/lit/ - Literature

>>13007603
A lot of people like to say Spengler was wrong because they think Caesarism came and went in the form of 20th century fascism, but it was far too early for Caesarism at that time. Pic related is part of Spengler's own model that's printed in the back of the book, Caesarism probably won't come for another 100 years.

The idea of someone transforming the Roman Republic into an autocratic empire would have been ridiculous even as late as Sulla. But the thing with the "Roman Empire" as we like to call it is that Augustus was not seen as any kind of autocrat to the Romans themselves, to them he was primer inter pares, the first among equals. His extra-constitutional powers were given to him by the senate for the purpose of upholding the republic. It wasn't until the time of Diocletian, a good 300 years later, that the emperors dropped the facade. We have a unique advantage in world history that we can look back and analyze high cultures that came before us, and we can see that the Roman Republic truly died with the ascension of Augustus.

The West is the exact opposite of the Classical culture in terms of prime symbol, but they are the only two high cultures that reached modernity as republics. Therefore it's not unreasonable to assume Western Caesarism will take a similar form as Roman Caesarism; that is, a Caesar pretending he's not a Caesar.