The Evolution of Ludwig Wittgenstein's Elusive Politics
An enigma wrapped within a mystery
Wittgenstein had many close friends who were clearly Marxist, and one example of this was George Thomson. In fact Thomson thought Wittgenstein was a Marxist himself in practice just like himself.
Wittgenstein had little time for the depths of advanced capitalistic dictatorships, and hated the bourgeois life at stuffy Cambridge University. Towards the end of life his he gave away his wealth and supported the ideals of austerity as being good for the soul.
In fact in 1935, Wittgenstein travelled to the USSR during the times of Stalin, and even advertised that he'd like to become a Communist worker there. The Stalin officials were bamboozled by his strange kookiness.
Kulturkritik influences
Oswald Spengler was one of the most conservative thinkers of the 20th century was certainly one of Wittgenstein's greatest influencers. His German model of Kulturkritik, with its anger towards liberal values and equality, was also shared by Wittgenstein.
It's plain to see that Wittgenstein's political thoughts were a quagmire. He was never really a political thinker. He was rife with political contradictions, and very few of them could be linked to his philosophical genius.
As a pessimistic middle class conservative, Wittgenstein did not shun modernity, but also linked up with Communism to congratulate and to damn some of their philosophies.
At the end of the day Wittgenstein's philosophies are at best system smashers. Like Nietzsche, @mindhunter and @baah, we declare the overthrow of our idols to be a vital part of our task. With hammers in hand we have our best philosophical tool at hand. As Wittgenstein once stated: 'All philosophy looks to destroy its idols.'
And the search for Wittgenstein's own elusive politics goes on ....
Wittgenstein. Another character that I'm still learning to spell the name of consistently along with Kierkergaard.
And I just noticed in that comment that I misspelt Kierkegaard!
He is such a strange character, and there are so many stories revolving around him (the most famous one being the fact he attended the same school as Adolf Hitler in Austria!). What I liked the most was his period secluded in a hut in Norway where he could think hours and hours at a time, without any interference or distraction.
Agreed @herversisson. Skjolden in those days was a busy crossroads beneath a mountain pass dividing Norway's east and west, never the inaccessible outpost of Wittgenstein legend. A boat arrived daily from Bergen, Norway's second city. Access became more difficult with the decline of river transport during the last century, but this year big tourist cruise ships have started calling in at long last :)
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As Wittgenstein once stated: 'All philosophy looks to destroy its idols.'!!