Alain de Benoist. His Life and the Influence of the Conservative Revolution as Determinants of His Thought

Abstract

The life of a philosopher does not always have implications in his work, however, in some cases it is important to think of life as a key to thought and as an indicator to understand the way in which some philosophers have influenced the thinking of others. Such is the case of Alain de Benoist, an intellectual related to the new French right, of whom it is important to know his origin and relationship with peasant France, of which the author in some of his writings show signs of longing for his youth and his way of life. In addition to this, it is important to point out his reading of Nietzsche, with whom he shares an aristocratic radicalism; in such a way that De Benoist’s work is not only influenced by his life experiences, but also by his coincidence with Nietzsche’s life and the affinity around his thought. In such way that by establishing a relationship between these thinkers we can better understand the intellectual level of the new French right. There is no doubt that Nietzsche influenced in a decisive way in the philosophical thought of Alain de Benoist, its political development is due to a group of essayists and journalists who united Armin Mohler under the name of conservative revolution, whose most well-known representatives are Arthur Moeller Van den Bruck, Oswald Sprengler and Carl Schmitt, they follow in their criticism of liberalism, individualism and the ideas of the French Revolution, however, who represents the strongest influence is Carl Schmitt, because it was decisive in his vision of identity democracy and his criticism of parliamentarism.