Sympathy for the Occult
Aries September 17, 2025 DOI: 10.1163/15700593-tat00031 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that Ernst Bloch's interwar discourse on occultism, especially in Heritage of Our Times (1935), was more ambivalent than previously assumed: rather than equating occultism with irrationalism and fascism, Bloch negotiated complicated links among them as part of a larger effort to forge a Marxist theory of culture in the era of 1930s antifascism. |
Abstract
Abstract This article analyses Ernst Bloch’s (1885–1977) discourse on occultism in the interwar period and its reception among Marxist intellectuals. In particular, it draws attention to Bloch’s sustained treatment of “occultism” in Heritage of Our Times (1935), and illustrates how Bloch did not merely equate but rather negotiate various links between occultism, irrationalism, and fascism in a complicated manner. As such, the article seeks to contribute to the growing body of work that unsettles established scholarly perceptions around Marxism/critical theory’s relationship with esotericism. The article shows how Bloch’s treatment of the “occult” is more ambivalent than has previously been assumed, and further argues that Bloch’s understanding of occultism is inextricable from the greater effort at forging a Marxist theory of culture in the era of antifascism in the 1930s.