THE AGE OF PLASTIC. “For Rene Guenon, the key to understanding the Ages was to keep in mind that to the ancients metals had not merely a material and quantitative value but a qualitative one, they meant something. This value as a qualitative signifier is important for understanding its value as an interpretive tool. . . . What is plastic? True plastics are synthetic materials for which the primary ingredients are polymers. They are fully the creation of humans, the rearranging of matter at the fundamental level. Plastics have existed since the dawn of the 20th century but only came into widespread popular use after the Second World War, alongside the triumph of liberalism over its sister ideology fascism. Its characteristics made it useful for the world coming into being. Plastic is cheap. It can be molded and pressed and extruded with ease by industrial processes. It can be made into any shape and size needed, and en masse. Plastic can be easily made sterile, and thus can be used for things involved with human well-being, like food packaging and medical supplies. Because of its low cost and the scale of plastic production, it can be tossed away when done with. These are its material characteristics. However, as Guenon would have perceived, there is a spiritual dimension to plastic, one so pronounced as to give its whole character to this Age. The commercial cheapness of plastic goods strips them of any significance. While in the Iliad every bronze tripod or iron ring had a colorful backstory, receiving a plastic gift is tantamount to being authorized to throw it away.”