Trump may be last elected President of the United States
It is really unsettling to watch the US slip to fascism. Yet in the deep fractures and turbulence that have defined American politics the signs are there. The unprecedented political upheaval, the decline of democratic institutions, the gestapo like unchecked operations of ICE and the radical restructuring of the nation itself can't be ignored. Donald Turmp is a piss poor President and a rubbish human being. Is the American democratic experiment reaching its final chapter under his watch?
If the people pulling the strings have their way, the US as we know it will cease to exist. It will no longer be the land of the free, not that it ever was, but it will morph into an authoritarian dystopia without the need for elections, democracy and any of the trappings of anything remotely resembling a civil society.
And it will be JD Vance that ultimately thrusts the dagger into the heart of Americans democracy.
Lets not sugarcoat it, JD Vance is an unlikable nasty POS and is as thick as a Boxing Day turd. The former author turned political figure never scrambled up the greasy pole, he was given a lift up. His ascent to the vice presidency is a testament to the insidious influence of a far-right movement called the Dark Enlightenment. Vance's public endorsements of Dark Enlightenment dogma reveal a troubling support for this anti-democratic cult and the forces behind it signal a concerted effort to dismantle democratic institutions in favour of authoritarian rule. The Guardian
In the Theatre of the absurd that is American politics, a new puppet show has taken centre stage, starring none other than the incidious tech overlords Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. It was these two maestros of manipulation that orchestrated the meteoric rise of JD Vance, transforming him from obscurity into the Vice President of the United States. This isn't just a tale of political puppetry: it's a sinister saga deeply entwined with the nefarious philosophies of the Dark Enlightenment. And it was planned from the outset to get their man into the Whitehouse.
Peter Thiel is a the billionaire venture capitalist with a well-documented disdain for democracy, and has been the puppeteer behind Vance's ascent. Thiel's ideological contempt for democratic governance is no secret; he once declared, "I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible." With his deep pockets and deeper aversion to democratic principles, Thiel found in Vance the perfect puppet to advance his authoritarian ambitions.The New Republic. Thiel teamed up with his former PayPal pal Elon Musk, the self-styled techno-visionary whose recent political machinations reveal a man less interested in exploring new worlds and more invested in reshaping this one to fit his grandads Fascist fantasies. Both Thiel and Vance have been linked to the Dark Enlightenment, The Verge+4Queercents+4Financial Times+4The New Republic+1The Guardian+1
The Dark Enlightenment isn't a conspiracy theory, but it is a conspiracy. Started by a proper techbro wierdo Curtis Yarvin, who goes under hte pen name of Mencius Moldbug, this ideology champions a return to autocratic rule, envisioning a society where power is monopolized by a select few, unencumbered by the trivialities of public accountability. Wikipedia
At its core, the Dark Enlightenment views modern democratic principles as an anathema that needs to be destroyed. Yarvin views democracy as inherently flawed, advocating instead for a system where a sovereign leader, akin to a corporate CEO, exerts unilateral control over the state. This 'neocameralist' vision reduces citizens to mere customers, stripping them of participatory rights and leaving them with the hollow option to 'exit' if dissatisfied. neocameralism is pure corporatism governance. Financial Times+1Wikipedia+1
The Dark Enlightenment is built on the belief that the masses are too ignorant, irrational, and easily manipulated to be trusted with political power. Yarvin and his fellow reactionaries argue that democracy is a failed experiment because it relies on the collective decision-making of people who, in their view, lack the intelligence, discipline, or genetic superiority to govern themselves. In this is is an unashamedly fascistic movement. Instead, they advocate for a system where a small elite, preferably wealthy, hyper-intelligent tech leaders or monarch-like rulers, exercise absolute control over governance, much like a CEO runs a company.(newrepublic.com) This belief aligns perfectly with Peter Thiel’s infamous claim that “freedom and democracy are not compatible.” Thiel is a major funder of Yarvin’s projects who bankrolled JD Vance’s political career. He has openly criticised universal suffrage, suggesting that most people are simply incapable of making rational political decisions. In his ideal world, voting would be restricted to a select few, ensuring that only the 'competent' (read: the ultra-wealthy and tech elites) shape policy. (vox.com)
This contempt for democracy also explains why Elon Musk, Thiel, and Vance are so eager to replace government institutions with AI-driven decision-making. In their view, if people are too irrational to vote correctly, then politics should be 'optimised' by technocrats and algorithms that remove human error from governance altogether. Musk’s DOGE initiative is straight out of the Dark Enlightenment playbook where it is called 'RAGE' (Remove all Government Employees) reflect this mindset: strip power away from the 'stupid' masses, and let the enlightened billionaire class rule by data and decree. (wired.com)
At its core, the Dark Enlightenment isn’t just about governance, it’s about control. It’s a deeply anti-democratic, elitist ideology that views the public as cattle, unfit to make choices about their own future. Thanks to the power and wealth of Thiel, Musk, and their political foot soldiers like Vance, this ideology is no longer just a crackpot fringe internet theory, it’s creeping into the halls of power, ready to dismantle democracy under the pretence of 'fixing' it.
