The Neo-Totalitarian American Monarchy....
Analyzing Curtis Yarvin, and his influence in Trump's Administration.....
The Interview
Curtis Yarvin Says Democracy Is Done. Powerful Conservatives Are Listening.
Watching Yarvin pontificate in his leather jacket reminded me of a 6th year college senior......still living in the dorms…
...pulling bong hits with 18 year old freshmen who are blown away by his enlightened "brilliance”...
...because they lack the life experience to call "bullshit".
Yarvin’s nonsensical philosophies would be amusing if he wasn’t taken seriously by so many powerful people.
Let’s unpack….
Jordan Peterson has been described as being a dumb person’s idea of what a smart person is.
That description aptly describes Yarvin....except that the dumb person in this example isn't a 21 year old kid working at GameStop.....it's JD Vance, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, David Sachs, Mark Andreesen, etc.
They obviously are not dumb…..they are just exceptionally, arrogantly ignorant…....recklessly self-interested…..or both.
There's been a lot of focus on trying to understand why Silicon Valley shifted from historically supporting Democrats….to aggressively supporting Trump. Yarvin, and his "Techno-Feudalist" philosophies go a long way to explaining why.
Repeatedly, Yarvin exposes himself as someone who does not understand human nature/psychology.
He embraces abstract philosophies of how life “should” be in a similarly naïve, pollyannish, child-like thinking that is reminiscent of liberals/hippies in the 60’s who had grand, delusional ideas about how perfect life would be in the utopian lifestyle of a commune….or under socialism or even communism.
The problem is that once you introduce a human element to any well-intentioned, “pure”, or idealized ideology.....regardless of whether it’s organized religion, communism, or Yarvin’s “Deep Right” philosophy…..it inevitably becomes corrupted.
The route, or the path may be different. But the destination is the same.
The difference is that whereas the path on the Left may initially start out with empathy that radicalizes into authoritarianism....the “Deep Right’s” authoritarianism is the by-product of radical transactional pragmatism. This should come as no surprise since it was dreamt up by computer engineers.
The problem with the “Deep Right” and Yarvin is that it/he is deeply ignorant of human nature/psychology. Particularly the psychopathology of the current moment...and perhaps, even his own narcissism.
I’ve previously analyzesd why society’s social and legal systems fail to rein in narcissists/sociopaths.
It’s relevant to the cults of personality that fuel the Silicon Valley oligarchy:
Along these contextual lines, one contributing factor is how society/people will view the exact same presentation of disorders (behaviors) through entirely different lenses. I remember having a conversation about Trump in April of 2017 where, as I had for the previous18 months, articulated the danger that Trump and his disorders presented to the country. The guy I was talking to not only dismissed my warnings, but he somewhat admiringly characterized Trump’s behavior as simply that of a “successful New York Businessman”.There are several implicit points in this glowing characterization of Trump. First, we live in a highly competitive, “individualistic” (in contrast to “collective”) society that measures and values people based on material success (job title, income, type of car, size of home). As a result,…..cold, heartless, “cut throat” behaviors and conduct are not only accepted, but they’re encouraged and applauded as long as these behaviors occur in the context of being a good “businessman”, or as long as those actions occur within the context of the resource ecosystem....by members of the ecosystem....for benefit of other ecosystem members (shareholders), or w/the implicit promise that other ecosystem members can get away with similar actions (reciprocation/precedent).
This incentive structure creates a fertile environment for anti-social (in the clinical sense) behaviors (egocentric grandiosity, deceit and manipulation, lack of remorse and empathy) which, when applied to the business world, are celebrated as cunning/shrewd methods of “winning”. Now contrast this with the fact that as many as 80% of incarcerated offenders “have behavioral histories that meet diagnostic criteria for anti-social personality disorder”. What are the distinguishing factors? A lack of membership in the resource ecosystem,… and their race. But even when the narcissism doesn’t rise to a clinical level, the collective level of egotism creates a toxically pathological environment in the aggregate.
Yarvin essentially believes that society is too stupid, too lazy, too emotionally overwhelmed, too easily conned/manipulated…..basically too primitive….
.....to be able to handle/process the technologically advanced society that is increasingly evolving beyond human evolvement at an ever more rapid pace.
I’ve previously written about this here:
“Creature comforts”/evolutionary maladaptationThere’s no question humans are struggling to adapt to modern society. The speed of technological advancement…and the society that technological advancement has created….exponentially outpaces our ability to adapt to it evolutionarily.
