We need to talk about Curtis Yarvin
On Wednesday, TetleysTLDR blog discussed the dark Enlightment and its potential to turn the US into a fascistic autocracy. A far-right ideology that is making serious traction in the US. In the faecal depths of reactionary thought, one name surfaces with unsettling frequency. I'd like to introduce you to a particularly distasteful POS that is most likely the most dangerous thinker in America: Curtis Yarvin - a full on wierdo that also goes under the name of Mencius Moldbug. In normal times this man would be on the fringe. But we are not in normal times: And he is being listened to. https://www.tetleystldr.com/tetleystldr-blog/trump-is-the-47th-and-last-president-of-the-united-states
Yarvin, the software engineer turned far-right ideologue who, under the pseudonym Mencius Moldbug, has become the intellectual darling of the neo-reactionary movement, or as it's more ominously known, the Dark Enlightenment.
Curtis Guy Yarvin, born in 1973, is an American software developer and far-right political theorist, Mencius Moldbug: I mean if that isn't a big fucking red flag I don't know what is. He is recognised for founding the anti-egalitarian and anti-democratic philosophical movement known as the Dark Enlightenment or neo-reactionary movement (NRx). If there was any justice in the world he would be a socially awkward tech bro living in a dark basement flat somewhere living on toast toppers and pot noodles with view lounging at the less fashionable wacky fringes of society. But we are not living in normal times are we? He is, for example, responsible for the model of systemic stripping down of Government, education and science currently being carried out by Elon Musk. The Economic Times+10Encyclopedia+10Wikipedia+10Wikiquote+7Wikipedia+7Encyclopedia+7
Yarvin was born into a liberal, secular family. His paternal grandparents were Jewish Americans and communists, and his father, Herbert Yarvin, worked as a diplomat for the U.S. government. His mother was a Protestant from Westchester County. In 1985, he participated in Johns Hopkins' Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth. He graduated from Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, Maryland, in 1988. His road to Damascus and political 180 degrees about turn reminds me of the Revolutionary Communist Party I brushed occasionally past knew in Sheffield in the 90's who went on to work for Dominic Cummins and Boris Johnson Doctor Paradox+7Wikipedia+7Mabumbe+7Mabumbe+1Wikipedia+1
In 2007, under the pseudonym Mencius Moldbug, Yarvin began the blog Unqualified Reservations, where he argued that American democracy is a failed experiment that should be replaced by an accountable monarchy, akin to corporate governance. His critiques of democratic systems and advocacy for autocratic governance have been influential among certain political circles. Notably, Vice President JD Vance has cited Yarvin as an influence, and political strategist Steve Bannon has read and admired his work. Mabumbe+9Wikipedia+9Encyclopedia+9
In 2002, Yarvin began developing the Urbit computing platform, a decentralised network of personal servers. In 2013, he co-founded Tlon to oversee the project and led it until 2019. Factsnippet+5Wikipedia+5Encyclopedia+5
Yarvin's writings are deeply intertwined with the far-right. He has defended the institution of slavery and suggested that certain races may be more naturally inclined toward servitude than others. He has also claimed that whites have higher IQs than black people and opposes US civil rights programs and universal suffrage. Mabumbe+10Encyclopedia+10Doctor Paradox+10Wikipedia+1Historica Wiki+1
This movement, a cesspool of anti-democratic and anti-egalitarian dogma, seeks nothing less than the dismantling of modern democracy in favour of a techno-authoritarian dystopia.
Yarvin's grand vision? To scrap the messy, participatory nature of democracy and replace it with a monarchical regime, a nation run like a corporation, with an unelected CEO wielding unchecked power. He argues that democracy is a failed experiment, advocating for a system where leaders are not elected but installed, accountable only to their own interests. In his own words, the goal is to have a "national CEO, [or] what's called a dictator." PoliticoActivist Post+1Financial Times+1
Central to Curtis Yarvin's dogma is the concept of 'the Cathedral' . He uses this as a prejorative term for what he sees as the the intertwined institutions of academia, media, and bureaucracy: and says that these lead to failed democratic notions. Yarvin repackages old elitist paranoia to argue that a hivemind liberal hegemony covertly controls public thought and policy, conveniently ignoring the actual power structures dominated by corporate oligarchs and right-wing billionaires (Nagle, 2017). His framework serves as an intellectual justification for authoritarianism, portraying expertise and journalistic integrity as conspiratorial forces rather than the necessary pillars of an informed society (Srinivasan, 2020). By demonizing institutions that challenge unbridled hierarchy and unchecked capital, Yarvin provides cover for the erosion of democratic norms in favour of technocratic rule by an unelected elite, an irony apparently lost on his followers (Burley, 2019).
