Sometimes reality is not only stranger than fiction — the resemblance is too close for comfort!
This thought came to mind as I read that, in deciding last week whether to form his new America Party, Elon Musk consulted with a right-wing thinker named Curtis Yarvin. www.msn.com/…
I had never heard of the fellow, so I looked up his wiki. I was unable to get through the exposition of his thinking without laughing in disgust. I also learned thinking of this kind has been encapsulated by some right wingers into a new “school of thought” labeled the “Dark Enlightenment.”
The description of Yarvin as far-right doesn’t seem quite accurate. Apparently, his work has gained the attention of people like Vice President Vance and Silicon Valley titan Peter Thiel. Yarvin was also invited to one of Trump’s inaugural events.
To sum up, Yarvin believes American democracy has failed and our structure of government should be replaced by a kind of Tech CEO. This Chosen One would have dictatorial powers that would supposedly be balanced by the shareholders (the new polity would function like a corporation).
One can immediately see the appeal of all this for a man like Musk.
There is a rich trove of science fiction on tech dystopias. Authors like Isaac Asimov in the Foundation series and Harlan Ellison in his short story “I have no mouth and I must scream” come to mind. For me, the comparison was the world of the table-top miniatures game Warhammer 40,000 (WH40K). In WH40K, the known universe of the far future is ruled by an immortal God-Emperor (the graphic above is that of an “Adeptus Mechanicus” tech priest, a servant of the Emperor who metes out holy wrath with futuristic weaponry).
I don’t recall these dystopias actually getting traction as real-world political movements. Until now.
Musk’s guru appears to be a throwback to 19th century eugenics thinkers. Certain races are more suited for servitude, some (e.g. whites) are just naturally smarter, etc. It is fair to say he is a crackpot. Typical of many extremist thinkers, he is adept at citing history without really understanding it. And of casually distorting widely available historical records.
Here is a doozy from the Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/… :
”Yarvin suggested in a January 2025 New York Times interview that there was historical precedent to support his reasoning, asserting that in his first inaugural address Franklyn Delano Roosevelt “essentially says, Hey, Congress, give me absolute power, or I’ll take it anyway. So did FDR actually take that level of power? Yeah, he did.”
Wrong. At no time — ever — did FDR ask for “absolute” power much less threaten to “take it anyway.” Or ever gain it, for that matter.
Here is FDR’s actual first inaugural address: avalon.law.yale.edu/… The relevant passage is as follows (emphasis mine):
“But in the event that the Congress shall fail to take one of these two courses, and in the event that the national emergency is still critical, I shall not evade the clear course of duty that will then confront me. I shall ask the Congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis–broad Executive power to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe.”
FDR seeded his address with positive references to the US Constitution and the US system of governance. The passage above, in the first part, invites Congress to act. If Congress does not act, then FDR shall ask Congress for broad executive power (emphases mine).
At times like this, I miss William F. Buckley. Not that I’d agree with the man politically. But at least he was coherent. Buckley would weep to see what “right wing thinking” has devolved into in the Age of Trump.
Back to Musk. I am not sure how many Rasputins he has, but it sounds like this fellow is one of them. We can shake our heads. Maybe chuckle at the ridiculousness of it all.
And yet, the richest man in the world is apparently plunging full tilt into promoting a “Dark Enlightenment.”
We should be glad, I suppose, that he is placing himself in opposition to Trump, another villain.
And yet…
To paraphrase the words of Gandalf the Grey from the Lord of the Rings, even as we watch Isengard and Mordor fight, we need to remember one of them will eventually come out on top.
Hence, we must redouble our efforts. Defend our freedoms. And save the only earth we have.