Similarly, we also see this evolutionary disconnection occur with the obesity and mental illness epidemics. Over the course of human history, our bodies evolved to adapt and function in an environment where calorie scarcity combined with an abundance of physical activity:
Fighting/fleeing from threatening humans or animals, hunting/gathering, farming, industrialization/heavy manual labor.
But now, most Americans live a lifestyle where there is calorie abundance, a deprivation of physical activity, and an incessant triggering of our fight-or-flight response (without a healthy “release” of that stress).
As a country, we’re overweight, over-triggered, and, in an effort to deal with both, we’re over-drugged:
GLP-1 drugs/Ozempic….anti-anxiety/anti-depressants…opioids.
Modern lifestyles (in many cases artificially) induce constant stress/anxiety/fear, while simultaneously disrupting what we have relied on for thousands of generations to regulate mood and relieve stress and anxiety: our fight or flight response, which is inherently a physical activity (exercise).
As a result, this “overstressed/under-stress release” dynamic causes people to be in a state of hypervigilance due to constant fear mongering, and overconsumption of toxic political rhetoric.
This summary of Yarvin’s philosophies (analyzed in more detail below) describes this phenomenon as “Infocracy”:
“A bombardment of information that makes it close to Impossible for us to really come together and discuss common themes around which our lives depend”.
Therefore, according to Yarvin, the human species should submit to not just technology….but to the master race:
The techno-feudalists who…..
1) Because they understand technology better than the rest of the species…..they should be anointed hierarchical roles in the New American Monarchy.
….and…..
2) Because they also know what’s best for you. Even better than you know what’s best for you.
Here’s the problem:
Yes, a very strong argument CAN be made that over the last decade, society has proven that it is too stupid, too lazy, too emotionally overwhelmed, too easily conned/manipulated…..and basically too primitive to be able to handle/process the technologically advanced society that is increasingly evolving beyond the human evolvement at an ever more rapid pace.
However, what evidence exists that proves that either the socially awkward/inept, and/or pathologically disordered political/Big Tech elites……or the algorithms that they’ve created/exploited…..are in any way capable of Monarchically “ruling” the country/world in an effective way?
The reality of the situation is that nothing, and no one, has done more to tear apart this country than “Big Tech”…..and “Big Psychopathology”:
The algorithm-aided, Cluster B personality-disordered politicians, media personalities, and centi-billionaire oligarchs.
Basically, Yarvin’s argument is that the very same people (Trump/Musk/Zuckerberg/Theil/Andreessen)....and technology (algorithms/AI) that already threaten the demise of society…....should be installed into a neo-totalitarian Monarchy….to create a utopian society where “We The People” submit to the omnipotence of both.
How convenient, and entirely predictable…..that the people who believe that 250 years of constitutional democracy should be abandoned for a monarchy...also believe that the big tech aristocracy should also be ordained as the new royalty.
(so to speak…Yarvin actually disputes the royalty label).
Yarvin claims that any Fortune 500 CEO could run the government better than the government. Here are some flaws in Yarvin’s argument:
1) CEOs are fiduciaries whose primary responsibility is to create shareholder value……to create profits for stockholders. This singular purpose not only contrasts with the many, varied responsibilities of the government, or even a hypothetical “Monarchy”……but every fortune 500 company also has a board of directors that is responsible for oversight over the CEO.
Who would provide oversight over a hypothetical Monarch?
As we have seen repeatedly over the last decade....and especially with Hegseth/Gabbard/RFK/Patel....the Constitution’s Article 1 branch (Congress) of government responsible for oversight of the Article 2 branch (Executive) has pathetically, weakly, and cowardly rolled over for Trump for selfish and self preservational reasons:
The Tik Tok situation highlights how the country is experiencing (collapsing due to) “Death by 100 million paper cuts”....with each “paper cut” representing a selfish, narcissistic action that occurs at the expense of the country as a whole.
The paper cuts exist in the millions among the masses….and in a vacuum or in isolation, are inconsequential.
But in the aggregate, these papercuts are very impactful…..As you move up the hierarchy of society, there are fewer people/papercuts, but they became increasingly more impactful and “painful”: Congress members/senators selfishly obsess about remaining in office, and will sell out the country, rather than vote to impeach a corrupt/treasonous president......or even to simply to reject a FOXNews host from becoming Secretary of Defense.
2) Even if there was a board to oversee the New Monarch, who decides who’s on the board? Would it be the techno-feudalist elite masters?
Because if so, it would most likely result in a situation similar to how Musk currently surrounds himself with sycophantic, jock-sniffing “yes [wo]men” who are all-too-giddy to bask in the warm glow emanating from their proximity to the richest man on the planet.
Occasionally, said sycophants become impregnated by said “jock”:
Under this New Monarch scenario, society would be similarly f*cked….
