Tawhidlakuderartist: The Impeachment of Man: "The" is in the title

2023-10-04T15:19:02Z

The Impeachment of Man: "The" is in the title

New page

{{Short description|Book by Savitri Devi}}
'''''Impeachment of Man''''' is a book by the French-born Greek fascist and Nazi sympathizer [[Savitri Devi]].<ref name="TN" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=2017-10-28 |title=Savitri Devi: The mystical fascist being resurrected by the alt-right |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-41757047 |access-date=2023-10-03}}</ref> Written in India and first published in 1959, its central themes are [[animal rights]] and [[ecology]].<ref name=TN>[https://books.google.com/books?id=xAmMNnJlfnoC "The new encyclopedia of the occult" – Devi, Savitri], John Michael Greer. Llewellyn Worldwide, 2003. {{ISBN|1-56718-336-0}}, {{ISBN|978-1-56718-336-8}}. p. 130–131</ref>

The book is dedicated to To Zobeida Khatun, an Indian Muslim<ref>''Impeachment of Man,'' ch. 11, Race, Economics and Kindness. The Ideal World</ref> and "a poor beggar woman who yet saved many distressed animals and fed them, day after day, for years."<ref>''Impeachment of Man,'' dedication</ref>

Devi criticises "man-centered creeds" which disregard human duties towards other species, and which dominate spirituality in both Europe, though [[Abrahamic religion]] and China, through a worldview centered on the human family. She identifies India as the one part of the world in which "life-centerd religion" was established, resulting from the belief in a continuity of [[reincarnation]] between all life forms.<ref>''Impeachment of Man,'' ch. 1, Man-centered Creeds</ref> However, the prevailing Hindu worldview is pessimistic in nature, seeing individual life as a curse rather than a blessing. Thus, Devi notes, while a western vegetarian might abstain from meat out of a love for animals, an Indian vegetarian is only seeking their own liberation from reincarnation.<ref>''Impeachment of Man,'' ch. 2, Pessimistic Pantheism</ref>

Devi would favour a religion of "joyous wisdom," which should be "neither man-centered nor pessimistic, nor lacking truly universal kindness in the Buddhistic sense of the word."<ref>''Impeachment of Man,'' ch. 3, Joyous Wisdom</ref> Devi says that no known historic civilisation has been founded on such a belief, but it can be found in a few individual figures throughout history. Throughout the work she gives as examples such figures as the Egyptian king [[Akhenaten]], [[Pythagoras]], [[Apollonius of Tyana]] and [[Ashoka]].<ref name="passim">''Impeachment of Man,'' passim</ref> Throughout the text Devi condemns [[meat]] eating, [[vivisection]], [[animal testing]], [[fur clothing]], the wastage of food that might be given to animals, [[pet abandonment]], [[neutering]], and the abuse of [[beasts of burden]], as well as some infractions against plant life, such as the destruction of woodlands.<ref name="passim" /> Beyond this, she advocates for active kindness towards animals, and criticises the merely negative Hindu concept of [[Ahimsa]] or "non-violence."<ref>''Impeachment of Man,'' ch. 10, Active Kindness</ref>

Written while the [[Nuremberg trials]] were ongoing, ''Impeachment of Man'' makes several references to [[World War II]], and Devi uses her criticism of "man-centered creeds" to trivialise the human cost of [[the Holocaust]]. The book also contains frequent references to [[racialist]] ideas. Devi considered [[Nazism|National Socialism]] to be a life-centred religion, and attempted to synthesise it with her belief in Hinduism.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Extreme Right, Climate Change and Terrorism|year=2022|first=Graham|last=Macklin|journal=Terrorism and Political Violence|page=983|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09546553.2022.2069928}}</ref> Devi's book has seen increased attention in recent years as a result of modern [[eco-fascist]] movements.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://hopenothate.org.uk/2019/10/02/the-regrowth-of-eco-fascism/ |title=The regrowth of eco-fascism - HOPE not hate on climate change |date=2 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://worldcrunch.com/opinion-analysis/ecofascism-when-far-right-ideology-fuses-with-ecology |title=Ecofascism: When Far-Right Ideology Fuses with Ecology - Worldcrunch}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Savitri Devi}}

[[Category:1959 non-fiction books|Impeachment of Man]]
[[Category:Books by Savitri Devi]]
[[Category:Fascist books]]

Impeachment of Man - Revision history

Tawhidlakuderartist: The Impeachment of Man: "The" is in the title