Max Nordau

Max Simon Nordau (July 29, 1849 - January 23, 1923), born Simon Maximilian Südfeld, Südfeld Simon Miksa in Pest, Hungary, was a Zionist leader, physician, author, and social critic.

The Politcs of Degeneration

Nordau did not himself coin the expression or the idea of Entartung, it had been steadily growing in use in German speaking countries during the 19th Century. The book reflects views on a degenerating society held by many people in Europe at the time, especially throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire. By the early 20th Century, the idea that society was degenerating, and that this degeneration was influenced by art, led to somewhat hysterical backlashes, as evidenced by the conviction of Austrian artist Egon Schiele for "distributing pornography to minors".

Related Topics:
19th Century - Austro-Hungarian Empire - 20th Century - Egon Schiele

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This cultural construct, which could be used to describe anything which deviated in any way from accepted norms, was given legitimacy by the pseudo-scientific branch of medicine 'psycho-physiognomy.' Degeneration was accepted as a serious medical term. Not until Sigmund Freud, and the ushering in of a new age of psychoanalysis, was this idea seriously contested. Sigmund Freud remarked rather dryly in 1905 in his Three Essays on Sexuality, "It may well be asked whether an attribution of 'degeneracy' is of any value or adds anything to our knowledge."

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It would certainly be a mistake to see the views expressed in Nordau's work as being proto-fascist, despite the obvious similarities between Nordau's view of modern art and that of the Nazis, who also used the expression Entartete Kunst or Degenerate Art. Although Nordau's work certainly reflect a reactionary strain of European thought, he also condemns the rising Anti-Semitism of the late 19th Century as a product of degeneration.

Related Topics:
Fascist - Anti-Semitism

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Although it is perhaps fair to see his attitude towards art as philistine, his views of wider social phenomena can be seen in a more sympathetic light when taken in the context of the time. Europe was undergoing unprecedented technological progress and social upheaval. The rapid industrialisation and accompanying urbanisation was breaking down many of the traditional structures of society.

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Nordau's views were in many ways more like those of an 18th Century thinker, a belief in Reason, Progress, and more traditional, classical rules governing art and literature. The irrationalism and ammorality of philosophers such as Nietzsche or the flagrant anti-Semitism of Wagner, was seen as proof that society was in danger of returning to an era before the Enlightenment.

Related Topics:
Reason - Progress - Irrationalism - Ammorality - Nietzsche - Anti-Semitism - The Enlightenment

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