On 'Eumeswil'

I recently finished reading “Eumeswil” (1977) by Ernst Jünger. This book immediately stood out as one of my favorite works that I will definitely put into my “read again” category to analyze and dive deeper into over and over. The story is very simple: Manuel Venator, a sole individual in a tyrannic system that he does not comply to, but acts like shadow figure in, always keeping his inner citadel and conforming with the state on his terms. During the day, he is a historian, at night, a barkeeper at the hand of the tyrannic leader. Jünger used this novel to work out his ideal of the Anarch, a distinctive form of an individualist that could harm the system at any time (by mixing poison into the tyrant’s drinks), but refuses to, as he takes his own advantages from the current state.

Ernst Jünger

Some short words on Jünger himself. He’s most known for his WWI diaries and writings, most notably “Storm of Steel”, where he glorified the warrior mindset and the brutality of war as a mechanism to forge the will of an individual. During the Nazi regime, he was not compliant and actually despised them. He was never a member of the NSDAP and was vaguely involved in an assassination plot to kill Hitler. He still served as a captain for the Wehrmacht in France, and Hitler personally praised his writings, but, much as with Nietzsche, the Nazis did not fully capture the author’s intent. He even wrote an essay called “Der Friede” (The Peace), which was a sublime rejection of totalitarian regimes, criticizing the Third Reich, and it was not published until after the war. Jünger later distanced himself fully from the Nazis, and after WW2 became more anti-authoritarian. In some ways, he was never really in favor of authoritarian regimes, more of the warrior individual. The lone soldier, forged by war, with an iron will, independent of any outside force. His later works are mostly science fiction, with topics around individualism and anti-authoritarianism. In that way, Jünger is somewhat disputed by his readers. Some glorify him as a war hero and favor his glorification of war, others prefer his later period, where he questioned regimes and put the focus on authentic individuals.

The Waldgänger

Ernst Jünger wrote a short essay called “Der Waldgang” (The Forest Passage), where he established the philosophical concept of someone who draws his advantage from a system while not strictly participating in it. The Waldgänger is practically someone who, at any given moment, decides to step off the established path and reside for himself. It’s important to note that the forest in this is only a metaphor, and better understood as the territory a regime or power cannot enter, the inner citadel. This reads quite stoic, for now, or in some aspects, hermetic, but the Waldgänger is more someone who rejects conforming actively, while still taking their advantage and not showing it. The Waldgänger is neither a partisan nor revolutionary. He does not seek to take power or overthrow the government. Jünger distinguishes in this way from the Anarchist, whose sole object is to overthrow the State. He draws his strength from myths, old texts, and other sources that act as a conduit for his inner sovereignty, always learning how systems develop, to see how he can take his advantage. If there is a totalitarian regime to come, the Waldgänger notices, and actively says no, breaking with the system and retreating into the forest.

The Waldgänger lives in a statistical world. Everyone is registered, numbered, polled, surveilled. Fear is the only tool a state can use to enforce its will on the people. The fear of death or social annihilation, for example. Jünger wrote “Der Waldgang” in 1951, years after the fall of Nazi Germany and at the height of Stalin’s communism. So, he had some real-world examples for how such systems work and how it feels like to be set into them. The term Waldgänger comes from the Norse law of the skógarmaðr, some outlaw who was exiled into the forests and rejected from society. But Jünger invert this concept as a choice to make, to actively reject the current order. In the world of forced participation, this is demonstrated through the uniform ‘Yes’ in a voting booth. Examples for this are one-party states (like Eastern Germany), where the people are not given real choices of parties, but rather have to approve of the current ruling party or reject it, with rejection often being punished. The Waldgänger is the 1% that said No, which is even expected by the state, to make the 99% approval rate seem at least reasonable for all others. A faked 100% approval rate would raise suspicion, so they used this tool of 99% approval to harden their rule. Sometimes, they even added more No votes than were actually cast. If, in reality, 99% vote Yes, a small correction to 97.9% approval seems more powerful, as the public thinks more people could reject the system, but the state still would have something for them to offer. This risk of outing yourself as an enemy in public votes is quite similar to martyrdom, where the Waldgänger takes real risks to stand true to his motives.

The Anarch

The Anarch is similar to the Waldgänger, but even more nuanced. Similar to the Waldgänger, he has his inner citadel, his principles, and rejection of the totalitarian state. But instead of rejecting it openly, the Anarch does something more sublime: he conforms with it, approves of it, and even works with the regime in his own interest. Not because he believes in it, but as a defense mechanism of it’s own. He takes his advantage from it, but always keeps an exit plan if the regime gets too much into his personal matters. In the book, Jünger portrays this through the protagonist, Manuel, who works as a bartender for the tyrannic Condor, leader of the city-state of Eumeswil. His main advantage is not to get paid or be in a close circle, but to observe. He learns the secrets of the ruling class, their talks about future plans, or how they see the different groups of people in the city. As a historian, Manuel takes joy in this and notes down any interesting topics that come up during his time at the Casbah (an oriental castle, like the ones in Iraq or Northern Africa. Eumeswil is set in Morocco). No one knows he actually despises the Condor, but this is his superpower.

