THE 19TH CENTURY ROOTS OF 9-11

Could the 100-year-old ideas of a French political philosopher be the impetus for the Bush Administration's record of cruelty and deceit?

PETER'S NEW YORK, March 20, 2007--T.H. Robsjohn Gibbing, in his "Mona Lisa's Mustache" (1947), attempts to show the influence of the occult on the roots of the modern art movement. On pages 73-74, Gibbings writes on the political philosopher Georges Sorel (1847-1922):

"Sorel urged, in opposition to democracy, the creation of myths as a means of promoting powerful minorities. Though the myth might be a complete lie, nevertheless, according to Sorel, leaders had for centuries achieved mastery over the common man by just such ‘noble lies,’ which were vital in their promotion of powerful leadership....

"Sorel, like Nietzsche and Pareto, propounded the morality of force and denounced what he considered the futility of elections, parliaments, and laws. The moral value of violence, he stressed, must be given an important place in the attitudes of modern society. Progress would come through struggle that involves disrespect or disregard for the law."