This pamphlet is a basic introduction to that natural way of life which is Folk culture, or folkism. This way is based upon the ideal of the cultural community, rooted in tradition, which upholds and seeks to express certain human values, chief of which are reason, honour and a reverence for and understanding of Nature and the cosmos.

As this work will show, the way of the folk is totally opposed to the values, and the ideas, which have come to dominate the modern "Western" world. The basic values of this folkish way of life are the now almost forgotten values of honour, a striving for excellence, self discipline and the triumph of individual will. The ethos, the spirit, of folk culture is totally opposed to the self indulgent materialism, and disregard of Nature, which has come to dominate every modern "Western" society because folk culture is based on a totally different "view of the world". This different view which folk culture is based upon is essentially a spiritual one, which values culture, and ideals like personal honour, over and above material comfort.

Correctly understood, culture is a combination of : (1) the unique customs, outlook, traditions and achievements of a particular  community, group, people or society; and (2) having a certain civilized way of life - the way of manners, reason, fairness, honour, and excellence. Culture is essentially an expression of our humanity - of what makes us human, and different from animals. A cultured person is thus a person who is civilized, and who possesses a sense of identity - who belongs to a particular culture and who lives the way of life of that culture.
 
 

D. Myatt
 

Folk culture believes there are two fundamental ways of living, and thus two fundamental types of society based of these two ways. There is the material way of living, with individuals striving for, or pursuing, "happiness", material comfort and wealth. Then there is the way of excellence, of idealism (or nobility) with individuals striving for an idealistic goal. Folk culture believes the material way is decadent - a waste of our lives, a waste of the evolutionary potential which we possess.

Furthermore, the way of the Folk believes that the life of an individual is better, more fulfilling, if the idealistic goal that is pursued is in accord with the will of Nature. That is, if this idealistic goal aids Nature, and continues the evolutionary work of Nature. This stems from the Folk assertion that we, as human beings, are part of Nature, and subject to the laws of Nature. All other philosophies, political beliefs or religions assert that we, as human beings, are somehow "above", different or separate from, Nature and her laws.

One of the fundamental aims of the way of the Folk is to continue the work of Nature by creating better, more advanced, individuals and by creating a better, more advanced, more civilized society for these individuals to live and flourish in. The way of the Folk believes that better individuals can only be created through the pursuit of noble values - by individuals changing themselves for the better through a personal act of will. This requires individuals, and society itself, to champion and uphold those values which create personal excellence, which aid the individual change necessary. According to Folk culture, these values are honour, loyalty and duty - for only these values create the right type of idealistic person, someone with a purity of purpose. It is these values, and these values alone, which create a civilized individual. A civilized person is a more evolved individual - someone with a higher, a noble, personal character. Further, it is the duty of each noble individual to act in accord with the workings, the will, of Nature herself.

According to the way of the Folk, culture is how Nature works. For Folkism, culture is Nature made manifest; it is our connection to Nature. Our culture is an expression of "who and what we are". The different cultures which exist among our human species are an expression of evolution in action - of Nature working over aeons to produce diversity and difference. Thus, culture is an expression of our very humanity - of our human identity.

Accordingly, the way of the Folk desires to preserve and further evolve culture itself since the fundamental meaning of our lives, as individuals, is to strive to continue the work of Nature. This means striving to advance ourselves through upholding, in our own lives, the civilized values of honour, loyalty and duty; it means us doing our noble and civilized duty by striving to preserve and further evolve our own culture, and those things which make our own culture unique. These unique things are the ethos, the soul, the character, the Destiny of our folk, community or society.
 

People, Folk, Community, and Nation:

This is because a modern nation is not only an abstract idea which is disconnected from the reality of Nature and life itself, but also because most modern nations are too large. That is, most modern nations are not organic: they do not live as beings, with a living past, a living thriving culture, but instead are lifeless, human, constructs. This is so because a culture is a living, changing organism, whereas a modern nation is an idea consciously defined by certain historical events limited in time and in space, and consciously used to achieve some political and/or economic goal.

