22-05-2026, 01:48 PM
finished reading it last night.
a couple of years ago, i had an idea that was quite similar to the core theme of the forest rebel, so the description of the book was highly appealing. however, reading it made me remember why i abandoned the idea:
and i'm not a big fan of Junger's mysticism.
but still, i liked a lot of it. i very much sympathise with his stance on bureaucracy, self-sufficiency, healthcare, constitutional rights, right to bear arms, and resoluteness.
as i've mentioned, my main criticism is that he focuses too much on the tyranny of the state (although this is very understandable, as he'd just lived under the nazis), which is reactive and fear-based. but it seems that Junger also thought this, and later abandoned the Forestrebel for the Anarch.
if you're interested in societal criticisms from that period, then Ortega y Gasset's 'Revolt of the Masses' is very good (Junger's idea of the Worker seems less enduring than Ortega's Mass Man). and Heidegger (in Being and Time) and Nietzsche are both very good for their discussions of a less reactive sort of resoluteness.
a couple of years ago, i had an idea that was quite similar to the core theme of the forest rebel, so the description of the book was highly appealing. however, reading it made me remember why i abandoned the idea:
- Junger's forest rebel is far too aggressive, even somewhat hysterical. his entire worldview revolves around a fear of the state, and so he exists reactively, not actively.
- his attempts to overcome the fear of death is driven by the fear of death - so again, reactive and fear-based. unhealthy mindset.
and i'm not a big fan of Junger's mysticism.
but still, i liked a lot of it. i very much sympathise with his stance on bureaucracy, self-sufficiency, healthcare, constitutional rights, right to bear arms, and resoluteness.
as i've mentioned, my main criticism is that he focuses too much on the tyranny of the state (although this is very understandable, as he'd just lived under the nazis), which is reactive and fear-based. but it seems that Junger also thought this, and later abandoned the Forestrebel for the Anarch.
if you're interested in societal criticisms from that period, then Ortega y Gasset's 'Revolt of the Masses' is very good (Junger's idea of the Worker seems less enduring than Ortega's Mass Man). and Heidegger (in Being and Time) and Nietzsche are both very good for their discussions of a less reactive sort of resoluteness.
