Techno-fascism

.

25-6-7 Who on Earth Is Curtis Yarvin? - HCR > .

Curtis Guy Yarvin (born 1973), also known by the pen name Mencius Moldbug, is an American far-right political blogger and software developer. He is known, along with philosopher Nick Land, for founding the anti-egalitarian and anti-democratic philosophical movement known as the Dark Enlightenment or neo-reactionary movement (NRx).

In his blog Unqualified Reservations, which he wrote from 2007 to 2014, and in his later newsletter Gray Mirror, which he started in 2020, he argues that American democracy is a failed experiment that should be replaced by an accountable monarchy, similar to the governance structure of corporations. 

Yarvin has been described as a "neo-reactionary", "neo-monarchist" and "neo-feudalist" who "sees liberalism as creating a Matrix-like totalitarian system, and who wants to replace American democracy with a sort of techno-monarchy".

Yarvin's ideas have been influential among right-wrong-libertarians and paleolibertarians, and the public discourses of prominent investors like Peter Thiel have echoed Yarvin's project of seceding from the United States to establish tech-CEO dictatorships. Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, an informal adviser to Donald Trump, has spoken approvingly of Yarvin's thinking. Political strategist Steve Bannon has read and admired his work. Vice-president JD Vance has cited Yarvin as an influence, saying in 2021, "So there's this guy Curtis Yarvin who has written about these things", which included "Retire All Government Employees" or RAGE, written in 2012. Vance said that if Trump became president again, "I think what Trump should do, if I was giving him one piece of advice: Fire every single midlevel bureaucrat, every civil servant in the administrative state, and replace them with our people. And when the courts stop you, stand before the country and say, 'The chief justice has made his ruling. Now let him enforce it.'"

Techno-fascism (techno-populism), a term introduced by Janis Mimura, describes a form of authoritarian rule where technical experts and a technological mindset are central to government and society. It suggests a fusion of state power with the influence and control exerted by technology and tech companies, potentially leading to a system where technology is used to suppress dissent and concentrate power.

Techno-populism is either a populism in favor of technocracy or a populism concerning certain technology – usually information technology – or any populist ideology conversed using digital media. It can be employed by single politicians or whole political movements respectively. Neighboring terms used in a similar way are technocratic populism, technological populism, and cyber-populism. Italy's Five Star Movement and France's La République En Marche! have been described as technopopulist political movements.

Broligarchy is a neologism and portmanteau combining oligarchy and broism describing the rule of government by a coterie of extremely wealthy men (occupying leadership roles in the tech companies and tech-enabled businesses) who are perceived by the public as tech bros. It is also known as tech oligarchy. ? tech oligarchy ?

Key Components of techno-fascism / techno-populism / broligarchy / tech oligarchy :

Technocratic Rule:
Techno-fascism is characterized by an emphasis on technical expertise and data-driven decision-making, often at the expense of democratic processes and public participation.

State and Corporate Tech Power:
The term highlights the increasing convergence of government power and the power of technology companies, potentially leading to situations where tech companies wield significant influence over government policy and public discourse.

Suppression of Dissent:
Techno-fascism can involve the use of technology to monitor and control citizens, restrict access to information, and limit freedom of expression.

Concentration of Power:
This form of authoritarianism often involves the concentration of power in the hands of a select few, potentially leading to a situation where the needs and interests of the majority are overlooked.

Examples and Concerns:

Rise of Big Tech:
The growing influence of tech companies like Google, Amazon, and Facebook, along with their ability to collect and analyze vast amounts of personal data, has raised concerns about potential manipulation and control.

AI Development:
Unfettered AI development, particularly if it's used for surveillance or propaganda purposes, could pave the way for techno-fascism on a global scale.

Social Media Manipulation:
The ability of social media platforms to spread misinformation and polarize public discourse raises concerns about their potential to be used to manipulate public opinion and undermine democratic processes.

In essence, techno-fascism raises the specter of a future where technology is used to create a highly controlled and authoritarian society, one where the voices of the people are silenced and the power of the state is wielded by a select group of technocrats and tech giants.

...

Techno-Fascism Comes to America: The historic parallels that help explain Elon Musk’s rampage on the federal government.

"When a phalanx of the top Silicon Valley executives—Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Google’s Sundar Pichai—aligned behind President Trump during the Inauguration in January, many observers saw an allegiance based on corporate interests. The ultra-wealthy C.E.O.s were turning out to support a fellow-magnate, hoping perhaps for an era of deregulation, tax breaks, and anti-“woke” cultural shifts.

The historian Janis Mimura saw something more ominous: a new, proactive union of industry and governmental power, wherein the state would drive aggressive industrial policy at the expense of liberal norms. In the second Trump Administration, a class of Silicon Valley leaders was insinuating itself into politics in a way that recalled one of Mimura’s primary subjects of study: the élite bureaucrats who seized political power and drove Japan into the Second World War. “These are experts with a technological mind-set and background, often engineers, who now have a special role in the government,” Mimura told me. The result is what, in her book “Planning for Empire” (2011), she labelled “techno-fascism”: authoritarianism driven by technocrats. Technology “is considered the driving force” of such a regime, Mimura said. “There’s a sort of technicization of all aspects of government and society.”"

...

Plutocracy w
Bromance w
Neo-feudalism w