Tradition as a token of comprehending the past, present and the future of Spain

Remarks on the book by Gonzalo Rodríguez García

Abstract

This review is concerned with the book entitled Hispanofilia. Espana frente a su destino (Hispanophilia. Spain facing its destiny), whose author argues that the contemporary Spanish reality is informed by two conceptions that lead towards its destruction: “the inane Spain” (la Espana inane), resulting from globalization and leftist postmodernism, and the “anti-Spain” (la anti-Espana) of the Catalan and Basque nationalists and separatists. As for the causes which have prompted the atrophy of the Spanish national identity – formed throughout the history of the Spanish nation – the author draws attention to the 17th-century victory of the subversive forces of Protestantism across Europe, a victory that Spain was unable to handle or counter, ultimately resulting in the Peace of Westphalia (1648) and the triumph of materialist nihilism. Both aforementioned Spains have contributed to the breakdown of the Spanish national unity and the waning of common history and identity; in fact, anti-Spain even seeks to annihilate it and make it a confederation of Iberian republics. According to the author, the blame lies with the Catalan and Basque secessionists as well as with the Spanish left and right. The author goes beyond a mere diagnosis of such a state of affairs, highlighting factors which, in his opinion, may contribute to the revival of Spanish unity and pride in the common history and identity that is shared by all the peoples and nations of Spain: the “Spanish alternative” as he calls it. The paper engages in a polemic with Garcia, discussing the strengths and weaknesses of his assertions.