The Identity Idea

A Report from Sweden

 

By Theodor Bock

 

The third installment of Identitär Idé (Identitarian Idea) took place in Stockholm, Sweden on August 27, 2011. Although attendance was down slightly from our last event, the pleasant atmosphere more than made up for it. Visitors started gathering at noon, and when the doors swung open at one o'clock, everything got underway immediately. The walls of the venue were covered in Soviet-style “artwork” romanticizing labour and socialism, meaning that the venue must have been affiliated with the Swedish Social Democratic Party, which lent the afternoon a surreal backdrop. More than one visitor found this amusing, and a reminder of the strange character of Sweden—a country more or less ruled by a Leftist radicalism that most Americans would only encounter in an academic setting.

In addition to the lectures that had been announced in advance, several cultural activists were also in attendance. Arktos sold books (and, apparently, a lot of them), a recently established T-shirt company called Dixerwear showcased a number of their designs, and the well-known Swedish nationalist weekly Nationell Idag distributed free back issues and subscription information. The artist Marcus Andersson also exhibited some of his paintings—very impressive works of a kind virtually extinct in the contemporary “art” world.

After a short introductory speech, the first lecture began. Swedish dissident author and expat Lars Holger Holm discussed the history and present state of modernism and postmodernism, primarily in art. Holm contended that modernism had gone from a movement which, despite perhaps being destructive, was at least dynamic and creative, especially when compared to the sterile conformism and stagnant repetition of meaningless provocations and forms as we see in postmodernism. He goes on to describe the ongoing dumbing-down of art known as “modern” and the impossibility of any kind of democracy within the domain of art, illustrating his speech with examples known to the attentive crowd who, at the end, burst into applause.

Dr. Alexander Jacob was next, discussing the religious and political views of Richard Wagner. Wagner, he maintained, believed in a specifically Aryan form of Christianity, which emerged as a result of its spread to Europe, as opposed to the forms of religion which go by that name in the modern world, which he believes have returned it to its Judaic roots and resulted in a universalist creed which fosters usury and racial degeneration. He explains how Wagner saw the solution to this problem in the re-emergence of a specifically Germanic form of Christianity, which would reinvigorate the belief in love and union with Nature. At its conclusion, some controversy erupted when it was suggested that Wagner had been merely Nietzsche in cheap clothes. Dr. Jacob replied that Nietzsche was a "completely unoriginal philosopher" who had actually stolen ideas from Wagner, and whose basic notions were simple inversions of Wagner's developed to justify his own endeavours. Mr. Holm protested, and a contentious—though brief and entertaining—discussion ensued. After his presentation, it was certain that a good part of the crowd will delve deeper into the subject on their own.

Following a break, Dr. Tomislav Sunic took the podium. As Dr. Sunic himself said, he has become a sort of household name in the Scandinavian New Right scene, having visited Sweden on several occasions this year alone. As always, Dr. Sunic covered a wide range of topics. One of the most interesting aspects of his speech concerned the double-edged nature of nationalism, which is comprised of both love and hate. Being from Croatia, and having lived through the war, Dr. Sunic is more qualified than most to discuss such a topic. He also discussed not only the consequences but, more importantly, the causes of the immigration invasion into European countries as well as those countries with European roots. It was the occasion for the ex-diplomat to remind us of the role which is played by the globalised hyper-class, as well as by the charity leagues that, for economic reasons or clientélisme religieux, encourage immigration. Tom finished the discourse with a reminder that citizenship, as well as borders, can easily change, a matter of which he is well-versed as a Croatian. He went on to reason that a people’s identity is built upon a foundation that is indifferent to borders and regime changes—race. Being an ethno-differentalist rather than a racial supremacist, however, Tom concluded that race is not the alpha and omega of identity.

When Dr. Sunic had finished and taken a few questions from the audience, it was time for the dinner break. This gave us the opportunity to relax and socialize before the main portion of the event. This was, of course, the Australian Professor Andrew Fraser's first Scandinavian appearance, which began about a half-hour behind schedule (which, considering how events like this typically go, must be seen as a triumph!).

Professor Fraser's many years of working in an academic environment were very much apparent as he presented the main themes of his latest book, The WASP Question, which was recently published by Arktos. The historical, biological and juridical characteristics of the Anglo-Saxon peoples were recounted as Prof. Fraser discussed why and how the British Protestants, who once conquered the world and settled in many regions, have now lost any sense of identity and become unable to defend their own interests in the face of strengthening ethnic consciousness among minorities in their own lands. The “WASP,” according to the Australian author, is the invisible race within the lobbies and civic patriotism of the nations they inhabit.

Professor Fraser reminds us of what Guillaume Faye has tried on several occasions to explain to those who hold an anti-American bias: that the space now known as the United States wasn't born as a rainbow coalition, but was rather founded by a homogeneous ethnic community that has since absorbed newcomers and their descendants from every European nation. The topic might appear to fanatical opponents of everything “American” as irrelevant, but Fraser explained that the Europeans have also developed a general European identity, just as their cousins across the pond have done—an invisible race. He concluded his talk by insisting on the importance of the myth—a concept necessary for the survival of any people who wishes to preserve their identity.

The rest of the evening was less serious and more about socializing and entertainment, as neofolk act Winglord performed some of their songs onstage. While the music appears to have mainly consisted of playback, the massive video projection that accompanied the concert created an interesting and absorbing experience. Later in the evening, Dr. Jacob returned to the subject of Wagner, though now in a musical form as he alternated between brief, spoken explanations of the main story line of Der Ring des Niebelungen and performances of piano transcriptions of selected parts of the opera tetralogy.

Throughout the day, those in attendance had ample opportunity to meet each other and exchange ideas and observations. Everyone involved seems to have been very satisfied with the event, and this writer is no exception. Events were kept to the schedule, all the lectures were interesting, and the general atmosphere was quite pleasant, indeed. The fact that the last of the people to leave did not do so until midnight should speak for it self.