In simple terms, a culture - and a fatherland based upon a folk - is numinous whereas a modern nation is an artificial idea devoid of spirituality and ethos. Of course, there have been attempts to inject ethos and spirituality into the modern national body-politic, but these attempts, being born of lifeless politics, oppressive, unrepresentative monarchies, and/or the beliefs of individual leaders (political, military or religious) do not last. Such ethos, such spirituality, is foisted upon the communities - rather than grown naturally, up from the communities themselves. The folk, the people, of the communities are simply manipulated by others - usually a minority, or an individual, who have/has abrogated all power. And, furthermore and just as importantly, by the time a 'modern' type of nation is created, it is mostly too large - an artificial combining together of many different cultures.

A culture is both a living being and an expression of our humanity, our civilized nature - balanced and harmonious: settled; in tune with Nature and the slow, wise, species of time inherent in Nature. This is so because a culture is rooted in place, in real community - grown from the very land, the soil, the toil and natural trade of life. It is localized, traditionalist, and wary of change.

But this also makes a culture vulnerable - like any living part of Nature is vulnerable to rapacious development and capitalist greed.

 The way of the Folk is the way of aiding cultures - of making us aware of the value and importance of culture: of what we can do to preserve and extend the civilized way of life of all cultures.
 
 

The fundamental personal values of Folk culture - the foundation of folkish morality - are honour, loyalty, and duty. A cultured person is someone who upholds, or who strives to uphold, these personal values: someone whose personal life is governed by these values. Such a person strives to be honourable,  is loyal to those they have sworn to be loyal to, and does the duty which their culture expects them to do.

The purpose of these values is to civilize, for it is these values which make a person civilized and noble. That is, these values express the essence of nobility and civilization; they create, or can create, a person who possesses a civilized, a noble, a strong character. In effect, these values create or can create a better individual; they are means whereby a personal, inner, revolution can be achieved through a triumph of individual will. Such a triumph expresses our human potential.

Honour:

Honour is basically the natural instinct for nobility made conscious and this is done through a Code of Honour (see Footnote 1). Some things are fair, and some other things are unfair. A person of noble character - someone with an inborn sense of fairness - knows or feels what is fair and what is unfair. Honour thus determines personal behaviour, and the high standards of personal behaviour which honour demands are set out by a Code of Honour. Most fundamental of all, an honourable person is prepared to die - if necessary by their own hand - rather than be dishonoured. If someone is not prepared to do this, or does not do this for the sake of their own honour, then they are not living in an honourable way. Honour is thus a hard, and simple, standard to live by, and those who are honourable thus possess a strong personal character and a purity of purpose. They are better, more noble, more civilized, more evolved individuals because of this.
 

Loyalty:

Loyalty, like honour, is simple to understand, and simple in practice. Loyalty is being true to a person you have sworn to be loyal to. True loyalty means taking an oath of loyalty, an oath of allegiance, to a particular person and never breaking that oath. An oath of loyalty can only be ended in two ways: (i) by the death of the person to whom you have sworn to be loyal, and (ii) by mutual agreement between you and the person given loyalty.

Thus, true loyalty, like honour, sets a high personal standard, and requires personal discipline. Fundamentally, loyalty means Comradeship - true loyalty means being a Comrade to those you have sworn to be loyal to, and never letting those Comrades down. True loyalty means aiding and assisting those Comrades even when it is personally difficult to do so - or even if it might mean one's own death. True loyalty often means placing one own self - one's own opinions for instance - second, after the person to whom you have pledged your loyalty.
 

Duty:

Duty is the obligation an individual has to do what is necessary and honourable. Thus, there is a duty to be loyal to those given loyalty. There is a duty to strive to live in an honourable way. For someone who upholds the principles of Folk culture, there is also the duty to promote Folk culture, the duty to strive to act in accord with Nature's will by preserving, defending and evolving one's culture, and the duty to strive for personal excellence.

Neglect of one's duty is a dishonourable act, and the sign of a weak personal character.
 

In respect of our basic human nature, or character, Folk culture is positive and idealistic, believing that most individuals possess the potential to change themselves for the better. All that is required for such a positive, civilized and evolutionary change, is self-discipline and a natural idealism - the triumph of individual will caused by an individual striving, or struggling, for an idealistic goal which itself is in harmony with Nature. Folk culture believes that, given good leadership - sufficient noble inspiration by honourable individuals - the majority of people can change themselves for the better and come to know and value honour, loyalty and duty. Those who now do not understand or value these noble things, can do so given good leadership and guidance.

