Russia, America, and the Danger of Political Gnosticism

What Eric Voegelin can teach us about today’s international crisis

I have been teaching a seminar attended by a small number of seniors and graduate students titled “Critics of Modernity.” As we approach the halfway mark of the semester, we have thus far read selections from Leo Strauss, Hannah Arendt, and Eric Voegelin - all German-born philosophers who fled Nazi Germany, eventually settling in the United States. Duri…