Echelarism

With roots in the Age of Idealism and the failures of the Wellspring of Nations, echelarism is a radical political movement and ideology, emphasizing nationalism, militarism, aestheticism, hedonism, and futurism. Echelarists decry the moralism of the bourgeoisie and the stagnant traditions of the aristocracy. Instead, they advocate for a world of youthful vigor and revolutionary nationalism.

In a time when the hegemonic powers that have stood unchallenged for centuries are collapsing at breakneck speed, the echelarists wish to put their foot on the gas pedal. Despite this, echelarist movements often draw support from the same political and economic elites that they decry as degenerate, often as a countermeasure against communist or libertarian movements that pose a direct threat to their wealth and influence. Whether this gambit pays off should the echelarists emerge victorious is up for debate, but this dynamic has repeated itself time and time again.

Regardless of its contradictions, echelarism has proven itself on the world stage, inspiring successful movements in Coterait, the Almupım, and the Farkellian Archipelago that have reshaped the power structures of Duurn. The victory of the Rising Powers Pact against the forces of the status quo represented by the Humanist League during the Last War have paved the way for the echelarist project, and the world waits to see whether the revolutionary echelariat shall bring forth the promised dawn or if they will fall to the melancholy of the boot and the whip.

Ideals of the Echelariat

Meritocratic Elitism

Among humanity, there are some that are destined to lead, and there are many that are destined to follow. This natural hierarchy is self-evident to the echelarist. They denounce the hereditary elitism of the old aristocrats, scoffing at the idea that such inbred dullards could represent any sort of elite. Instead, they believe that humans must prove themselves through the strength of their deeds and convictions.

The belief in natural hierarchy lends itself to their view of revolution, which emphasizes the role of a political elite, named the echelariat by Mihai Zugravescu and drawing from the image of the national autocrat put forward by Valère Payet. From the ranks of the echelariat, a leader must emerge that will embody the will of the people. Not in any democratic sense, which the echelarists decry as a bourgeois distraction, but in a metaphysical sense. Where the leader goes, so go the people, and the leader will guide the nation towards a rejuvenation of meaning.

The National Myth

The greatest travesty of modernity, according to the echelarist, is the collapse of meaning and purpose. Where the reactionary looks longingly back to the glory days of decrepit monarchies and seeks purpose in the rotting corpse of a dead god-emperor, echelarism demands the creation of a national mythos, a guiding principle and dream for the populous to recite as they march into the new age. Some believe, drawing from the works of Madou Tocha, that the strength of mass belief in the national myth can itself bend reality.

Of course, as often as not, the national mythos of the echelarists is a rehashing of old legends and glory days, pieced together into a new vision, but don't the communists also look back to the days of primitive communitarianism with starry eyes?

Class Collaborationism

Unlike the communists, who divide the people with their ravings on the class war, the echelarists believe that the central historical conflict is a spiritual one, between the stagnant malaise of the aristocratic spirit and the youthful virility of the new culture. Class division within the nation, then, is merely a distraction from the spiritual mission to sweep the last idols of the old world into the dustbin of history. All classes have their purpose in the revolutionary nation, and under the guiding eyes of the state, the producers, both proletariat and bourgeoisie, will work together to accelerate ever faster towards the future.

The Politics of the Aesthetic

Within the echelarist worldview, there is very little distance between the appearance of the thing and the thing itself. A new world cannot be born while clinging to the imagery and symbols of the old world, and a great deal of effort goes into the construction of the "futurist aesthetic." The echelarist wishes to present themselves as youthful, vigorous, and powerful, regardless of the truth of the matter. Ashka Seydin himself, the leader of the Avant-Garde State of Halar, was once an acclaimed poet and artist, and the Protoporian art movement in particular was deeply influential on the growing echelarist ideal.

Cultural Rejuvenation

To be capable of marching into the new dawn, a nation must have a vibrant soul. It must have the vitality of youth, a thirst for beauty and pleasure, and the courage to grasp the future in its fist. Centuries of degeneracy and stagnation, however, have left the people of Duurn effete. The mission of the echelarist movement then is to become the heralds of the revolutionary culture and uplift the spirit of a humanity beaten down by spiritual oppression. Ashka Seydin called this process "Cultural Rejuvination." In Halar, this has taken the form of cadres of echelarist militants, particularly young members of the Sword of the Future, tearing down symbols of degenerate culture, attacking the opponents of the revolution, and creating impromptu celebrations of the new culture in the streets. On the other hand, the Imperial Jiderani Union has taken a more measured approach, with the construction of the new culture taking place through institutions established by the Cerc Echelariat.

This is often tied to the ultranationalism of the movement, with the cultural rejuvenation targeted most directly against cultural groups outside of the dominant national body, such as the ongoing genocide of the Khalgeshi people by the Halaran state.

Cult of Violence

To the echelarists, violence is neither abhorrent nor passively useful but a revitalizing force to be celebrated. Violence is the test of human courage and mettle, the filter that creates the humanity that will witness the new dawn. Echelarist movements revel in violence, often centering around street-fighting paramilitaries. The tactics of these paramilitaries are often brutal and excessive, intended to frighten their political enemies and harden their members. In the Republic of Kaisa, the Black Lions are known to pour acid down the throats of their victims.

The culture of violence and militarism blurs the line between the citizenry and the military, with all expected to be prepared to shed blood for their fatherland.

Forward to the Dawn

Drawing from the Gnosticism of Madou Tocha and the influence of central figures like Zührti Aret and Ashka Seydin, transcendentalism comes hand in hand with echelarist ideology. In fact, it has been argued by more collectivist-minded idealogues that echelarism is simply the application of transcendentalism to the nation. The construction of the national myth and the ascendance of spirit through cultural rejuvenation will allow the awoken nation to collectively shape reality and meet the dawn of a new Halcyon Age. In particular, Halar is founded on this ideal, as the very name of the state comes from the origin of humanity during the Halcyon Age in Almupeesh folklore.

Other echelarists focus on the ascendancy of the individual, those who have the will to power and the aristocratic character to achieve apotheosis. To them, the masses are sheep that exist at the whim of their betters. Nationalism, communism, democracy, and other collectivist ideals are tools of political hypnosis used to ensnare the masses and suppress the development of the Souls of Dawn that are destined to destroy the material world and remake it in their image.

Echelarist Economics

As the fervent ideologues of the echelarist movement are left to reshape the management of productive forces, the question of how the economy is organized, and under whose control, presents itself. Many economic modes have been utilized under the umbrella of the echelarist movement, from the state-directed syndicalism of the Imperial Jiderani Union to the corporatism of Halar, the distributivism of the Hallowed Lands of Farkellia and Eaorma, and the productivist social capitalism of the Fazwan State. Regardless, the actual economic structures of the new state are often less important to the echelarists than its orientation towards the construction of a new culture and a revolutionary nation.