3) And if the board of directors is somehow representative of the New Monarch’s "subjects", then are we’re right back to having elections again…..
....and if so, then what’s the point of unconstitutionally eliminating elections to have a Monarch?
All of this talk of Techno-Feudalist Monarchs leaves one longing for a “strange bedfellow”:
Where the Hell is Steve Bannon, and his populist army of “We the People” who stormed the gates of the Capitol on January 6th?
Why isn’t there a nationalist populist MAGA revolt against this prescribed submission to the (immigrant) Techno-Feudalist overlords of the “Deep Right"?
Is Bannon/MAGA only triggered when it is the “State” that is “Deep”?
Are Bannon and MAGA not triggered by a chain saw-wielding Techno-Feudalist “Elite” who not only bought the 2024 election....
......but who has seems to have purchased MAGA out from under Bannon……
….and now has carte blanche access/power/control over millions of MAGA’s jobs, benefits, health care, personal data, and lives (more on this below)?
Donie O’Sullivan:
“There are very few people in MAGA world who speak out against Elon Musk, why do you think that is?”
Bannon….in a weak and timid tone:
“I don’t know, but Elon’s doing some great work…..I’m a big supporter….of what Elon’s doing with DOGE, I’m a big supporter of that. I wish him a lot of luck.”
Bannon’s tone, and confidence noticeably changes when he pivots to attacking the *other* oligarchs (Zuckerberg/Bezos)....because they’re soft targets who aren’t a threat to Bannon.
Here, Bannon and Natalie Winters engaged in 4 minute and 20 second, 820 word conversation about “Oligarch Capture”:
Two observations:
1) That not once, did either of them have the courage to mention Musk when ranting about “Oligarch Capture”:
And….
2) How they infantilize Trump:
“We have to [protect and] defend Trump from oligarch capture”
Either Bannon is too naïve/dumb to understand that Trump isn’t passively and innocently “being surrounded” by oligarchs…..
…..or Bannon is too dishonest to admit Trump is intentionally creating an oligarchy because this is what Trump is:
A sociopathic narcissist who is incapable of putting the interests of anyone/anything ahead of his own corrupt self-interests.
FYI: Bannon is not naïve/dumb.
Natalie Winters ends her rant by promising to continue to expose the oligarchs/deep state “because the MAGA movement is not dumb”.
Remember:
It was Musk who insinuated that Americans/MAGA were dumb and lazy…..
…and when criticized by people once traumatized by being called “deplorables”…
…Musk, the South African immigrant…
…in keeping with the spirit of “efficiency”…
...patriotically suggested that they face-fuck themselves:
Why should two people commit to a task that can easily be performed by one??
As an aside…
…….one of the true gems of the conversation was this quote from Natalie Winters (1:50)....
......who obliviously/ironically makes this statement to Bannon....
.....who served 4 months in prison for contempt of Congress when he obstructed the investigation into the Jan 6th insurrection:
Bannon is an interesting and complex piece in all of this.
He appears to align with Yarvin’s assessment of the “Aristocracy” (Universities, Bureaucracy, institutions, culture) and perhaps even the Monarch/CEO.
Curtis Yarvin is a major influence on JD Vance and Steve Bannon. His ideas are nonsense. — The San Diego Union-TribuneYarvin is one of the founders of something called the “Dark Enlightenment” movement, which “argues” against democracy and against egalitarianism.
The problem is that Bannon envisioned he would be the populist general storming the gates of the administrative state with 20,000 “shock troops”…..
….and instead he’s standing on the sideline intermittently making empty threats towards Elon….and praising Trump………..all while Elon storms the gates of the administrative state with his band of incels……and (at least publicly still) receives glowing praise from Trump for doing so.
Bannon’s problem is that he was once the heartbeat of MAGA……and now he's at risk of becoming irrelevant.
Similar to the existential dilemma the Supreme Court faces: Rule against Trump, and risk being exposed as impotent and irrelevant when he defies them…..
…..Bannon faces a similar dilemma: Stand up to/criticize Trump and risk being exposed as impotent/irrelevant when Trump and the current “variant” of MAGA defy/dismiss him.
As a result, Bannon may continue to endorse the populist ideology-violating, techno feudalism in order to maintain the facade of relevance and power in the eyes of MAGA.
Bannon went from making empty threats against Musk……
……and accusing Musk of being willing to cash a check from Hitler…….
….to emulating Musk’s “enthusiastic” hand gestures…….
….because, despite it being apparent on Bannon’s face and in his voice…..that Trump is abandoning MAGA populist principles/objectives...
