Book Review Hagger

Abstract

Nicholas Hagger’s work, The Secret History of the West, argues that all the changes that took place in the Western world (Europe and the United States) during the Modern and Contemporary Ages are the result of conspiracies by secret organizations that sought to (and, according to him, unfortunately succeeded in!) disrupting and overthrowing an old social system centered around religion and absolute monarchies. In particular, he cites eight successful “conspiracies”: the English, American, French, and Russian Revolutions; the Italian Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation; the unification processes in Germany and Italy.

The aim of this article is to demonstrate the fanciful and ideological nature of the Haggerian interpretation, based on the considerations and explanations of respected historians and philosophers, as well as objective historical facts.

Keywords: Secret history, Revolution, Conspiracy.