Folk culture goes further, believing that it is possible to create, to build, a positive, healthy, evolutionary society which provides the social conditions necessary for individuals to develop their natural character and their potential to the full.

A cultured society is a society where the values of honour, loyalty and duty are upheld, and where they form the basic "code of practice" for those involved in public, or civic, life and are the basic rules which govern all the Institutions (military, Police, commercial, public, private, industrial and so on ) of the society.

In this new folk society, the old system of so-called "justice" - based upon abstract ideas and abstract dogma - would be replaced by real or natural justice. Folk culture believes that real justice only and ever exists in honourable individuals - and cannot exist in anything lifeless or abstract, such as some "law", some "Court of Law", or some Institution, such as a Police force. It is individuals, and individual character, which matter, not something abstract and lifeless. A person is either honourable, and thus fair and just - or they are not.

Because of this understanding of the importance of individual character, such a society is a genuine folk-democracy where a real freedom exists. This freedom exists in such a folk society society basically because of honour and duty: individuals know or accept their honourable duty, to themselves and others, and strive to do that duty to the best of their ability. For real freedom is not about "personal choice, personal rights" in isolation, as it is not about personal indulgence - it is about personal character. Real freedom means having the character to know what is dutiful and right, and having the character to do or try to do what is dutiful and right.

What must be understood is that personal honour, like culture itself, is a manifestation of the will of Nature - a means whereby we have evolved to become better, civilized beings. All modern societies undermine individual character, and thus real freedom, because they expect or demand that individuals conform or be subservient to something abstract or dogmatic which in unnatural because it is against the will of Nature as manifest in personal honour and culture. These modern societies do not try to elevate the individual, in a natural way through developing personal character and through developing an understanding of our duties to Nature. Instead, they effectively tyrannize or dictate to individuals by legislation, and social schemes which are enforceable by yet other laws, with more and more Prisons established to punish those who transgress the unending stream of new social and political legislation.

A really free society does not need "laws" which are enforced by a Police force, as it does not need hundreds of thousands of "social workers" or tens of thousands of professional lawyers - it only needs individuals who know what is honourable and who always strive to do the honourable thing. Modern societies are based on the mistaken and unnatural premise that it is legislation, social schemes enforced by laws, and the "deterrence" of Prison, which can make a better society. Folk culture totally rejects this unnatural way, and instead upholds the natural way of honour and the triumph of individual will.

Folk culture is also realistic, as well as idealistic. Thus, it accepts that there will always be a few individuals who are and always will remain dishonourable, cowardly and ignoble by nature, despite repeated attempts by noble and idealistic leaders to inspire and change these few. But it is always only a few who cannot change themselves for the better through a triumph of the will, and always only a few who thus are disruptive of a society based upon noble ideals. A Folk culture would give these few several chances to change themselves and thus become honourable dutiful individuals, through, for example, service to the folk in the community or Armed Forces. Should they still not change themselves, then they would be removed - either via exiling them, or executing them, for the removal of such a detrimental few is necessary to ensure the well-being of the whole.

Folk culture provides an answer to the most fundamental, and the most important, question which we as individuals can ask: What is the meaning of life? According to Folk culture, the meaning of our life, as individuals, is to evolve: to continue with, to further, the evolutionary work of Nature by striving for personal excellence and excellence for our own culture and the folk of that culture. This is because we, as individuals, are not isolated beings - we are part of Nature, and part of our culture. We, as individuals, are part of much larger living systems or beings. We depend on these large organic beings because we ourselves are organic beings and thus a part of the natural, the cosmic, order itself.

Furthermore, these large organic systems, these beings, also depend on us. That is, what we do, or do not do, affects them. We can keep them healthy and prosperous, and aid them to evolve still further. What we have forgotten - or been indoctrinated not to be believe - is that our culture is our connection to Nature, and that a healthy society is by definition a folk society: an organic society based upon culture and honour. That is, a healthy, natural, society - one which expresses Nature, which aids Nature, which is in harmony with Nature - is an cultured society which upholds its own ethos and which makes real all the civilized virtues. All other types of society, presently existing, or existing as a social, political or religious idea, are unnatural and harmful to Nature and the separate cultural evolution which expresses the will of nature.