So what is the Dark Enlightenment's worldview? Central to it is the concept of 'The Cathedral,' a term Yarvin coined to describe what he sees as an insidious, decentralised network of academia, media, and government institutions that perpetuate progressive ideology. According to this paranoid fantasy, The Cathedral brainwashes the masses into accepting democracy, egalitarianism, and liberal values, concepts Yarvin and his followers view as corrosive to hierarchical order. This notion resonates deeply with Thiel and Musk who have each railed against the so-called liberal elite while positioning themselves as anti-establishment rebels, despite being among the wealthiest and most powerful individuals on the planet. Their embrace of Dark Enlightenment rhetoric serves as both an ideological justification and a tactical manoeuver, allowing them to dismantle democratic norms while masquerading as warriors against a fictitious progressive hegemony.
To facilitate this RAGE is a dystopian bureaucratic wrecking ball masquerading as an efficiency initiative. Spearheaded by Musk under the guise of 'streamlining government,' RAGE proposes to replace traditional legislative deliberation with AI-driven executive decision-making, cutting out democratic oversight entirely. This techno-authoritarian nightmare is eerily aligned with Yarvin’s dream of a CEO-king ruling with absolute authority, as well as Thiel’s long-standing belief that democracy is a hindrance to progress. Under the RAGE framework, policies are to be dictated by data models and corporate interests, reducing governance to a cold calculus that benefits the billionaire class while stripping power from the people. Vance, ever the loyal foot soldier of the Dark Enlightenment, has championed RAGE as a necessary step toward 'modernising' government, though its true aim is clear: consolidating control in the hands of Silicon Valley’s reactionary overlords
Vanessa Elliot at WIRED mapped out Silicon Valley & corporate connections to DOGE. If Elon Musk is America's CEO, DOGE is the Silicon Valley executive branch.
Musk's involvement in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) underscores his commitment to dismantling public institutions under the guise of 'efficiency,' a move that conveniently consolidates power among the elite. So Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) isn't about 'efficiency' in the traditional sense, it is a trojan horse for the Dark Enlightenment’s techno-authoritarian vision. Musk, ever the meme-loving billionaire, may have given it a joke name, but the underlying goals were deadly serious: replacing democratic governance with algorithmic rule, consolidating power in the hands of unelected tech elites, and reducing government to a streamlined machine that serves corporate interests rather than the public. DOGE is Musk’s attempt to hijack the administrative state, injecting Silicon Valley’s libertarian-turned-authoritarian ethos directly into Washington, and it is working. (wired.com)
The echoes of Curtis Yarvin’s neocameralism [Techbro Corporate Fascism] in DOGE are impossible to ignore. Yarvin’s ideal government, modeled after a corporation run by a CEO with absolute power, is almost identical to what Musk was proposing under DOGE: a “lean,” technocratic system where AI replaces bureaucracy, efficiency trumps democratic deliberation, and decision-making is concentrated in the hands of a few powerful individuals. It is a real time digital coup in slow motion, designed to erode democracy under the pretense of modernisation. (newyorker.com)
DOGE is also Musk’s personal power play, his attempt to embed himself as the unelected ruler of a new technocratic order, using his influence to dictate policy while bypassing democratic institutions. It’s no coincidence that Musk’s push for DOGE accelerated at the same time as his embrace of authoritarian-leaning political figures like Vance and Thiel. The goal was always the same: hollow out democracy, replace it with an elite-run algorithmic state, and sell it as 'progress.'
