Beautifully done! The linkages are scary. In an article tomorrow I note that the only philosophy that unites MAGA people is a distrust in democracy. They would rather be ruled by a dictator. Vance is their coming King, and he is backed by billionaire Peter Thiel, who once wrote: “I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.” The fact is that freedom is incompatible with billionaires, which is why it is to dangerous to Thiel and his puppet.
Justin your writing just gets better and better! What a frightening article. I believe every word because I’ve been aware of this group (and its acolytes) for some time, and now I know more. I’m sure you’d also add Elon Musk. You know, between these powerful ego-maniacs, the crafty disinformation from russia and china, plus the lemming-like qualities of some people, it’s hard to imagine how the blue-pilled can prevail at all. So ironic - all the witless talk of the “deep state” from MAGA, and it turns out it’s them.
It is ironic that in order to combat process and structures that we find intrusive or burdensome, we always end up creating more process and structures. Personally I have gone from shaking my fist at the machine to being a piece of the machine simply because of the thing I would like to see in my community. Of course I am not trying to dismantle democracy. Quite the opposite, though I find the democratic process to be very frustrating. lol.
Excellent article! Darn, I just read this today, so missed the chance to hear your discussion with Brian Morra about nuclear war. Any video/audio available, or intent to write a summary? If this topic interests you, I HIGHLY recommend Richard Rhodes' 4 volume history of nuclear weapons. Fantastic read
I *believe* it'll be up on Youtube, though it might not be quick. I may even throw the transcript into a future dispatch, like I did with Simon Shuster.
My ability to sit and read a full book recently has been severely damaged by reading lots of little bits of various books. Maybe a 4 volume history is what I need. (Also, I need to go back through old dispatches and collate some book recommendations. That might also be a good basis for a future dispatch.)
Are any of these people connected to Canadian politics? I ask since you likely have more and better research. You seem unusually knowledgeable in who’s doing what with whom.
The short answer is no, the slightly longer answer is: They are increasingly intertwined by ideology, if not money of formal connections. I actually wrote about exactly this question for The Walrus, and I think I forgot to mention it here on the 'stack, so thanks for the reminder: https://thewalrus.ca/poilievre-america/
One thing they briefly touch on is Yarvin’s influence on and by the Open Source Software world.
The Cathedral probably comes from a famous essay on how Linux was built called “The Cathedral and the Bazaar”. It was influential in the late 90s and early 00s. And it was formative to my early career too. But as I grew more mature, I saw how following the ideology of the essay could lead to some dark paths not too different from Yarvin’s ideas (but less extreme).
TLDR: Yarvin’s ideas come from a long line of people who believe themselves to be “free” thinkers.
Beautifully done! The linkages are scary. In an article tomorrow I note that the only philosophy that unites MAGA people is a distrust in democracy. They would rather be ruled by a dictator. Vance is their coming King, and he is backed by billionaire Peter Thiel, who once wrote: “I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.” The fact is that freedom is incompatible with billionaires, which is why it is to dangerous to Thiel and his puppet.
Justin your writing just gets better and better! What a frightening article. I believe every word because I’ve been aware of this group (and its acolytes) for some time, and now I know more. I’m sure you’d also add Elon Musk. You know, between these powerful ego-maniacs, the crafty disinformation from russia and china, plus the lemming-like qualities of some people, it’s hard to imagine how the blue-pilled can prevail at all. So ironic - all the witless talk of the “deep state” from MAGA, and it turns out it’s them.
It is ironic that in order to combat process and structures that we find intrusive or burdensome, we always end up creating more process and structures. Personally I have gone from shaking my fist at the machine to being a piece of the machine simply because of the thing I would like to see in my community. Of course I am not trying to dismantle democracy. Quite the opposite, though I find the democratic process to be very frustrating. lol.
Excellent article! Darn, I just read this today, so missed the chance to hear your discussion with Brian Morra about nuclear war. Any video/audio available, or intent to write a summary? If this topic interests you, I HIGHLY recommend Richard Rhodes' 4 volume history of nuclear weapons. Fantastic read
I *believe* it'll be up on Youtube, though it might not be quick. I may even throw the transcript into a future dispatch, like I did with Simon Shuster.
My ability to sit and read a full book recently has been severely damaged by reading lots of little bits of various books. Maybe a 4 volume history is what I need. (Also, I need to go back through old dispatches and collate some book recommendations. That might also be a good basis for a future dispatch.)
Are any of these people connected to Canadian politics? I ask since you likely have more and better research. You seem unusually knowledgeable in who’s doing what with whom.
The short answer is no, the slightly longer answer is: They are increasingly intertwined by ideology, if not money of formal connections. I actually wrote about exactly this question for The Walrus, and I think I forgot to mention it here on the 'stack, so thanks for the reminder: https://thewalrus.ca/poilievre-america/
I love short answers and thank you. 🙏🏼
Max Fawcett hasn't been too shy about sniping at Jamil Jivani on Twitter about his bromance with Vance: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/jd-vance-jamil-jivani-best-friends-trump-vp-1.7265268
They're anti-elitist and anti-corporate. Who does JD think is backing him? Giant hypocrite.
Behind the Bastards just had a great two-parter on Yarvin. https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-behind-the-bastards-29236323/episode/part-one-curtis-yarvin-the-philosopher-217093069/
One thing they briefly touch on is Yarvin’s influence on and by the Open Source Software world.
The Cathedral probably comes from a famous essay on how Linux was built called “The Cathedral and the Bazaar”. It was influential in the late 90s and early 00s. And it was formative to my early career too. But as I grew more mature, I saw how following the ideology of the essay could lead to some dark paths not too different from Yarvin’s ideas (but less extreme).
TLDR: Yarvin’s ideas come from a long line of people who believe themselves to be “free” thinkers.
I started doing this research before that BTB episode came out. Totally missed it!
But that's a good tip, on Yarvin's contribution to OSS. Might poke at that some more.