We, as individuals, are our culture, our very ancestors, made manifest and re-born. Our culture is a supra-personal organism, a living being, which has existed, which has lived, for thousands of years before us. This living being can also exist for thousands, for hundreds of thousands, of years after us. The very health, the well-being, the prosperity, the future of this living being depends on us - we are its future, just as it is natural for us, our duty, to preserve, aid, defend and further evolve this living being, in accord with civilized, honourable, values. This duty is our very purpose, as individuals - it is what we are born to do, what we exist for. When we do not do this duty, we are wasting our lives, we are undermining and helping to destroy this unique living being, and the greater living being which is Nature herself.

 Just as we are our culture, so are we are part of the unique Destiny of our culture: for cultural Destiny is the soul, the essence, the very life, the consciousness, of this supra-personal living being which is our culture. This destiny is an expression of the will of Nature - of Nature seeking our evolution. To aid a culture - to make its Destiny real - a culture usually requires a homeland: and this is often the region from whence that culture originated. A  homeland is the place where a cultured folk dwells or where they settle, and it is a means to preserve, aid and develop the culture: a means to create and maintain a folk society founded upon and upholding a specific culture and striving to fulfil the specific Destiny of that culture.
 
 

Correctly understood, Folk culture is profoundly spiritual and profoundly noble - a complete explanation of our human nature, our human Destiny, and our place in the general "scheme of things". In this sense, it is religious because it provides us with the answers which we seek and because it reflects, or represents, the natural order which exists in this world and the cosmos itself. Fundamentally, Folk culture, as a way of living and as a religious, social and political philosophy, is an expression of the will of Nature.

What Is Folk Religion?

Folk religion is the natural religion of humanity. Such a natural religion is healthy and inspiring, and represents, or expresses, our very humanity - that which distinguishes us as human beings, and which thus expresses our natural Destiny.

Our natural, innate, human character can be expressed by three words: curiosity, honour, striving. By nature, we humans, when we are true to ourselves - when we are being truly human - are curious. We seek to know, to understand, and we have developed the art, or skill, of reason to aid us in this quest, this striving, for understanding. By nature, we humans, when we are true to ourselves, are honourable - we have an innate sense of fairness, of natural justice, and an innate sense of what is right. What is right, is and always has been, what is honourable. By nature, we humans, when we are true to ourselves, are strivers: explorers, warriors, inventors, solvers of problems - we have an innate desire to overcome obstacles, difficulties, problems and enemies through the power, strength, or the triumph of our will. This desire to strive - to quest for excellence - is manifest, and has been manifest, in the character of our explorers, inventors and warriors.

When we express our human nature, by our own lives and by our religious, or moral, beliefs, we are more healthy, more natural, than we would be otherwise. This is so because a natural religion reflects, and gives expression to, our human nature and thus our conscience - our innermost beliefs and motives. It enables us to be "in harmony with our nature" and thus creates and maintains a healthy psyche in us as individuals.

In effect, a natural religion enables individuals to live in a human, civilized, way, and in practice this means our lives have a purpose: that they are fulfilling. When we live in accord with the principles and ideals of our own natural religion, we are fulfilling our own Destiny, as individual humans, and thus aiding the unique Destiny of our culture.

Furthermore, Folk religion gives us a practical, reasonable and realistic answer to the most fundamental question of all, the question of our own existence - "What is the purpose of our lives as individuals, here on this planet we call Earth?"
 

The old pagan religions of our ancestors expressed some - but not all - of our nature, as humans. Such religions were a natural development - a consequence of our evolution toward thinking, rational, honourable, beings.  Examples of these old religions are the ancient Greek religion of the Homeric gods and the religion of the Vikings. Quite often, these old religions were the religion of warriors, and reflected the nature and beliefs of ancient warrior societies, and thus that part of our human nature which is warrior-like. Hence, the morality of these instinctive warrior religions was always based upon personal honour. These religions also expressed, to a greater or a lesser degree, our intuitive awareness of the numinosity, or sacredness, of Nature; our intuitive understanding of the joys of living; our innate desire to excel, to strive for excellence and for exploration; and our innate appreciation of beauty and harmony. These old religions also saught to give an answer to the fundamental question of our existence, as they all saught to try and explain the cosmos, how it had arisen, how it worked and how it affected our lives, as individuals. Such explanations usually involved supra-human beings called "gods" and "goddesses" who often were personifications of natural or cosmic forces.

