Declinism, nihilism and conflict avoidance in the novels of Michel Houellebecq

Abstract

Throughout his novels, Michel Houellebecq depicts capitalist society as individualistic and unfulfilling. Despite the unsatisfying nature of the Houellebecquian universe, his characters rarely fight for change, avoiding conflict and apathetically accepting their circumstances. This article seeks to make sense of this apathy by situating Houellebecq's novels within the discourse of declinism, a mouvance which, like Houellebecq's writing, has been labelled as nihilistic. This article will explore the validity of these labels, identifying clear parallels between declinist thinking and Nietzsche's nihilism, and building on existing scholarship which suggests that Houellebecq's writing is an example of passive nihilism; proposing that the conflict avoidance in Houellebecq's novels reflects a nihilistic declinist resignation that positive change in western society is not even possible.