Gobineau’s racial theory predicted total human extinction, not just civilization’s decline

Evidence

The most surprising aspect of the theory, set forth in the midst of the optimistic nineteenth century, is the fact that the author is fascinated by the fall and hardly interested in the rise of civilizations. At the time of writing the Essai Gobineau gave but little thought to the possible use of his theory as a weapon in actual politics, and therefore had the courage to draw the inherent sinister consequences of his law of decay. In contrast to Spengler, who predicts only the fall of Western culture, Gobineau foresees with “scientific” precision nothing less than the definite disappearance of Man—or, in his words, of the human race—from the face of the earth. — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 458

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the Scaffolding Theory goal of building the race-thinking concept the Islamophobia readings assume; Gobineau’s extinction-prediction is a foundational data point on how racial doctrine generates apocalyptic totalizing claims.