3 Review(s)

In Kevin MacDonald’s Metaphysical Failure, Jonas E. Alexis offers a thoroughly researched, nuanced and lucid analysis of Kevin MacDonald’s thought, in particular MacDonald’s belief in biological and philosophical Darwinism. It is an important book that fills a critical gap in the literature on the history of revolutionary movements and Darwinism both in the West and in Asia. It is also a study that adds many significant strands to the densely interwoven history of ideas such as Malthusianism and Eugenics. Alexis’s book engages debates in the history of ideas—going back to Madison Grant and beyond—and the history of Darwinism. It challenges many of the life-long prevailing assumptions about identity politics and produces a powerful critique of how “scientific” theories have been misused to uphold misguided and faulty categorizations. Powerfully reasoned, and backed with a startling array of documented studies, Kevin MacDonald’s Metaphysical Failure presents an in-depth look at key beliefs behind many mistaken and consequently destructive actions taken by numerous writers and thinkers, particularly Darwin’s ardent enthusiasts and devoted disciples. The book presents eye-opening insights into the historical development of Darwin’s ideological project and how that project ended up crippling Darwin’s intellectual children—from Richard Dawkins, Francis Crick, James Watson, Daniel Dennett, Ernst Mayr, and E. O. Wilson to Kevin MacDonald, Richard Spencer, David Duke, and Jared Taylor.