Political naturalism and the French "Nouvelle Droite": Reflections on politocratic communitarianism in contemporary Afrikaans political literature

Abstract

An increasing lack of confidence over the last couple of years in government’s will and ability to govern South African political society has stimulated Afrikaans publications on the notion of community in general, and political community in particular. The publication, Politokrasie. ’n Peiling van die dwanglogika van die territoriale staat en gedagtes vir ’n antwoord daarop (2011), focuses on the issue of political community in particular. In this work, Koos Malan envisages a political enclave in the form of the Aristotelian idea of the Greek city-state as an alternative to the “territorial state”; it is envisaged to be a small, natural entity governed by a small elite. In this essay the roots of the politocratic community envisaged by Malan are traced to the legacy of Ferdinand Tönnies and its further development by the French New Rightist author, Alain de Benoist. This contribution is a critical reflection of the political naturalism of the French “Nouvelle Droite” and its manifestations in Malan’s politocratic communitarianism. It is hoped that this contribution will stimulate debate on the issues emanating from Malan’s publication.