Curtis Yarvin, a software engineer best known for founding the Urbit project, is more infamously recognized under his old blogging alias Mencius Moldbug. In that persona, he launched an ideological project now known as the “Dark Enlightenment”—a reactionary political theory that attacks democracy, egalitarianism, and modern liberal institutions.
What makes Yarvin especially dangerous isn’t just the content of his writings—it’s who is listening. His ideas have found an audience among influential billionaires, political insiders, and Silicon Valley elites—including Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, and Senator J.D. Vance, the Vice President under Donald Trump.
What Does Yarvin Actually Believe?
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Democracy Is a Failed System
Yarvin argues that democracy leads to chaos, inefficiency, and mob rule. He advocates for replacing democratic governments with corporate-style monarchies, where a CEO-like figure runs the government with absolute power, supposedly in the name of “efficiency.” He often compares the U.S. government to “bad code” in a broken software system that needs a total rewrite.
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Inequality Is Natural and Desirable
Yarvin openly rejects the idea of equality. In his writings, he has defended slavery as historically “stable,” argued that some groups are better suited to rule than others, and claimed that universal human rights are a “fiction” used by the left to gain power.
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“The Cathedral” Conspiracy Theory
One of Yarvin’s signature ideas is the concept of “The Cathedral”—a supposed alliance between the media, universities, and liberal bureaucrats that pushes progressive ideology and suppresses dissent. This concept has become a blueprint for “deep state” rhetoric and is widely echoed in far-right circles.
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Patchwork Governance & Exit-Only Freedom
Yarvin proposes a future where independent corporate city-states compete for citizens, who can “exit” if they dislike the rules. This is his libertarian-authoritarian fusion: freedom is reduced to consumer choice, not democratic participation.
Ties to Elon Musk and J.D. Vance
Elon Musk:
In 2023 and 2024, Musk began echoing Yarvin’s ideas more openly. He proposed a “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), meant to review and gut federal programs—eerily similar to Yarvin’s earlier “RAGE” (Retire All Government Employees) proposal. Yarvin even wrote in a Substack post that Musk was “channeling” his ideas [Yarvin, Gray Mirror, 2024].
In online spaces, Musk has also promoted Yarvin’s appearances and interviews, giving legitimacy to someone who openly opposes democratic government.
J.D. Vance:
Senator—and now Vice President—J.D. Vance has publicly acknowledged Yarvin’s influence. In 2021, Vanity Fair reported that Vance was an admirer of Yarvin’s writings. According to Vance, Yarvin’s critiques of democracy “make you think.” And in practice, Vance’s political platform aligns closely with Yarvin’s vision: dismantling the administrative state, curtailing civil liberties in the name of order, and elevating executive power [Vanity Fair, 2021; Vox, 2023].
Why This Matters: The Real-World Threat
Curtis Yarvin’s ideas aren’t just Internet thought experiments—they are the intellectual scaffolding for 21st-century authoritarianism, dressed up in code-speak and Silicon Valley aesthetics. His work appeals to:
Wealthy libertarians who want to eliminate regulation and taxes.
Far-right ideologues who seek a justification for white nationalism and patriarchal order.
Technocrats who believe democratic oversight slows down “progress.”
And with influential figures like Musk and Vance spreading his ideas, the threat is no longer hypothetical.
TL;DR: Curtis Yarvin is the brains behind the “Dark Enlightenment,” an anti-democratic, elitist ideology now gaining traction in Silicon Valley and MAGA politics. His ideas are dangerous, authoritarian, and increasingly influential—with ties to Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and Vice President J.D. Vance. This isn’t harmless contrarianism—it’s the intellectual engine of the post-democracy right.
Key Sources & Citations
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Curtis Yarvin, Unqualified Reservations blog (2007–2013) – https://www.unqualified-reservations.org/
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Yarvin, Curtis. “Retire All Government Employees (RAGE).” Gray Mirror Substack, 2023.
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The Verge – “Elon Musk’s ‘DOGE’ Plan Sounds a Lot Like a Fringe Blogger’s Idea to Fire All Government Employees,” Nov. 22, 2024 – https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/22/24302735/elon-musk-doge-vivek-ramaswamy-rage-curtis-yarvin
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Vanity Fair – “The Right-Wing Menace Inside Silicon Valley,” Dec. 2021 – by James Pogue
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Vox – “The Radical Thinkers Behind Trump’s Second-Term Agenda,” March 2023 – by Zack Beauchamp
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Hope Not Hate – “Dark Enlightenment: Neoreactionary Influence on the Alt-Right,” 2019 Report
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Nagle, Angela. Kill All Normies. Zero Books, 2017.
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Burley, Shane. Fascism Today: What It Is and How to End It. AK Press, 2017.
Originally Posted By u/transcendent167 At 2025-03-24 08:23:34 AM | Source
