Page "Mircea Eliade" Paragraph 165

In his study of Eliade, Jung, and Campbell, Ellwood also discusses the connection between academic theories and controversial political involvements, noting that all three mythologists have been accused of reactionary political positions.

Ellwood notes the obvious parallel between the conservatism of myth, which speaks of a primordial golden age, and the conservatism of far right politics.

However, Ellwood argues that the explanation is more complex than that.

Wherever their political sympathies may have sometimes been, he claims, the three mythologists were often " apolitical if not antipolitical, scorning any this-worldly salvation ".

Moreover, the connection between mythology and politics differs for each of the mythologists in question: in Eliade's case, Ellwood believes, a strong sense of nostalgia (" for childhood, for historical times past, for cosmic religion, for paradise "), influenced not only the scholar's academic interests, but also his political views.