INTRODUCTION
This post is about some origins history and ideology of a political movement I just found out about earlier this morning. It can be called NRx (neoreactionary authoritarianism) or the Dark Enlightenment. That or things like "neo-monarchism" or "CEO-monarchism", is what the two key founders of this toxic ideology advocate. Those folks are hard core ideologues with rock solid beliefs in their own irrational fantasies. They hold a false belief that what they are arguing for will address all the grievances young people have about government and their lives.
Of course, those personal opinions are tentative because they are based on my currently limited knowledge of NRx, its founders and its influence on post-boomer generations.
From what I can tell so far based mostly on Pxy deep dives into their training, experiences and accomplishments, neither of the two main blowhards, Ted Beale (calling himself "Vox Day") and Curtis Yarvin ("Mencious Moldbug") are experts in anything particularly relevant to politics. They have no academic qualifications in political science or theory, sociology, moral philosophy or history. They don't even have any relevant professional life experiences. Apparently their main accomplishments are being pissed off all the time and writing a lot about why they believe that democracy sucks and having a "benign" CEO-dictator would be better.
Just like all of my blogging, they do blogging that is not peer-reviewed. Unlike my blogging, they have convinced a lot of unhappy young people and a few cynical billionaires that they have something of great insight and value to offer. Maybe as I learn more about these self-deluded authoritarians, my opinion will shift. But right now, they look to me like almost perfect blind (inexperienced), arrogant stooges for far more educated, experienced, ruthless and intelligent MAGA elites to exploit.
A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF NRx
To avoid TL/DR syndrome I'll offer a couple of bullet points and leave it at that for now.
- Origins: Old-time conservatives believe the US Constitution was good and worth fighting for. NRx rejects that belief. NRx blowhards argue that the US Constitution has been destroyed by corruption, liberalism and moral decay. Apparently that has significant appeal to pre-baby boomer generations, the young 'uns. The NRx claims are hyperbolic and not fact-based. Yarvin and Beale’s solution of authoritarian governance, and rejection of Enlightenment values ignore democratic resilience and historical precedent. Their contempt for progressives and institutionalists reflects an enraged, naïve nostalgia for imagined hierarchies. What they propose is not a coherent vision for governance in the public interest. They propose what MAGA wants, a kleptocratic dictatorship in the elites' interest. Although the NRx Poo-Bahs believe their CEO-dictator will be nice and work for us, cognitive biology, social behavior and history all say otherwise. Facts and rationality are no on the side of NRx ideologues.
- Attacking old-fashioned conservatism: The Constitution’s Enlightenment emphasis on reason, individual rights, and limited government has underpinned democratic stability globally so far. NRx offers no viable alternative to liberal or pluralist democracy. Instead, it offers irrationally romanticized feudalism and corporate autocracy. NRx and its young 'un followers have no loyalty to the US Constitution. Yarvin and Beale, reject neoconservative figures, e.g., William F. Buckley, as outdated. They accuse old-style conservatives of selling out the Constitution and “worshiping the corpse” of a broken system.
- MAGA's insinuation into NRx: JD Vance and Blake Masters have cited Yarvin’s “RAGE” (Retire All Government Employees) strategy, advocating mass firings of civil servants to dismantle the “deep state”. In terms of ideological alignment with MAGA, Yarvin’s 2025 New York Times interview (not paywalled) shows his growing influence among Silicon Valley elites, e.g., Peter Thiel, and djt-aligned politicians seeking to centralize power and kill democracy.
This guy thinks he's hot stuff, but he's
just grumpy, arrogant, self-deluded and dangerous
- Pragmatism or arrogant, blowhard bullshit: NRx is framed as offering pragmatic solutions to modern complexities and legitimate criticisms of democracy and the Constitution. The generational shift within conservatism, from constitutional reverence to authoritarian, NRx-aligned anti-constitutionalism underscores the ongoing ideological shift on America's political right. As older institutionalists and conservatives fade away, battles will center on whether political and social accountability can be had in a system of governance based on secrecy and alleged "corporate efficiency" vs messy democracy and the rule of law. Authoritarianism does not operate on the basis of transparency, equity or empathy. In a real democracy there is at least some of that. One commentator observed that "the snarky tone of ironic superiority grates on the reader, both just because it’s a bad tone, and because there is no reason for the reader to believe that Yarvin has earned it."
What happened to the young 'uns? I think their brains got trapped in and poisoned by social media with its copious amounts of pseudo-science, pseudo-intellectualism and care-free but opinionated ignorance and arrogance.
Arrogant Blowhard Syndrome
is strong with this one