He is actually in a very powerful position. He could poison the Condor, or tell partisans about secret plans of the regime. Here comes the influence of Max Stirner, who developed the philosophy of individualist anarchism. The theory goes that any laws, state orders, or societal norms are spooks, constructs that have no real power. No one can prevent you from killing someone on the street. You might say the law, but even the law only sets consequences for your actions that you could evade. If that’s the case, then why isn’t everyone out there murdering, stealing, destroying? This is where morals come in, or rather, your own interests. The benefits of randomly murdering someone are not really present. You could face a life-long prison term, financial destruction, and other consequences. So, your logical deduction is not “They are preventing me from doing it,” but rather, “I would not take benefit from doing it”. Morals are only a construct; in this case, you set the terms yourself. For Manuel, this comes from his current position. He takes joy in listening to the secret talks of the ruling class. If he were to kill the Condor, even as he despises him, there would be only another system established in no time. And maybe he could not listen to the secret talks of this new order. So he’s enjoying his powerful position for his own benefit.

Anarch vs Anarchist

A strict distinction that must be made is between the Anarch and an Anarchist. The Anarch is neither a partisan nor a revolutionary. Much like the Waldgänger, he does not seek power or to destroy the current order. He rather keeps his inner citadel untouchable and makes use of his power where no one can touch his thoughts, while playing nice. The Anarchist would seek to destroy a tyrant or monarch, that’s his sole job. The Anarchist is the counterpart to the tyrant. Much like Yin and Yang, black and white, they act against each other. One tries to destroy the other to come out as the winning force. The Anarch is something different. He is the asymmetrical opposite of the tyrant. He does not try to destroy him, but is on one level with him. They have the same power: in the case of the tyrant, to suppress and fight his enemies; in the case of the Anarch, to not become suppressed or be changed in his ideas. The Anarch is not out for destruction, but silent observation. Always taking his benefits and keeping an exit plan for if things get worse. In the case of Manuel, he secretly builds a bunker in the wilderness. If the Condor should fall, civil war breaking out, or any upper force turning against him, he does not fight, but disappears. He stays in solitude until the new system is established, then returning to find out how to take his advantage again. Such that, even if a system collapses, he knows the tools to get into the same position of outward conformity and inner rejection with the new status quo.

The similarities with the Unique One by Max Stirner are striking. The Anarch is the sole individual who recognizes no fixed essence above himself. In this way, Jünger enhances the individual Anarchist with aspects of Stoicism, aristocratic distance, and the observance of a historian. The Anarchist wants to abolish rule, and the Anarch withdraws the inner consent that makes rule possible. Freedom does not need any circumstances, it’s always there and not to be touched. Coming back to the distinction to the Waldgänger, the Anarch is not about breaking ties with the system, as he was never bound to it. This is where the Stoic principle of “what you can control” vs. “what you can’t control” comes in. The Anarch knows what he can control and puts no effort into any constellation that would put him into the control of others. All comes by his own terms.

Daily Life in Eumeswil

Manuel goes through his life as the Anarch, enjoying what he’s doing while keeping any outside control from his inner citadel. His relationship with his father and brother is not bad, but he does not conform to their interpretation of things. His brother is quite an Anarchist, wants the Condor to be gone, and doesn’t like that Manuel is out there working for the tyrant. The citizens of Eumeswil are similarly compliant. They make the best of their lives, but would want for change to happen. There are also some partisans, and many different political theories are covered in the various people from the state. Manuel also got two teachers: Vigo and Bruno. Both are professors. Vigo is more of a Waldgänger, wants to retreat and reject the current system, and is dismissed by his colleagues for not agreeing with them on every term. Bruno establishes the concept of the underworld, which is also to be seen metaphorically. It’s more of a spiritual aspect of the Waldgänger. Someone who likes to see the inner systems of consciousness and how the world works metaphysically. Jünger experimented with various drugs, including LSD, and put into Bruno his ideas of spiritual knowledge.

One of the most striking elements of Manuel’s life is the Luminar. It’s a machine that can give you any historical data and answer any questions about history, powered by a vast collection of data. A room-sized machine that functions as a gateway to the past, with roleplaying historic moments, such as the betrayal of Caesar, or the daily life of Max Stirner. It’s striking because he wrote this in 1977, and it feels almost prophetic to current LLMs and their purpose. You can use an LLM, much like the Luminar, to give you data from the past, explain historic scenarios, or even roleplay as some historic figure. Almost 50 years ago, this was really something of Jünger’s greatest concepts. He also prophesied smartphones. The people in Eumeswil got so-called Phonophors. Machines that are pocket-sized, intended for communication, providing the real-time location of people to the regime and tied to the identity of their owners, probably also with social scoring. Another fascinating prophecy that Jünger made where phones were only wall-installed, cable-bound machines for the sole purpose of calling someone. It’s in this way that he was some kind of proto-Cyberpunk, establishing science fiction concepts that would become reality, often in a dystopian way. In another novel, “Glass Bees”, he’s also establishing insect-sized drones, tiny robots that can observe people and are used for dystopian control.

Verdict

In my opinion, Eumeswil is a great novel. Jünger presents a very interesting idea, encapsulating the philosophical theory of Max Stirner with a Stoic twist. It’s in no way packed with action or a vast story, but is rather the diary of a sole individual that explains how no one can conquer his mind. Everyone has some of the Anarch inside, but most people don’t live it. If you love Libertarian ideas and are into individualism, you should definitely read it. It got great advice for everyday life and how to build your own inner citadel. After reading Max Stirner some time ago, I did not expect to get an application of his individualist anarchist theory by a famous war author and WW1 hero, who is more known for his warrior-glorifying works. You can clearly see a distinction between the early Jünger (young, soldier, forged by war, heroic) and his later works (anti-authoritarian, proto-cyberpunk, individualist).

This text was written by a real human, not AI.