Something Else to Worry About

Have you ever heard of the “Dark Enlightenment” movement? I hadn’t until I heard Van Jones mention it on CNN. There is a good article about it at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/21/curtis-yarvin-trump.

I’m no conspiracy theorist, but this shit is scary. 

The fundamental premise of this movement is that American democracy is a failed experiment and must be replaced by essentially a corporate/monarchy. The Dark Enlightenment world would be anti-democratic. No longer would there be leaders chosen by the people. Instead, people would live in places led by an autocrat with total power, kind of a monarchical CEO. The “freedom” such as it would be, would lie in the ability of the people to just move to another place if they didn’t like how their CEO was governing. This system is briefly described as “No voice. Free exit.”

Anyone’s first reaction to this would be how utterly impractical it is. But wait. Is it? Listen to how the movement anticipates that it could start.

The would-be autocrat who would begin these changes by campaigning and winning on an autocratic platform. Once elected, that person would then declare a state of emergency in their Inaugural Address. Then, based on the emergency powers, that person would throw out the federal bureaucracy. They call this part of his plan, “RAGE” for Retire All Government Employees. And so, it would go.

Of course, you would expect that all of these moves would face opposition. The theorists of Dark Enlightenment certainly expect that, and they are prepared for it. What if the courts get in the way? No problem. Ignore the court. What if Congress rises up? That’s easy, too – mobilize your base to oppose them. And if you are breaking the law, what about law enforcement. Well, you just take over that, too.

These ideas themselves are not all that frightening as just words on paper. A pretty smart fella named Plato once said that the best form of government would be a dictatorial one – a benevolent dictator. What makes these ideas menacing is the group of people who are attracted to them. I bet you can guess who they are. 

One is someone named, Michael Anton. He has promoted these ideas in the media. Who is Michael Anton? He’s now the Director of Policy Planning for the President. Another is no less than our existing Vice-President, Mr. Vance. When talking about how democracy is failing, he cited to Curtis Yarwin, one of the proponents of this theory, Vance said, “There’s this guy Curtis Yarvin who’s written about some of these things. One has to basically accept that the whole thing is going to fall in on itself. The task of conservatives right now is to preserve as much as can be preserved and then when the inevitable collapse comes you build back the country in a way that’s actually better.” Others linked to these ideas are Peter Thiel, a mammoth Republican donor and, unsurprisingly, that stalwart of critical thinking, Steve Bannon. 

I started this by saying that I am not a conspiracy theorist. What I’ve said here after that might, however, make me sound exactly what I claim not to be. And I would be a wild-eyed conspiracy nut if these Dark Enlightenment ideas weren’t finding their way into our daily flow of news. 

Getting elected on an autocratic platform? How about, “I alone can fix it.” Declare a state of emergency on Inauguration? We all saw him sign the paper doing just that using the southern border as an excuse. Getting rid of the federal bureaucracy? That’s well under way. Bulldoze the legislature? Ask Sen. Thom Tillis, a doctor with significant doubts about RFK, Jr., how much pressure was put on him to ultimately vote in favor of that lunatic. Take over law enforcement? Two words for that: Kash Patel.

And it’s only been about two weeks.

Like I said, I had never heard about any of this until I heard Van Jones on CNN. How I wish I had never heard him.