Faustianism == Narcissism

Spengler's not wrong about a lot but he's wrong about the character of Faustianism. The core nature of Faustianism is narcissism. A severe, crippling developmental disorder.

Faustianism succeeds when it fails to be Faustian. When the Faustian "strains beyond its own summit" it means straining beyond Faustianism and returning to some form of sanity.  

The Faustian is restless and unsatisfied because he craves his parent's love, which he did not receive. He is caring due to babby's first empathy: "If I care for you, you will automatically care for me, right?" He desperately craves the care which he did not receive from his ancestors, and thus desperately offers care. 

He secretly knows his goal will never be achieved because he knows his parents find him unlovable.

He is proud due to megalomania. 

The yearning toward distance and infinity is born of the wistful fantasy that, if you get far enough away from your parents, you would find someone different enough to care for you. In base modern terms, the domestic patriot hated you, therefore the foreign immigrant (might) love you. The more foreign, the more likely they find you lovable. 

 

Faustians like to get mad at Jews because Jews are way more biologically narcissistic than the Borean races.  "Quite Faustianing better than us! 😭"

It's very very pathetic that other cultures couldn't fight off this train wreck. "You're worse than this? How?!?" 

Spengler was also wrong about the exact timing of Faustianism. The 2-millennia lifespan seems about right to me, but it started no later than the third century AD. Not to mention this clean round number is, as expected, rounded: classical cultures were clearly highly pre-Faustian no later than 400 BC. Ipuwer also records a Faustian spasm.

Faustianism fails because ultimately Faust's parents were correct: he is unlovable. He does not deserve care. Ultimately Faustianism fails because it's fucking insane. The compassionate reaction to a Faustian is to kill the shit out of him, putting him out of his misery. 

 

Turns out the original Faust was a proper telling. Devils never offer deals that are worth taking, and Faust, as someone who agreed to a devil's deal, sold something valuable for something valueless. This is Faustianism in a nutshell: the infinity the Faustian allegedly wants to reach for is exactly what the Faustian sold. Faustianism is like deliberately self-inflicted buyer's remorse. He pretends to regret selling the thing to justify his yearning for the thing he sold. It's absolutely Satan worship; the worship of suffering and failure via lies.

 

The cruel, sadistic reaction to a Faustian is to leave him alive to suffer his own company.