…..Bannon is "all in, let's roll".
Ok, now let’s circle back and analyze Yarvin through the lens of both a NYTimes interview, as well an American International University presentation.
The American International University lecture/slide show is especially interesting because the professor lives in El Salvador, which has been a testing ground for Yarvin’s philosophies.
Much of the NYTimes interview is incoherent. Marchese is obviously frustrated by Yarvin’s inability to stay on topic….and his loose, irresponsible characterization of history and facts.
At the 3:00 minute mark....
....Yarvin claims that the country should “get over its dictator phobia” because FDR was essentially a dictator/CEO….and that since the U.S. has had a dictator in the past (FDR), it shouldn’t be afraid of having one now.
The differences between FDR and a modern “Monarch”:
1) FDR took office 3 ½ years into the Great Depression
2) FDR’s “dictatorial” actions were taken to help Americans suffering from the Smoot-Hawley Tariffs, and from the societal exploitation by “industrialists/robber barons”
5 Causes of the Great Depression | HISTORY
Basically, FDR instituted a populist agenda to help what was essentially the MAGA of the day.
FDR was a arguably populist who actually helped “real Americans”.......while also standing up to a fascist/Hitler.
Trump, on the other hand, has become a modern day version of a Robber Baron……
……who institutes tariffs…..
……exploits the country….
……and illegally/unconstitutionally gives other “Robber Baron” oligarchs free rein to exploit the government at the expense of the people/populists…..
……for the benefit of the Silicon Valley Techno-Feudalist, centi-billionaire libertarians.
….and who (Trump), instead of standing up to fascist dictators like FDR……
……reverses 75 years of foreign/military policy by capitulating to Putin.
Trump’s Pivot Toward Putin’s Russia Upends Generations of U.S. PolicyAs peace talks opened in Saudi Arabia, President Trump made clear that the days of isolating Russia are over
At the 12:30 minute mark, Yarvin calls Vance a “normie”, but when pressed, digresses to point out Trump’s divisiveness:
A few observations:
1) Again, Yarvin is incredibly ignorant of the fact that Trump’s Cluster B Personality Disorders render him incapable of changing/deviating from who and what he is: a sociopathic narcissist.
2) Trump’s psychopathology (pathological dishonesty/alternate realities/ revisionist histories)....and the resulting “Trickle Down Pathology” that’s infected the country...
...has caused MAGA & the Right....including Yarvin’s “Deep Right”....to be the ones who are “misinformed”.
3) The ironic lack of self-awareness (or malicious intellectual dishonesty) that prevents Yarvin from understanding/acknowledging....
.....that it’s Yarvin, MAGA, and the “Deep Right” that are supporting a….“bad regime”
At 14:30, Marchese brings up Yarvin’s previous writings where Yarvin proposed:
-People who work at NYT should all lose their jobs.
-(RAGE) retiring all government employees.
-Locking all unproductive people in a room forever.
Yarvin: “….the way to treat those institutions should be treated as a company going out of business (as commodities/assets).”
At the 16:00 minute mark, Yarvin refers to professors, people working in American institutions, etc., as the “American Aristocracy”…..
….and does so while simultaneously, and ironically, pushing for installing a “Monarchy.”
At 16:10 Marchese asks Yarvin:
“How invested do you think @JDVance is in democracy?”
Yarvin confuses the young, chubby-faced JDVance….
…..with the current opportunistic, sycophantic, fascistic JD Vance.
The “Hillbilly Elegy” version of JD Vance believed that the government should serve the common good:
But the “Trickle Down Pathology”, MAGA/Monarch version of JD Vance believes in the weaponization of government…
...has drank the Yarvin Kool-Aid…
...and has delusions of grandeur that he’s the prince who’ll inherit the throne.
Unfortunately for JD Vance, he’s the latest version of a once-principled, clear-eyed Trump critic……who subsequently sold his soul to prove his loyalty…
..…only to realize Trump is a sociopathic narcissist who’s incapable of reciprocation:
Moving on….
At the 29:00 minute mark, Marchese confronts Yarvin for “cherry-picking” historical factual accuracy, and or his framing of historical figures/events.
One relevant example, is where Yarvin argues slaves lives were better under top-down, authoritarian power structure:
Even giving Yarvin the most generous interpretation of his remarks, he displays a very poor understanding of human psychology.
Let’s say that someone living in poverty wins the lottery, and shortly after ends up broke, and their life is worse (addiction, ruined marriages/relationships, etc) than it was prior to becoming rich.
That doesn't mean that they were better off being poor. It just means that being poor was so bad that it made them ill-equipped/incapable of handling such a stark contrast from the oppressive constraints of being poor.