However, what all these old religions did not express was our unique Destiny as humans. They also did not fully express our unique human, civilized, nature. The way of Folk culture alone expresses and represents our true nature, as humans, as it alone expresses and represents our unique Destiny, as humans. Furthermore, the way of life which is Folk culture presents us with a reasoned answer to the fundamental question of our existence, just as it explains in a reasoned way life, and the cosmos itself.

The meaning, or the purpose, of the old religions - like the cultures our ancestors created - is that they have led us to the understanding of the present. They have prepared the way for the understanding made manifest in the way of life which is Folk culture.
 

The Folk Religion

The fundamental tenets, or principles, of this way of life are:

1) That there exists a supra-human Being - called the Cosmic Being - and that this Cosmic Being creates, or can create, Order from Chaos. Order is the very life of this Being. Order itself is a new, a better, more evolved, or more excellent, arrangement of things.
 

2) That organic life itself is an expression, or manifestation, of the Order which this Cosmic Being creates, and is thus an expression of the life, the spirit, of this Being.
 

3) That change is a natural part of the evolution of Order from Chaos and that this, for organic life, involves the organic process of birth-life-death-renewal.
 

4) That death is not the final end of life, but the beginning of further change, a renewal of the cosmic order itself.
 

5) That what we call Nature is the Cosmic Being - the Order created by this Being - made manifest on this planet we call Earth. The creative force, or energy, which is present in Nature, and which produces, and causes changes in, living things - including ourselves - is this Cosmic Being, living and evolving, that is, creating more Order.
 

6) That we, as individuals, are this Cosmic Being - the very cosmos itself - made manifest. We sentient (that is, conscious and aware) beings are the striving of the Cosmic Being for more cosmic Order.
 

7) That our evolution, as human beings, is an increase in the cosmic Order and expresses the purpose, the life, or the will of the Cosmic Being. Thus the striving, or struggle, for order (or excellence) - for evolution toward higher forms - here on this planet, is how the Cosmic Being works on this planet of ours, and is thus natural and necessary, for without it, there would be no order and no evolution toward higher forms.
 

8) That the Cosmic Being exists, or functions, in us through honour (or fairness), through curiosity (or reason) and through striving (or the triumph of individual will).

Thus, an honourable individual is someone who is doing the will, or accomplishing the work, of this divine Cosmic Being.
 

9) That culture and excellence of individual character express the will of this divine Being - of this Being working through Nature to bring about more Order, more diversity and more difference through evolution.

Thus, culture is one way in which this Cosmic Being is manifest to us, as human beings on this planet of ours. Culture thus expresses the essence of our humanity - of what makes us human. To preserve, and to further evolve, each culture - and to seek to allow these cultures to change - is to act in accord with the will, the purpose, of the divine creator, while to undermine or seek to destroy culture and cultural difference and diversity, is to act against the will of the divine creator. Each unique culture can and should evolve, according to its own unique nature: each unique culture should have the freedom to develop of itself.
 

10) That the human species has been given a special mission by the Cosmic Being who has endowed this species, through Nature and through evolution, with a character which is representative of the divine Being itself.

This character is expressed in our honour, curiosity and striving, and is made manifest by the civilization which humans create when they live according to their divine nature.

The unique and special Destiny of the human species is to bring the divine light of diverse civilizations into the world, and to spread this light - the honour and the reason of civilization - out into the cosmos itself by venturing forth to explore and colonize the star-systems of the cosmos.
 
 

Honour, loyalty and duty are the fundamental ideals of Folk culture. They represent nobility in action, and the striving to live by these ideals creates, or can create, a noble character in the individual. The Nine Fundamental Principles of Folk Culture, given below, express the practical essence of the folkish way of life, for individuals, and are thus a guide to how we humans should live our lives.
 