Ultimately, DOGE is a stepping stone, a prototype for a future where Musk, Thiel, and their fellow reactionaries control governance as effortlessly as they control their corporate fiefdoms. And if DOGE was just the beginning, R.A.G.E. may be the next phase: a full-fledged system where democracy is no longer inefficient, it’s simply obsolete. The DOGE program, exemplify this authoritarian drift. By seeking to 'streamline' government functions through artificial intelligence, Musk's approach threatens to erode the human elements of governance, replacing them with cold, technocratic control. The New Yorker
The movement's disdain for equality is shockingly hiding in full view. Proponents reject the notion of human equality, promoting instead a hierarchy rooted in so-called 'human biodiversity', a thinly veiled euphemism for pseudoscientific racial theories. This toxic ideology aligns disturbingly with the views of tech moguls like Peter Thiel, who sceptical about the compatibility of freedom and democracy. Wikipedia
The convergence of these tech titans and political figures under the banner of the Dark Enlightenment is not merely an academic concern; it represents a clear and present danger to the democratic fabric. As they champion a future where power is concentrated in the hands of a self-anointed elite, the very principles of equality, justice, and public participation are under siege. The rise of Vance, propelled by the machinations of Musk and Thiel, serves as a stark warning: the Dark Enlightenment is no longer confined to obscure internet forums, it is seeping into the highest corridors of power, threatening to undo centuries of democratic progress.
And where does Donald Trump sit in this? The short answer is he doesn't. While Donald Trump has never been known for his ideological consistency, his orbit has increasingly overlapped with the reactionary techno-authoritarianism of Musk, Thiel, and Vance. At first glance, Trump, ever the populist showman, might seem an odd bedfellow for the hyper-intellectual Dark Enlightenment movement. After all, Curtis Yarvin and his mob prefer their autocrats to be efficient, calculating rulers, not erratic, tweet-spewing chaos agents. But what Trump lacks in philosophical coherence, he makes up for in raw authoritarian instinct. Thiel was an early supporter of Trump in 2016, and while he distanced himself somewhat during Trump's presidency, his financial and ideological influence never waned. More recently, Yarvin has written approvingly of Trump’s potential to act as a 'disruptor' who could help pave the way for a more competent autocrat, perhaps someone like, say, JD Vance. (theguardian.com)
So, Trump isn't in on it. Not in the intellectual sense, Trump is no philosopher-king, but as a blunt instrument for chaos, a figurehead to usher in the very breakdown that the Dark Enlightenment thrives on, he has proven very useful. And whether he realises it or not, his presidency has laid the groundwork for the very dystopian future that Musk, Thiel, and Vance are working to cement. In many ways, Trump is just a prototype, the wrecking ball needed to clear the path for the more sophisticated, tech-backed authoritarianism to come.
The Dark Enlightenment's disdain for democracy isn't just theoretical; it's a blueprint for a techno-feudal future where power is concentrated in the hands of a select few. Thiel's investments in Yarvin's ventures, such as the Urbit project, further cement the ties between Silicon Valley's elite and this authoritarian ideology. The New Republic+2Queercents+2The Verge+2
In this grim narrative, Vance emerges as the handpicked herald of a new anti-democratic order, his rise fueled by the dogma and money of tech billionaires who view democracy as an inconvenient obstacle to their unfettered reign. The corridors of power now echo with the footsteps of those who would see democratic institutions erased and replaced with corporate autocracies.
One thing is very clear: the fusion of technological might and authoritarian philosophy poses an existential threat to the democratic fabric not just of the United States but of the whole western world. It is the same game Rcihard Tice is playing here. The ascent of Vance, choreographed by Musk and Thiel, serves as a stark warning of the perils that lie ahead when power is wielded without accountability, and democracy is treated as a disposable relic of the past.
So Donald Trump could very well be the last elected President of the United States. No more the land of the free and a country with its democracy on life support.