The oppressiveness of poverty creates an element of structure that, on balance, is an awful experience. But people adapt and learn how to survive within that oppressive structure. Failure to thrive when suddenly not constrained by the lack of, or absences of that oppressive structure (instant wealth) does not mean they were better off poor.
Similarly, think of the Shawshank Redemption character, Brooks Hatlen, who couldn’t adjust to being released after serving 50 years in prison…..and ended up committing suicide.
When people suddenly get out of prison after decades of incarceration, they often struggle to adapt to freedom.
It doesn't mean that they were better off under the authoritarian rule of incarceration......it just means that after decades of being institutionalized they struggle to adapt to freedom.
At the 36:00 minute mark, Yarvin has an interesting observation about conservatism:
Regardless of the accuracy of Yarvin’s assessment, it’s amazing that Yarvin could make this observation, and be so oblivious to the fact that it perfectly describes Trump and Trumpism:
Grift, fraud….consumes so much energy/attention and produces so little….as explained in the thread about Trump’s fraudulent populism:
Yarvin’s mind seems to work in a way where he's able to conceptualize an out-of-the-box idea or theory.
But when attempting to apply that theory, his mind suddenly becomes very simplistically black and white….or “binary”.
This is not surprising considering he's a computer engineer:
Identify, observe, and analyze an abstract, not-easily-seen problem......
…..and then use “binary code” to solve it.
Yarvin is often incoherent and struggles to stay on topic.
This Atlantic International lecture/presentation provides a more succinct summary of Yarvin and his philosophies.
A refresher on Yarvin:
Democracy is a failed experiment.
At the 22:00 minute mark:
“…..in the area of infocracy, the constant bombardment of information fractures time and information right and it fractures time and attention and the personalization of the internet narrows and limits our life world and disintegrates our democracy….”
Again:
The reality of the situation is that nothing, and no one, has done more to tear apart this country than “Big Tech”…..and “Big Psychopathology”:
The algorithm-aided Cluster B personality-disordered politicians, media personalities, and centi-billionaire oligarchs.
This “Data Manifesto” is not a hypothetical future reality.
The Right has been manipulating biometric data since at least 2016:
Democratic elections are explicitly mandated by the Constitution. Wouldn’t ending democratic elections be a violation of the oath to defend the constitution? Would it be treasonous? A coup?
At the 36:00 minute mark:
This is where Yarvin’s influence really comes into focus over the last month:
1) Elon Musk buys the presidency for Trump….who lied about project 2025 during the campaign:
2) Trump gives Musk free-reign to implement Project 2025……infiltrate the data bases/computer systems of government departments/agencies….
Remember:
At most, maybe half of the people who voted for Trump voted for Project 2025 to be implemented.
Trump had less than 50% of the electorate. That means that less 25% of the country voted for “this”…
3) JD Vance conditions “authoritarian followers” to not only accept an illegal, unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers attempt to check/balance executive (CEO/Monarch/Neo-Totalitarian) authority….
…..but does so in a combative, inciting rhetoric similar to the lead up to January 6th insurrection.
4) Congressional Republicans fear for not just the safety of the congressional seat, but they fear for the safety of their families and themselves:
5) Trump declares that he is the sole determiner of what the laws mean….
.....which will always result in a self-serving, exploitive interpretation and action.
6) Trump declares:
“He who saves his country does not violate any law”:
Again he is a sociopathic narcissist who, by definition, demonstrates a “pervasive pattern” of behavior that is both self serving…….and exploitive.
Trump will subjectively determine that every self-serving/exploitive action is necessary to “save the country”.
7) Is Elon “only” downloading information…
…or is he “uploading” software (or some comparable action) to take control of governmental systems at some point in the future so he can install himself as the Neo-Totalitarian, Techno-Feudalist Monarch?
Again, why are Bannon’s balls locked in the trunk of a Tesla?
Rise up, MAGA.
Stop allowing yourself to be conned by fake populists.
Sound familiar?
Yarvin believes “the current liberal democracy contains the seeds of its own demise”.
JD Vance:
“Curtis Yarvin's written about some of these things. One has to basically accept that the whole thing is going to fall in on itself…..when the inevitable collapse comes you build back the country in a way that’s actually better.”
The collapse wasn’t/isn't inevitable.
However....
Yarvin is correct that liberal Democracy….or perhaps the constitutional order…..
.....contains the seeds…..or at least the vulnerabilities…. of its own demise:
This is a must read for all Americans. All Facts with great psychological analysis.
Yarvin is psychotic. He’s the modern version of Jim Jones and the broligarchs are his converts.