1) In everything that you do or undertake, strive for excellence.
 

2) Do your duty by placing the welfare and well-being of your culture before your own self-interest, and seek to preserve and extend your culture by marrying among your own culture, and by producing/nurturing healthy children.
 

3) Uphold the noble ideal of honour in your own personal life, and strive to live, and die, in an honourable way.
 

4) Strive to uphold the noble, human, ideals of fairness and courtesy by being fair and courteous toward others, regardless of their culture, religion or race, and strive to treat animals in a humane way.
 

5) Be loyal to those you have sworn loyalty to, if necessary unto death. Your word, once given, should not be broken since to break your word is a dishonourable act.
 

6) Be intolerant of what is harmful and unhealthy to, and what directly endangers, your culture, and what is detrimental to the other creations of the divine.
 

7) Reverence Nature and be respectful toward what reveals or expresses the divine.
 

8) Always be ready, willing and physically fit enough to defend yourself and your family - and thus your own personal honour - and always carry a defensive weapon to enable your honour to be saved.
 

9) Seek always to make the world a better, a more noble, place by striving to make others aware of the noble ideals of honour, loyalty and duty.

The Honour Code
 

The word of a man of honour is his bond - when a man of honour gives his word ("On my word of honour...") he means it, since to break one's word is a dishonourable act. An oath of loyalty or allegiance to someone, once sworn by a man of honour ("I swear by my honour that I shall...") can only be ended either: (i) by the man of honour formally asking the person to whom the oath was sworn to release him from that oath, and that person agreeing so to release him; or (ii) by the death of the person to whom the oath was sworn. Anything else is dishonourable.

A man of honour is prepared to do his honourable duty by challenging to a duel anyone who impugns his honour or who makes dishonourable accusations against him. Anyone so challenged to a duel who, refusing to publicly and unreservedly apologize, refuses also to accept such a challenge to a duel for whatever reason, is acting dishonourably, and it is right to call such a person a coward and to dismiss as untruthful any accusations such a coward has made. Honour is only satisfied - for the person so accused - if he challenges his accuser to a duel and fights it; the honour of the person who so makes such accusations or who so impugns another man's honour, is only satisfied if he either unreservedly apologizes or accepts such a challenge and fights such a duel according to the etiquette of duelling. A man of honour may also challenge to a duel and fight in such a duel, a person who has acted dishonourably toward someone whom the man of honour has sworn loyalty or allegiance to or whom he champions.

A man of honour always does the duty he has sworn to do, however inconvenient it may be and however dangerous, because it is honourable to do one's duty and dishonourable not to do one's duty. A man of honour is prepared to die - if necessary by his own hand - rather than suffer the indignity of having to do anything dishonourable. A man of honour can only surrender to or admit to defeat by someone who is as dignified and as honourable as he himself is - that is, he can only entrust himself under such circumstances to another man of honour who swears to treat his defeated enemy with dignity and honour. A man of honour must die fighting, or die by his own hand, rather than subject himself to the indignity of being defeated by someone who is not a man of honour.

A man of honour treats others courteously, regardless of their culture, religion and race, and women gallantly, and is only disdainful and contemptuous of those who, by their attitude, actions and behaviour, treat him with disrespect or try to harm him, or who treat with disrespect or try to harm those he has personally sworn loyalty to or whom he champions.

A man of honour, when called upon to act, or when honour bids him to act, acts without hesitation and if necessarily quite ruthlessly provided always that honour is satisfied.

A man of honour, in public, is somewhat reserved and controlled and not given to displays of emotion, or to boasting, preferring as he does deeds to words.

A man of honour does not lie, once having sworn on oath ("I swear on my honour that I shall speak the truth...") as he does not steal from others or cheat others for such conduct is dishonourable. A man of honour may use guile or cunning to deceive his sworn enemies, and his sworn enemies only, provided always that he does not personally benefit from such guile or cunning and provided always that honour is satisfied.

A man of honour strives to dress in a clean, discreet way in practical clothes devoid of ostentation and suitable to the task in hand.

A Folk Glossary

 Note: What follows are brief explanations of some of the main terms important for an understanding of Folk culture. Terms marked with * are explained in this Glossary.
 

