E.M. Cioran i större intervju 1984

Foto: Astrid Nydahl

Från en vänlig norsk läsare fick jag länk till en omfattande intervju med E.M. Cioran, gjord 1984. De faktiska omständigheterna är förstås radikalt annorlunda idag, men intervjun är mycket intressant. Du kan läsa den i sin helhet hos Jason Weiss, som gjort intervjun. Här dock ett litet klipp som äger stor giltighet just nu:

I believe in a Russian destiny which we cannot escape.  It’s obvious that all the peoples in the West have exhausted their sense of a mission.  The English, the French, the Germans, it doesn’t interest them to play a role anymore, they all know it’s not worth the trouble to get caught up in history now.  Each nation has a mission to carry out and that’s over for them. The Russians have only to wait, while looking towards the West.

But you feel that Russia will take over all of Europe.

Yes, but not even by war.  By a sort of pressure.  One feels Russia is weighing on Europe.  And the Russians are doing something stupid, because the Russian dream was to compete with the West obviously, to take its place, but that was when the West was still powerful.  There is no danger for the Russians now, but their dream continues---instead of leaving the West in peace.  They’re afraid of Germany, that’s ridiculous, the Germans have become a nation of tourists.

But it’s between Russia and the United States now.

Naturally.  The United States has not exhausted its historical role, but at the same time its mission has arisen because it’s been provoked from abroad, I believe.  America was brought in by the West, the West having given up.  Someone had to take over for them, America was forced by Europe’s weakness.  Russia has always been carried away by a dream of universal domination. And it will burst one day from this dream.  But as the result of a catastrophe beyond words.