Politischer Messianismus als Konzept der Totalitarismuskritik

Abstract

The expectation of an apocalyptic coming of a Messiah prompts the rise of mass movements that are marked by intoxicated enthusiasm at times. Often, the charismatic leader of a messianic movement himself is identified as a Messiah and honored in a cult that surrounds his person;this phenomenon can assume the features of an apotheosis. The order that religious messianism pretends to support is a firmly established order with its reference point in the messianic arrival of God. Political, secular messianism is different. It develops an almost Schopenhauerian unrestricted will to transform its own doctrines into reality and thereby to transform this world. In analogy to religious messianism, political messianism originates from some kind of leader, who points the way to the goal - whether it lies in this world or in a world to come.