Archetype:

An archetype expresses an *ideal, or is a representation of what is ideal. As such, an archetype represents what is beautiful and harmonious - a striving for excellence - and is possessed of *numinosity. What is archetypal is what is most representative of, or most excellent about, a particular thing.
 

The Arts of Civilization:

These are Arts, or skills, the acquisition of which makes an individual civilized. Someone who has mastered the Arts of Civilization is thinking, acting and living like a human, since these Arts embody the essence of the human ethos. The Arts are: the Art of personal Honour; the Art of Combat or fighting; and the Art of Knowledge, of seeking to learn about the vast cultural and scientific heritage of our human cultures and civilizations.
 

Civilization:

Civilization is an ordered way of living - superior to primitive, selfish, barbarism - created by inventive warrior tribes who uphold the *noble personal values of *honour, loyalty and duty. It arises primarily from co-operation: from individuals being willing to place the welfare, security and future of their folk communities, their own culture, before their own self-interest.

Fundamentally, civilization depends for its creation and its maintenance on inventive, heroic, honourable individuals. Civilization is the pursuit of, or struggle for, *excellence by a heroic, noble and inventive community who uphold honour and who thus create a society where *freedom is the norm.

A civilization derives from a specific culture - and arises due to the successful expansion of that culture from its homeland through one or more of the following: military conquest, religious conversion, trade. A civilization is not necessarily superior to a non-expanding culture, just as a particular civilization ceases to be a civilization if civilized values and the civilized way of life are abondoned: that is, if hubris is committed.
 

Culture:

Culture is a combination of : (1) the unique customs, outlook, traditions and achievements of a particular group, community, people or society; and (2) having a certain civilized way of life - the way of manners, reason, fairness, honour, and excellence. Culture is essentially an expression of our humanity - of what makes us human, and different from animals. A cultured person is thus a person who is civilized, and who possesses a sense of identity - who belongs to a particular culture and who lives the way of life of that culture.
 

Decadence:

Decadence is a decline in or loss of *excellence. Decadence undermines and destroys individual vitality and health, and is basically a placing of self-interest, and self-indulgence, before personal honour and before the duty an individual has - as a thinking, civilized, being - toward striving to continue evolution by pursuing noble ideals.

Decadence, on the individual level, is a lack of character - a lack of will. On the artistic level, decadence is a lack of self-control, a pandering to weakness, a removal of high standards, and it is the philosophy, and the aesthetics, of the pretentious, the weak and the cowardly.
 

Democracy:

Real or genuine democracy means individual *honour and *freedom - it is an expression of the desire or will of a living, or organic, community to determine it own future. An organic society is totally different from, and totally opposite to, the lifeless, abstract modern societies created by abstract political or social dogma. Fundamentally, an organic society is a Folk society.

Contrary to a popular misconception, the Greek word 'demos' does not simply mean 'people' in general. Rather, it originally meant 'the clan' in contrast to their 'chiefs'; in later Attic Greek, the word came to mean 'the community' or folk itself - distinguished as this community was by ties of culture. In both cases, a distinct culture or folk-community is meant.

A real democracy is a society, composed of members of the same culture, where the ultimate authority resides in the folk-communities of that society. It is a community where the individuals of that community co-operate together for their own well-being and advancement by upholding the ideals of honour and freedom.

Ethos:

Ethos is the characteristic nature, or spirit/soul, of a particular *civilization, folk community or culture. The things which normally embody the ethos of a culture are art, literature, achievements, music, customs and a particular religious attitude or religion.

The human ethos - that which marks the human being and which expresses the true nature of the human race - can be described in three words: Honour, Curiosity and Striving.

Excellence:

Excellence is what is supreme; what is worthy; what is the best. Excellence is the setting of high-standards and the pursuit of them. It embodies what is archetypal or *ideal. Excellence implies a moving-forward, an evolution or improvement to a higher level, this higher level being set by an ideal or archetype, or some other expression of harmonious perfection.

On the individual level, excellence implies self-discipline and a noble motivation - a striving toward a supra-personal goal or ideal.
 

