Pessimism: Political Essays

“We Germans will not make it to a Goethe again, but we will make it to a Caesar.” Thus closes Spengler’s 1921 essay “Pessimism?”, and his bold prediction soon came true. In this collection of essays from 1921–1936, he expands upon the themes of his Decline of the West—pessimism, relativism, Caesarism—and tackles the burning issues of his time. At the heart of all of these writings is his concern for Germany to recover from the traumatic defeat of WWI and regain a position of greatness on the world stage. As in his magnum opus, Spengler’s essays draw heavily on history and empirical facts, not abstract theories, hence his prescience. This collection of all new translations—many translated for the first time—shows Spengler to be a master of the short form.