Thomas Ligotti- The conspiracy against the human race
Before I decided to read this book, I had just read some of Ligotti's short stories. I like his deadpan prose that suggests more than it shows, the bleak atmospheres he creates, so reminiscent of those of Lovecraft, and the pessimism that permeates them.
'The conspiracy against the human race' is Ligotti's first non-fiction work. Which is that conspiracy? The fact that humans have a conscience. The main argument of this book is that conscience is an error and a curse. Conscience makes us realise pain and death. Is conscience evil? No. Ligotti does not speak in moral terms of good or evil. Conscience is, in his own words, malignantly useless. And therefore, so is human life and human race. The only to make it endurable is to limit our consciousness by dint of distractions, doctrines, religion...everyone must choose his most suitable flimflam.
Would therefore human extinction be desirable? Certainly. This modern nihilistic gospel sounds like the dream of supporters of the anti-natalist trend, but Ligotti does not care about the planet or the rest of living beings, only about human condition. Ligotti does not believe in or care about -isms.
I would have felt much closer to this book thirty years ago than I do now. I understand those who say 'why existing?', but my natural response now is 'why not?' Nevertheless I do not need to feel an author is of my kind to enjoy his works. And this is a great book, albeit certainly not for the times when you feel depressed.
