All political power contains an irreducible theocratic element

Evidence

So there is no escaping libido, not even for the British… This insight is crucial to the Radical Enlightenment which Spinoza patiently prepares in his lens-grinders’ lab in Amsterdam. As the defenders of theocratic and secular power quickly realised, Radical Enlightenment was the most dangerous weapon in Christendom — not least because it exposed as bogus the difference between theocratic and secular power: there is in all political power an irreducible theocratic element. — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 1988

This insight is crucial to the Radical Enlightenment which Spinoza patiently prepares in his lens-grinders’ lab in Amsterdam. As the defenders of theocratic and secular power quickly realised, Radical Enlightenment was the most dangerous weapon in Christendom — not least because it exposed as bogus the difference between theocratic and secular power: there is in all political power an irreducible theocratic element. Spinoza pre-emptively takes out both British empiricism and the “continental” trajectory kicked off by Kant (the greatest trick German Idealism ever pulled was pretending that Spinoza never existed). The critique of superstition is meaningless while we still believe in free will and the self. The first anthropomorphic act is the invention of the human being, projected back off the image of an invented God who not only doesn’t exist, but couldn’t possibly exist. (Even God couldn’t have free will.) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 1988

Categorization

• XREF: Picks up the running thread about reason, emotion, and ideology; connects to Fisher’s enduring theme of political ‘belief about others’ belief’ (ch109) and reason as self-preservation (Frankfurt School). — connects to: Religious sacralization of politics produces tyranny no differently than secular ideology — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 1752; Political theologies structure who counts as human in proletarianization. — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race: Reflections on…, 1480; Religion can rival or exceed money as a source of political power — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 850
• DEEPTHINKING: The claim that secularism can’t shed the theocratic element of power, plus that invented humanity mirrors an invented impossible God, is layered enough to sit with.
• DEFINE: Distinguishes Radical Enlightenment from the Kantian trajectory as its own lineage.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 1988

Broader Connections

• Political theologies structure who counts as human in proletarianization. #exemplifies (0.80) — David Theo Goldberg, The Threat of Race, 1480
• Religion can rival or exceed money as a source of political power #expands (0.80) — Ambedkar, B R, Annihilation of Caste_ The Annotated…, 850
• Religious sacralization of politics produces tyranny no differently than secular ideology #contradicts (0.70) — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 1752