Freedom:

Freedom is the basis of the civilized way of living and means an individual having the basic right to determine their own life by choosing allegiance and by being able and willing to physically defend themselves, their own honour and that of their blood-kin. [ The English word 'free' originally meant "to love (and defend) one's kin". ]

Thus freedom means the right to be able to bear and to use arms or weapons in self-defence and in defence of one's own honour and that of one's kin. It further means the right to be able to do this, in accordance with a code of honour, with no one else and no group, Institution or officials, being able to interfere, judge or restrict and take away the liberty of any individual so defending themselves and their honour, whatever the outcome. Thus, were a man to defend his own honour in an honourable way - according to a code of honour - such as, for example, by a duel, or a fair fight, then that man not only has the right to fight such a duel, but also has the right to be at liberty were his opponent to be injured or even killed in such a duel or fight. Anything other than this is un-civilized and tyrannical - a denial of freedom.

Real freedom means individuals of noble character having the ability and the power to determine their own lives in accord with what is noble and dutiful.

Honour:

Honour is the setting of high and *noble standards of personal conduct. The high standards set by honour derive from idealism and thus from the pursuit of excellence.

Honour is the instinct for nobility made conscious, and a code of honour is a means whereby the high standards of honour are set and a means whereby individuals strive to uphold and maintain them. Honour is the basis for the human morality of Folk culture.

Hubris:

Hubris is "overstepping the mark" - that is, showing a lack of respect toward other human beings, other cultures, other life, and Nature herself. Thus, hubris is insolence toward Nature, and "the gods" - those emanations of Nature personified in god-like beings.  In essence, hubris is uncivilized behaviour arising from arrogence.

Ancient cultures - such as that of ancient Greece - regarded hubris as unwise conduct which invited a retribution by the gods because it upset the natural balance which was necessary for a reasoned, ordered, cultured way of life.
 

Idea:

An idea is basically a created model for which no natural *archetype exists. Abstract ideas express a concept of what is 'common' - that is, what is not the best; what is not of excellence. An idea is the exact opposite of an *ideal. Ideals represent and express personal, or individual, character; an idea represents and abstraction which individuals are expected to conform to or be subservient to.
 
 

Ideal:

An ideal is something which enshrines what is excellent, or which represents what is the best. It is a practical embodiment of excellence itself; some thing, or some person, distinguished because that thing or that person is the best - for example, the most courageous person in a battle who is distinguished from their comrades by their brave actions.

On the individual level, idealism means individuals undertaking deeds of exceptional merit which mark them out, and doing this because they themselves strive for the excellence of an ideal or ideals.

An ideal stands directly opposed to an abstract idea. Ideals are human - that is, organic; as such they are possessed of *numinosity; they are *archetypal and thus inspiring for individuals. Ideas are abstract, and lifeless - and thus essentially in-human. Folk culture is based upon human ideals; all modern societies are based upon lifeless abstract ideas.
 

Justice:

Justice exists in, and only exists in, fair, noble individuals who uphold a code of honour and who strive to live by that code of honour.

Justice does not exist in, and cannot exist in anything abstract, be it in a law, a 'Court of Law', an Institution or whatever. Real justice lives only in individuals and cannot be abstracted out from them into a dead, life-less, abstract form.

A just society is a society which is noble and which allows individuals to test or prove their own honour and innocence - and thus stay free - by trial by combat or by having someone champion them in such a trial.
 
 

Nobility:

Nobility refers to personal character - it means having a noble character or nature. Someone who is noble is someone who is honourable - who exhibits those traits of character which represent honour: that is, fairness, heroism, courage, and gallantry.

Honour is the instinct for nobility made conscious, and a code of honour is a means whereby the high standards of honour are set and a means whereby individuals strive to uphold and maintain them.
 
 

Numinous:

Something is numinous if it has beauty and awe. Something which is divinely-inspired or divinely-representative is numinous. What is numinous is generally what is revered, or regarded as sacred - as spiritual or divine. Nature herself is numinous - a wonderful, awe-inspiring mystery.
 

Social Engineering:

Social Engineering is the term used to describe the manipulation and control of people by abstract social/political *ideas. Our modern lifeless, dishonourable societies are the direct product of decades of social engineering, of social/political ideas and abstract doctrines made law.
 
 

1.  Code of Honour is given in Appendix I.