mention Spengler too, although it's mostly about other stuff.

Spengler reading group when?

>>11494207
it honestly bothers me that all you faggots are reading this book now. It's been one of my favorite texts for like 5 years now and i dont want it associated with this retarded board

also isnt spengler too close to pol for you all? arent you worried about reading a racist or reactionary or whatever

>>11503350
If you enjoy reading, you're not afraid to read a text by someone who might disagree with you.

>>11503350
>t. Reddit contrarian

>>11503350
Wow, just wow.

>>11494499
>he thinks the global capitalist economy would exist without extensive planning and administration
that's pretty naive, anon

>>11496914
>>11497656
same here, the first section about mathematics was a bit over my head so i had to keep cross-referencing with wikipedia. just read carefully and look up anything you don't already know. it also helps if you have a better-than-general sense of the arc of western history

>>11503350
>you can't join my secret club

>>11494207
Yes

>everyone praising Kissinger itt
>tfw /lit/ is finally becoming the patrician radical centre board it was always meant to be

>>11505776
Kissinger poster here, far from a radical centrist.

>>11500962
typical kike subversion tactics

>>11505776
I still would love to see his undergrad thesis. I'm sure there are others as well.

>>11499453
The "culture of the bugmen" is a byproduct of Western culture. The Chinese are a cultural dead-end; they grow in numbers but not in spirit. If they destroyed the West, they wouldn't be replacing it with anything of value, and what little value they replaced it with we would have already granted them from our own cultural values.

>>11508256
This.

>>11506415
>>11506415
Kek. Whatever helps you sleep at night bucko.

>>11496914
TDOTW is one of those books where having a search engine handy is a HUGE help. I'd read five pages or so every day and then spend the rest of my free time reading all the stuff referenced in it when I was going through it.

>>11494312
This man, in my country he is everything.

>>11503350
>Spengler
>close to /pol/
>implying you read him

Any interest here in a Kissinger and Spengler reading group? How long is usually a good notice to give on these things? I'm thinking a week. Would love to hear some input.

>>11494207
This man, in my country he is everything.

Is this the book where Spengler talks about the "renaissance of the medieval"? I've been trying to find where in Spengler's works that phrase comes up.

>>11494423
>without a deluded ideal (plan) clearly nothing worthwhile can be achieved

his being unburdened by your bullshit fantasies is exactly why he was uniquely successful

>>11508256
It wouldn't be Chinese, but post Chinese, after the Chinese delegate creativity and gene splicing to the AI specifically because they are not inspired in the slightest.

>>11512821
>>11512821
This.

>>11512796
bump

>>11511107
>>11511107
Seconding this. Count me in.

>>11511107
Yes I'd be interested.

>>11517366
Awesome, any ideas for the group? Particular readings? Secondary sources? Amounts to read per week? Secondary sources? Time frame on running this? Not sure I should start a new thread just yet.

ITS A GOOD READ DEFINITELY. ANYONE SAYING OTHERWISE IS MORE THAN LIKELY JUST BUTTHURT ABOUT THE POLITICS.

>>11518798
BASED AND REDPILLED.

So we'll probably start with Decline and then move onto a few smaller works by Spengler. Any other authors people would be interested in before moving onto Kissinger?