He wants to end elections because he beleives the general population are too stupid to vote. Judging from the re-election of Trump he might have a point but , I mean come on, this cunt is really just one step away from living on a private island stroking a white cat.
But Yarvin's influence doesn't end with his dystopian fantasies. His toxic ideology has seeped into the highest corridors of power, finding a receptive audience among tech oligarchs and political figures eager to erode democratic norms. Peter Thiel the billionaire venture capitalist, has not only funded Yarvin's endeavors but also infused his own anti-democratic sentiments into the political sphere. Thiel's protégé, JD Vance, [featured in the blog on Wednesday 2nd April] now Vice President, has openly cited Yarvin's work, signaling a disturbing mainstreaming of these extremist ideas. The New Republi
The tentacles of the Dark Enlightenment extend further into the tech industry, with figures like Elon Musk echoing Yarvin's disdain for democratic governance. Musk's appointment to head the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is a thinly veiled attempt to inject Yarvin's authoritarian principles into the fabric of government, under the guise of 'efficiency' and 'innovation'
In February in the 'Lawyers Guns Money blog', blogger Paul Campos identifies that Elon Musk DOGE is operating systemically and following Yarvin's 'RAGE' model (Retire all Government Employees: he goes on to plot how this is being done through DOGE:
1. Install a CEO Dictator
- Yarvin’s Blueprint: Trump appoints a CEO to run the country like a private corporation, bypassing Congress and the courts.
- Musk’s Moves: Acts as federal CEO, demands unilateral control over sensitive government programs, positioning himself as an unelected decision-maker as Trump stays in the background.
2. Purge the Bureaucracy
- Yarvin’s Plan: “Retire All Government Employees” (RAGE) – fire career civil servants and replace them with loyalists.
- Musk’s Moves: DOGE is gutting teams, demanding mass resignations, locking employees out of offices, and threatening mass layoffs in federal government. Meanwhile, DOGE is recruiting inexperienced young men who owe their loyalty to Musk/Thiel.
3. Build a Loyalist Army
- Yarvin’s Blueprint: Recruit an “ideologically trained” army to replace experts and enforce the new regime.
- Musk’s Moves: Surrounding himself with young, inexperienced loyalists who enforce his will without question. Project 2025 will also provide Republican cadre to run what’s left of the federal government.
4. Dismantle Democratic Institutions
- Yarvin’s Blueprint: Strip power from federal agencies, courts, and Congress, centralizing authority under the executive branch.
- Musk’s Moves: Undermining the credibility of the federal government, downplaying legal oversight, and defying regulatory authorities. Dismantling government agencies and functions with no plan for their replacement.
5. Seize Media and Information Control to Maintain Power
- Yarvin’s Blueprint: Take over government, journalism, academia, and social media to control public narratives.
- Musk’s Moves: Buying Twitter, firing journalists, boosting propaganda, and promoting fringe narratives while attacking traditional media. Leading the hostile tech takeover as Trump’s “CEO.”
This appears to be working to plan.
We need to recognise the insidious nature of Yarvin's ideology. The Dark Enlightenment isn't just a fringe internet subculture; it's a Fascistic calculated assault on the principles of democracy and equality. By cloaking regressive, authoritarian ideals in the language of technology and progress, Yarvin and his acolytes aim to dismantle the very foundations of a just society.
Yarvin's ideas continue to provoke debate and have influenced discussions on governance and political structures in the United States. As these dangerous ideas gain traction among those who wield significant political and economic power, we must remain vigilant. The Dark Enlightenment seeks to plunge us into a new era of inequality and oppression, masquerading as a solution to the challenges of modern governance. We need to stop these fuckers as this will spread like a plague if it isn't checked.
It's time to confront and reject the toxic influence of the Curtis Yarvin cult before their dystopian vision becomes our reality.
References:
- Nagle, A. (2017). Kill All Normies: Online Culture Wars from 4chan and Tumblr to Trump and the Alt-Right.
- Srinivasan, R. (2020). Beyond the Valley: How Innovators around the World are Overcoming Inequality and Creating the Technologies of Tomorrow.
- Burley, S. (2019). Fascism Today: What It Is and How to End It.
