Occult Features of Anarchism

About “Occult Features of Anarchism”

In the nineteenth century, anarchists were accused of conspiracy by governments fearing revolution, but in the current century, conspiracy theories claim that anarchists are controlled by the government. The Illuminati, a group of intellectuals who supported self-government and opposed private property, are now falsely portrayed as a secret group that controls governments and defends private property. Lagalisse uses primary and secondary sources in multiple languages to correct this history and show the real relationship between revolutionism, pantheistic occult philosophy, and secret fraternities. Lagalisse explores connections between anarchism, Renaissance magic, and New Age movements, and challenges leftist atheism by showing its difficulties in forming political coalitions. Drawing from anthropological fieldwork in modern anarchist movements, her work questions the practicality of anarchist atheism. She also examines how anarchism, as a historical concept, influences current anarchist views of politics, particularly how men's oppression by the state serves as a model for power. The book shows how gender and religion become privatized in radical countercultures, a process linked to the modern nation-state's privatization of these issues.