Left-wing progressives and Hispanists share the same cognitive reasoning spectrum
An analysis of how left-wing progressivism and Hispanism share the same pattern of self-hatred and historical denial, according to an economic debate.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Pogre and Hispanists: the same self-hatred, different disguise
The debate over the conquest of the Americas has produced two currents that, despite declaring themselves enemies, share the same cognitive flaw: self-hatred of everything Spanish disguised as idealization of the other. On one side, classic pogre sees colonization as a genocide; on the other, a revisionist Hispanism — the so-called "Hispanolatinism" — claims the indigenous peoples did everything while the Spaniards were mere freeloaders. Both narratives, at their core, deny Spanish agency and historical complexity, replacing them with a convenient form of Manichaeism.
The original Hispanism vs. the left-wing parasite
Originally, Hispanism emerged as a Catholic-imperial movement led by Ramiro de Maeztu, seeking unity with Latin American elites. Over time, however, sectors of the left — above all the Escuela de Oviedo — co-opted that discourse and turned it into a pogre version: Spain as an NGO that spread peace and rights, with no castes or racism, under the invented concept of "Hispanidad". For critics, this current is nothing more than "pogre in a mantilla": the same contempt for everything Spanish, the same refusal to use the word Spain.
The same spectrum of reasoning
What is revealing is that both positions — the one that condemns the conquest and the one that idealizes it as a multicultural paradise — operate with identical logic: an ahistorical, self-exculpatory narrative. While secular pogre blames Spain for all the world's ills, the Hispanolatinist claims the natives did everything and the Spaniards were mere bystanders. At heart, neither acknowledges the mixed reality of violence and civilization. One out of self-hatred, the other out of a need for a clean identity.
The diagnosis is harsh: according to some analyses, most Spaniards move within that spectrum — whether through misunderstood imperialism, superficial anti-racism, self-loathing or plain economic interest. The uncomfortable question that remains is whether there is a path that avoids both the superiority complex and the inferiority one.
Related debates in the forum
The debate over the conquest of the Americas has produced two currents that, despite declaring themselves enemies, share the same cognitive flaw: self-hatred of everything Spanish disguised as idealization of the other. On one side, classic pogre sees colonization as a genocide; on the other, a revisionist Hispanism — the so-called "Hispanolatinism" — claims the indigenous peoples did everything while the Spaniards were mere freeloaders. Both narratives, at their core, deny Spanish agency and historical complexity, replacing them with a convenient form of Manichaeism.
The original Hispanism vs. the left-wing parasite
Originally, Hispanism emerged as a Catholic-imperial movement led by Ramiro de Maeztu, seeking unity with Latin American elites. Over time, however, sectors of the left — above all the Escuela de Oviedo — co-opted that discourse and turned it into a pogre version: Spain as an NGO that spread peace and rights, with no castes or racism, under the invented concept of "Hispanidad". For critics, this current is nothing more than "pogre in a mantilla": the same contempt for everything Spanish, the same refusal to use the word Spain.
The same spectrum of reasoning
What is revealing is that both positions — the one that condemns the conquest and the one that idealizes it as a multicultural paradise — operate with identical logic: an ahistorical, self-exculpatory narrative. While secular pogre blames Spain for all the world's ills, the Hispanolatinist claims the natives did everything and the Spaniards were mere bystanders. At heart, neither acknowledges the mixed reality of violence and civilization. One out of self-hatred, the other out of a need for a clean identity.
The diagnosis is harsh: according to some analyses, most Spaniards move within that spectrum — whether through misunderstood imperialism, superficial anti-racism, self-loathing or plain economic interest. The uncomfortable question that remains is whether there is a path that avoids both the superiority complex and the inferiority one.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (19 replies).
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