James Edwards interviews Sascha Roßmüller

What follows is an interview conducted by talk radio host James Edwards with Sascha Roßmüller, a German political activist, journalist, and author of Culture, Aesthetics, Identity: Blossoms of the Occidental World.

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James Edwards: What inspired you to write this book?

Sascha Roßmüller: For one thing, I had been looking for a book on art and culture from this specific perspective on identity, but I couldn’t find exactly what I had in mind, which is why the idea took root to express this myself. Ultimately, it also touches on the fundamental question of how we can sustainably protect ourselves from cultural encroachment and alienation if we fail to recognize ourselves in our cross-generational identity. “Know thyself” is the maxim inscribed on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. Not least, however, it is also far more enjoyable and fulfilling to study our Occidental history through its cultural and artistic highlights than through its bloody wars.

Edwards: You describe culture as an “aesthetic manifestation of our identity” for community-oriented beings with a “tribalistic tendency.” Can you elaborate on this central idea?

Roßmüller: From an etymological perspective, the very concept of identity leaves no doubt that identity is not a purely individualistic phenomenon; indeed, the Latin roots “idem” and “ens, entis” unambiguously point to a “way of being that is of the same kind.” Human beings are by no means merely individuals but social beings; as such, however, they are not a global mass entity but a particular, not an amorphous, group entity. Aristotle, for example, spoke of the Zoon politikon, or more simply, the being of community. The self-knowledge addressed in the first question also constitutes a process, as models of beauty and craftsmanship teach us what we are capable of becoming.

Edwards: Does the book address the tension between individual creativity and collective/tribal identity in cultural production?

Roßmüller: Not in the sense of a conflict between the individual and the collective, but rather as a complementary relationship, whereby this tension should be understood as a source of creative energy. The artist does not operate in a vacuum; they are shaped by the community and, in turn, return their inspiration to it.

Edwards: How do aesthetics serve as a condensed expression of collective self-understanding and identity formation in European traditions?

Roßmüller: A folk also recognizes itself in its aesthetic sensibilities. Anyone who compares works by European artists – which are not solely intended for utility purposes –with those of African design will undoubtedly observe that different concepts of beauty are at play here. Furthermore, art strongly reflects the sociocultural development of the community to which it belongs at a given time; in other words, it reveals, through its traditions, what has become inscribed in the cultural DNA of a cultural circle as a defining element of its identity. There are two things that identity cannot survive: first, ethnic exchange, and second, the drying up of its traditional culture.

Edwards: What role do universally admired works of art play in expressing and reinforcing this cultural identity?

Roßmüller: I think that such cultural art highlights milestones of refinement in good taste and orientation in a generation-spanning manner. And, moreover, the admiration, to marvel in awe like a child exploring his world, provides a thrill of pleasure and mysterious joy combined with a perception of meaning. To put it in the words of Friedrich Nietzsche, one could speak of a “peak of ravishment”, if I translated his term “Verzückungsspitze” correctly.

Edwards: Which specific historical periods, artists, architects, or cultural expressions (e.g., classical, medieval, Renaissance, or folk traditions) do you highlight as prime examples of this aesthetic identity in the book?

Roßmüller: Indeed, I have a favorite period, the one a German contemporary philosopher and literary author said the Germans would have an affair with it, so I´m probably a typical German in that regard: The period of Romanticism. I appreciate the correction of the partly soulless, seemingly exaggerated rationalism of the Enlightenment; however, without discarding the latter`s achievements.

Edwards: Which particular “blossoms of the Occidental World” might readers find surprising or particularly illuminating?

Roßmüller: I can imagine that some readers will find it illuminating to hear about cultural exchanges and the relationship between, for example, Goethe and Lord Byron, particularly their intertextual relations in their respective writings. Moreover, illuminating could be, because usually one doesn`t learn much about it, the art scenery and cultural activities during the Third Reich in Germany, which I also touch on in my book. As “surprising”, last but not least, it may be to get shown what excellence some geniuses had, although lacking higher education, or the philosophical depth of some rural vernacular writers in their stages, plays for the ordinary folk.

Edwards: In what ways have modernity or globalization impacted the organic link between culture, aesthetics, and identity that you explore?

Roßmüller: Quite recently, I´ve learned from an article from 1995 that the CIA used American modern art as a weapon in the Cold War by promoting American Abstract Expressionist painting around the world for more than 20 years. In general, I think today`s art scene is an establishment-promoted business and not an expression of a vocation of skilled artists, which is why we are abused with affected showmanship, completely lacking contemplative depth.

Edwards: What practical lessons or calls to action would you offer for preserving, reviving, or creating culturally authentic aesthetics in the 21st century?

Roßmüller: First and foremost, start engaging with art and culture. Let me give a quote from Goethe, what he put in the mouth of one figure of his famous educational novel “Wilhelm Meister”: “Every day one should hear at least one little song, read a good poem, see an excellent painting and, if possible, say a few sensible words.” I think that is good advice. Just as an athlete trains his muscles, so should a cultured person refine his taste.

Edwards: What do you hope readers – whether familiar with identitarian thought or new to it – will take away from your book, and how can they purchase a copy?

Roßmüller: Maybe they’ll take away the awareness that beauty can save the world, as Fyodor Dostoevsky once said. Hopefully, readers, particularly the contested political dissidents, can realize that beautiful art and culture can recharge their batteries when daily challenges in an ugly world seem to be becoming too overwhelming. The English version of my book is available for order here.

Sascha Roßmüller