Curtis Yarvin and JD Vance

What does Trump’s new VP have to do with the Silicon Valley cult-hero Curtis Yarvin, formerly known as Mencius Moldbug? Does this scandalous connection mean that Trump 2.0 will turn America into a tyran—I mean, a monarchical government? What’s going on here?

In this freeform Monday livestream, I go over some articles that get into the backstory. Come hang out, chat and learn together.

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[ericlefevre]

It is going to be very entertaining to watch the Blue Anon press educate Affluent White Female Urban Liberals about Curtis Yarvin.

[battlama]

This comment section is a joy, what a wonderful corner of the internet! Thanks Michael

[Wingedmagician]

watching this channel helps me gain some sanity and humanity in thinking about modern day politics 🙏

[amfortas]

"weird"
"terrifying"
"truly frightening"
Yeah yeah we heard it all last time Trump got in power 😂😂😂

[stellarjayatkins]

You can take what Yarvin says many different ways, which is part of his genius. When he talks about “locking people away in virtual reality” being a “humane alternative to genocide” …

I hear him mocking the status quo, our modern society, that does EXACTLY that. Entertainment, social media, porn, etc are a “virtual reality” that subdues and sterilizes the masses.

[NorthernObserver]

The good faith of these articles is stunning. Such noble truth tellers.

[eveningprimrose]

Congratulations on getting the GandalfSchool domain name.

[lewreed]

Right, so I have to re-read Xenophon along with 'On Tyranny' by Strauss, which I've just ordered. I'm looking forward to that. Wish I could say the same of Schmitt's 'Dictatorship', which I've also ordered, and will read out of due diligence.

Have to say, I find Yarvin's vision in 'Patchwork' sickening. I'm not surprised he didn't put his name to it, presumably because he knew better and seems the kind of spineless wretch who should be sentenced to time in some approximation of his own nightmare vision. He epitomises the necessity of the humanities for tech bros who would do away with them, just because US universities are a shambles. I'm sorry, but I find him thoroughly odious. Having a keen mind is no bar to profound stupidity.

I'll keep my counsel until I've read Schmitt and Strauss. I'll also go back to Thiel. Sitting where I am (in Ireland), I'm not exactly doing back-flips for joy that these are the kind of ideas that get Vance all wet. It would be an understatement to say they're playing with fire, and I have no desire to find myself living in some fiefdom in a patchwork dictatorship run by idiot savants whose accidental and wholly dubious 'talent' is for writing code. It all has the strong whiff of a teenage incel's bedroom about it. With roadkill under the bed.

Good video though! Thanks!

[antinorest]

Reminds me of ex-diplomat, Alaistair Crook, who in a recent interview said there was a "silent revolution" underway in the West against the technocratic elite and the political bureaucracy tied to it. That is the reason why it is called a populist revolution. So it is logical to ask: will Trump betray its populist program to become the new leader of the technocracy? That would be a mistake in my opinion. People are fed up with technocrats.

[Tevye]

These guys understand how to destroy the enemy.

[jeremyinvictus]

I thought of an interesting parallel to the histrionics regarding Yarvin's patchworks and the whole "tech overlords cutting off people's hands things." The thing to remember is that the government is going to typically align with the morality and culture of its people. The reason the tech overlords won't be cutting off people's hands for stealing a loaf of bread is because that's not something that effete westerners in san francisco DO. What the tech overlords would do is mete out justice in the ways that are familiar to the people in san francisco. And for anybody who wants to clutch their pearls because cutting off hands is something beyond the pale that shouldn't even be technically possible, ask yourself if the current regime is allowing/promoting cutting off certain *other* body parts instead.

[DrEnginerd]

Yarvin is probably having a hell of a laugh right now

[chrissi]

Great catch Michael.
Yarvin gave us the great concept of The Cathedral.
Vance has given us his book, and brought a potentially wonderful take on Trumps campaign prospects if disciplined and close to Jesus.
No WONDER, Vance and Yarvin will be feared and hated by Jezebel and her outliars from now on.
Recall what Salena Zito said re Trump.
We take him seriously, not literally.
Evil chooses to take it literally when it suits, but despises us all and will never take us seriously!
We win.
Funnily enough when Gates and Yuval Harari etc say what THEY will do to the "useless and unproductive"?
Cue stroking of beards and a call to Bill Nye or Prince Charles!
Bible, popcorn, deckchair please!
Aren't these Cathedral Cloister grounds beautiful, my darlings?😊

[curiositycloset]

Seems like a fairly "modest proposal".

[davidgordon]

Yarvins technocrat patchwork governing structures reminds me of the futuristic world described in Kurt Vonneguts first novel “Player Piano”. There the”Techs” ruled isolated and supreme and the “ordinaries” mended the roads.

[MG-ktck]

It's funny that they denounce all this while failing to realize it's what their whole ideology and status quo been crafted for decades.

[mikecook]

I love Dugin AND Pete Theil, so shoot me…🐼

[krunkle]

The main thing that bugs me is the thought of using technology to accomplish their goals. I'd much rather be ruled by people in person than a faceless webapp that controls access to anything.

[grecko]

I discovered Yarvin during the "Unqualified Reservations" days. He's a witty guy and I dig his brand of humor. FYI - The Skeptical Waves channel has most of his output in audio book style.

[MaherRo]

Hello. Really interesting talk. What book would you recommend as an entry point for a layman (not versed in Heidegger etc.) who wants to understand what is happening here? Thank you!