Illuminism

A Revolutionary Blueprint for a New World Order

Illuminism represents a powerful, albeit often clandestine, current within the intellectual and societal transformations that profoundly shaped the modern era, particularly the period leading up to and encompassing the French Revolution. It was not merely a fleeting philosophical trend, but a meticulously organised secret society, established with explicit, radical aims that sought to utterly dismantle existing societal structures and replace them with an entirely new order.

Origins and Foundation The Illuminati, as this sect was known, was founded on 1 May 1776 by Adam Weishaupt. Weishaupt, a former Jesuit student came to despise the order, assimilated elements from his Jesuit education, French philosophical thought, Manichaean philosophy, and even occult doctrines. He was a "profound conspirator" who admired the efficiency of the Jesuits' methods in influencing minds and decided to adapt their system to serve diametrically opposed views: to destroy in the dark what they erected in the light.

Core Philosophy and Revolutionary Aims Illuminism put forward a comprehensive vision for a transformed world, rooted in a radical reinterpretation of human nature and society. Its ultimate objectives were explicitly destructive, aiming for nothing less than a complete overthrow of civilisation.

The core tenets included:

• Abolition of traditional institutions: This encompassed the abolition of monarchy and all ordered government, private property, inheritance, patriotism, and the traditional family unit, including marriage, morality, and parental control over children's education.
• Abolition of all religion: Illuminism sought to root out all ideas of a Hereafter and fear of retribution. It aimed to destroy all Christianity and, indeed, all religion, asserting that the "pretended religion of Christ was nothing else than the work of priests, of imposture and of tyranny". All other religions were likewise deemed "equally founded on lying, error, chimera and imposture".
• Establishment of a "Religion of Reason": This was to replace traditional faiths, with the belief that "when at last Reason becomes the religion of men, then will the problem be solved". This transition was considered a "pious fraud" to be unveiled only to the highest initiates, operating under the maxim that "the end justifies the means".
• Universal liberty and equality through central control: While professing belief in human nature's inherent goodness and aiming for "perfect Liberty and Equality," the ultimate goal was a society where individuals would do without any controlling authority, law, or civil code, having attained "highest perfection" in governing themselves. However, this liberty was merely a façade; the order itself enforced "iron discipline".
• One human family: Patriotism and nationalism were condemned as divisive and egoistic, to be abolished in favour of uniting the human race into "one good and happy family".
• A new world order: Illuminism envisioned an "international super-government" with an "absolute" state, the sole dispenser of life's necessities. It foresaw the emergence of a "one world monarch" and a singular world religion, seeing atheism as a transitional stage towards the "religion of Moses" which would bring all peoples into subjection.

Methods of Operation and Control Weishaupt meticulously designed the Illuminati's structure and methods to ensure the successful infiltration and overthrow of society:

• Hierarchical initiation: Proselytes were admitted through a step-by-step process, with the true, radical aims of the order revealed gradually only to those who reached the "higher mysteries". Initiators were instructed to "talk backwards and forwards" to conceal their real purpose from lower-ranking members.
• Absolute obedience: Novices were required to swear absolute and unreserved obedience, acknowledging the order's "right of life and death" over them.
• Espionage and manipulation: A widespread system of espionage was implemented, with "Insinuating Brothers" tasked with spying on everyone – friends, family, and enemies – to gather detailed information on their strengths, weaknesses, passions, and connections. This information was used to create discord within society, including between princes and subjects, and even parents and children.
• Subversion and infiltration: The order aimed to discredit clergy, circulate "insane, dirty, and disgusting literature" in leading countries, and infiltrate existing governments by supporting candidates whose pasts were marred by scandal.
• "Pious fraud": The order openly embraced deception, stating that "the end justifies the means," and that they would "deliver one day the human race from all religion" through such methods. They also promoted suicide as a "voluptuous pleasure".
• Utilisation of women: Women were to be enlisted through "hints of emancipation" and then used to gather information and money.
• Symbolic acts: They engaged in symbolic acts, such as the destruction of the Vendome obelisk in Paris, seeing it as a triumph over the old order, even if the act itself was senseless.

Impact and Legacy Illuminism was not a fringe movement but a significant force, demonstrating its influence through its alliance with Freemasonry at the Congress of Wilhelmsbad in 1782, attracting some three million members worldwide. In 1785, Bavarian authorities exposed the order, seizing documents that detailed their "diabolical nature" and revolutionary blueprints.

Crucially, Illuminism is identified as the "formidable Sect" that, under the name of Jacobins, brought about the French Revolution. The Revolution, with its drive to abolish the altar, the throne, and civil society, is described as merely "a first attempt of the Jacobins" to implement their designs, which extended across Europe.

The radical ideas put forth by Weishaupt, including the six-point programme of abolition, are considered the "exact program of the World Revolution" that has continued into the modern age. The philosophical core of Illuminism, with its Nihilistic aim to destroy everything, is seen as directly linked to later movements such as Bakunin's anarchism and the destructive nature of Bolshevism, which successfully implemented these ideas on an unprecedented scale. The "death of God" philosophy, leading to a world without objective truth or morality and the emergence of the "Superman" concept, is presented as the culmination of these revolutionary principles. The subsequent emphasis on a world monarchy, a new revelation, and millennialism all represent the final stages of the revolutionary agenda.