Who is Curtis Yarvin
The Dark Enlightenment
JD Vance discusses Yarvin's Cathedral
Curtis Yarvin on Tucker Carlson Today
The Dark Enlightenment and Curtis Yarvin
Curtis Yarvin uses the pseudonym "Mencius Moldbug" as a nod to various influences and to maintain a degree of separation between his personal identity and his online persona. The name "Mencius" references the Chinese philosopher, known for his ideas on human nature and governance, while "Moldbug" combines a whimsical, somewhat absurdist element that reflects his critique of contemporary culture and politics.
Who is Curtis Yarvin?
Curtis Yarvin, also known by his pseudonym "Mencius Moldbug," is a software engineer and political theorist associated with the "Dark Enlightenment" movement. He is known for his critiques of modern democratic governance and his advocacy for a more authoritarian, monarchist approach to society.
Yarvin is a prominent figure in the online intellectual dark web and has written extensively on his blog, "Unqualified Reservations." His writings often blend technology, political philosophy, and critiques of contemporary liberalism.
He argues that modern democracy is inherently flawed and advocates for a return to more hierarchical and centralized forms of governance. He is critical of the administrative state and what he sees as the failures of liberal democracy.
The Dark Enlightenment
Central to Nick Land's ideas is a belief in freedom's incompatibility with democracy. Land drew inspiration from libertarians such as Peter Thiel (who “bought” JD Vance and AZ nominee Blake Masters), as indicated in his essay The Dark Enlightenment. The Dark Enlightenment has been described by journalists and commentators as alt-right and neo-fascist. A 2016 article in New York magazine notes that "Neoreaction has a number of different strains, but perhaps the most important is a form of post-libertarian futurism that, realizing that libertarians aren't likely to win any elections, argues against democracy in favor of authoritarian forms of government."
JD Vance and Curtis Yarvin's "Cathedral"
JD Vance has ties to anti-democracy bloggers like Curtis Yarvin, where, in an interview with Jack Murphy, he mentions that we have to “accept that this thing (American Democracy) is going to fall into itself. And so the task of conservatives right now is to preserve as much as can be preserved, and then when the inevitable collapse of the country comes, ensure that conservatives are able to sort of help build back the country in a way that’s actually better. Not Joe Biden’s build back better, but actually some sort of reconstruction of the country.”
He then calls that pessimistic, and then continues, “I tend to think that we should seize the institutions of the left and turn them against the left… we need a “de-woke-ification program in the United States.”
Who else is pushing these theories?
But, JD Vance wasn’t the only one who was pushing these narratives. Blake Masters, who was the GOP Senate nominee in Arizona, when asked how he’d drain the swamp in Washington, he responded “One of my friends has this acronym he calls RAGE — Retire All Government Employees,” Masters answered. You’ve probably guessed who the friend is.
Both Blake Masters and JD Vance have been "bought" by billionaire Peter Thiel, who is a known subscriber of Yarvin's ideologies.
In many thousand words’ worth of blog posts over the past 15 years, computer programmer and tech startup founder Curtis Yarvin has laid out a critique of American democracy: arguing that it’s liberals in elite academic institutions, media outlets, and the permanent bureaucracy who hold true power in this declining country, while the US executive branch has become weak, incompetent, and captured.
He distinguishes himself among right-wing commentators as perhaps the foremost thinker on how the U.S. government could be overthrown and transformed—what he refers to as a “reboot” or “reset”—under a monarch, CEO, or dictator. Yarvin contends that a dynamic and visionary leader—a “startup guy,” akin to figures like Napoleon or Lenin—should assume absolute power, dismantle the existing regime, and create a new system in its stead.
Curtis Yarvin on Tucker Carlson Today
In 2021, Yarvin appeared on Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Today", where he discussed the United States' withdrawal from Afghanistan and his concept of the "Cathedral", which he claims to be the current aggregation of political power and influential institutions that is controlling the country. He ended the interview with a chilling suggestion of how America might fall, and it’s alarmingly similar to Project 2025, which, strangely enough, embodies the alt-right’s weird obsession with the fall of Ancient Rome… and the patriarchal society of Rome itself.