Page 49 - Darko Štrajn, From Walter Benjamin to the End of Cinema: Identities, Illusion and Signification. Ljubljana: Educational Research Institute, 2017. Digital Library, Dissertationes, 29.
P. 49
Defining the Ideology of Extremism
The very term of the political extremism is a matter of usage in ordinary
language today. The meaning of the term seems to be rather transparent.
As such, any kind of extremism seems to be definable in the typical oppo-
sitions: extremism vs. moderateness, extremism vs. normalcy, extremism
vs. common sense, extremism vs. reality, extremism vs. civilized behav-
iour, and so on. Not much is left to explain about extremism, since it seems
as though we have to deal with a phenomenon that no matter on which
grounds represents a kind of transgression of rules dominating the order
of politics.
A Kind of Aliens
This very broad and superficial meaning of the political extremism is ac-
curate; however, to the extent to which it is correct, it describes not only
the phenomenon itself, but – in a different sense – affects the social, cultur-
al and symbolic context within which it is acquired. The political extrem-
ism is only possible in a context, where moderateness, normalcy, common
sense, some dominant representations of reality, civilization, etc., consti-
tute a core of set of values and common ideas within a given political cul-
ture. Summarily, we might say that such attributes of political culture by
and large may be ascribed to the so-called Western world, and increasing-
ly to some countries, which in recent history have entered into the universe
of democracy. Although very significant differences between the features
47
The very term of the political extremism is a matter of usage in ordinary
language today. The meaning of the term seems to be rather transparent.
As such, any kind of extremism seems to be definable in the typical oppo-
sitions: extremism vs. moderateness, extremism vs. normalcy, extremism
vs. common sense, extremism vs. reality, extremism vs. civilized behav-
iour, and so on. Not much is left to explain about extremism, since it seems
as though we have to deal with a phenomenon that no matter on which
grounds represents a kind of transgression of rules dominating the order
of politics.
A Kind of Aliens
This very broad and superficial meaning of the political extremism is ac-
curate; however, to the extent to which it is correct, it describes not only
the phenomenon itself, but – in a different sense – affects the social, cultur-
al and symbolic context within which it is acquired. The political extrem-
ism is only possible in a context, where moderateness, normalcy, common
sense, some dominant representations of reality, civilization, etc., consti-
tute a core of set of values and common ideas within a given political cul-
ture. Summarily, we might say that such attributes of political culture by
and large may be ascribed to the so-called Western world, and increasing-
ly to some countries, which in recent history have entered into the universe
of democracy. Although very significant differences between the features
47
