I do interpret Yarvin's dark elves essay on what seems to be face value: There are elite-type people on your side that you should be careful not to scare away. And I do agree that he doesnt seem to be backing down, I thought the Tucker Carlson appeareance specially was a sign of change (and the Tim Dillon episode was fire for the entire duration).
But regarding the main question, there really is this weird dynamic of two things going opposite ways. On one side, the elites in charge (or at least the ones we are allowed to see) seem to be growing older, weaker and more pathetic every day. But the power they wield is only increasing. I wonder if the ever growing power is a sign of weakness in itself, that they need this level of overkill to survive. (It reminds me of Mexican tax law in that every single change in the last decade or so has deliberately tipped the scales in favor of the authorities because they simply cant compete on equal terms with the intellectual capacity the private sector employs for not paying taxes). They actually ARE powerful because they can summon and command this power, but they would be even more powerful if they didnt need to.
I think this idea plays into Yarvin's that the momment these people are removed from power they immediately will cease to be a threat. They only know how to play bully, not the way around.
Really thoughtful commentary. I feel we are watching some type of power/political end game as one party is garnering resources and feverishly placing their acolytes into position. All the while repealing certain laws or plain ignoring them for the gains desired. We have templates of where singular party rule has brought us in the past. The desired outcome for those that are freedom loving are Herculean in nature currently. But I try to stay optimistic, we have overcome so much more in our storied history.
If they thought their agenda was popular, and if they weren't terrified of the people installing someone who will go off-script, they wouldn't be taking all those measures you mention.
I don't think there's much for us, "the people," to do. Its pretty clearly out of our control. The best thing imho is to make and participate in culture and art. Which is what Yarvin has been saying.
The real attack vector on the emerging woke authoritarianism is not what some small group of rightwing cypherpunk billionaires are doing, but the rate of adoption of bitcoin and the migration out of cities. Control of the currency is everything, and if they get their way with things like central banks digital currencies and social credit scores, it will be a new means by which to surveille the population and destroy those who think and act outside the regime's preferred behavior and thought. Bitcoin (not crypto, bitcoin) allows for true store of value, independent of the existing banking system, and because of it's proof of work system it incentivizes the buildout of energy infrastructure. Henry Kissinger is quoted as saying "control the food, and you control the region. control the energy and you control the nation. control the currency and you control the world."--well, bitcoin is decentralized energy-money. If your local farmer or rancher will accept bitcoin, you have the foundation for an entirely parallel energy-food-money economic system that cannot be manipulated by bankers/politicians/etc. Learning the value of bitcoin, buying and holding and transacting with bitcoin, is something tangible that can actually be done--instead of hoping the twitter deal goes through.
In the end, I believe the sum total of decentralized, grassroots pressure on the system from the growth of things like bitcoin (but also substack, gab, rumble, etc.,) as well as attempts at elite-level Caesarism a la Musk, Trump, Thiel, Masters, Vance, etc., (as you rightly point out), equal dual pressures on the existing regime. One bottom-up, the other an elite-to-elite flank attack--the existing regime cannot possibly sustain these dual attack vectors forever (probably not for much longer if I had to guess). Plebs buying up bitcoin, building businesses on bitcoin, orange-pilling their neighbors, coworkers, friends, families, will have the persistent and deleterious effect of melting the iceberg of fiat finance and taking the air out of the everything bubble; AND billionaire rightwingers and their constellation of competent coders, tech investors, etc., launching flank attack after flank attack via acquisitions and elections, will also force the regime to keep their guard up in the traditional fights in courtrooms and voting booths.
Regimes lose when they engage in multi-front wars, and our existing would-be woke authoritarian regime has opened up more than two fronts (Russia in Ukraine, China and Taiwan, MAGA and FBI, and proxy conflicts with Musk/Thiel, OPEC, and others). The strategic reserves, approval ratings and legitimacy of the Biden, recruiting numbers, and consumer sentiment are low--all indicators that the regime is not capable of projecting power from Washington.
The markets are melting down, bonds are melting down, currencies are already depreciating rapidly. England and Japan are about to monetize their entire systems because they're trapped between lowering rates to stimulate economic activity and hyperinflation, and raising rates to control inflation and making debt payments unsustainable--entire nations will go bankrupt.
The big battle will be when currencies fail and central bankers try to snap central bank digital currencies in place, if the population accepts this the woke regime will basically have all the possible attack vectors to their control covered and it will be almost impossible to replace them. If populations around the world reject these CBDCs then the central banks will implode and we'll have to build a new financial system. Gone will be the days when your time and talent are stolen from you by central bankers and politicians who manipulate the supply and costs of money.
I do interpret Yarvin's dark elves essay on what seems to be face value: There are elite-type people on your side that you should be careful not to scare away. And I do agree that he doesnt seem to be backing down, I thought the Tucker Carlson appeareance specially was a sign of change (and the Tim Dillon episode was fire for the entire duration).
But regarding the main question, there really is this weird dynamic of two things going opposite ways. On one side, the elites in charge (or at least the ones we are allowed to see) seem to be growing older, weaker and more pathetic every day. But the power they wield is only increasing. I wonder if the ever growing power is a sign of weakness in itself, that they need this level of overkill to survive. (It reminds me of Mexican tax law in that every single change in the last decade or so has deliberately tipped the scales in favor of the authorities because they simply cant compete on equal terms with the intellectual capacity the private sector employs for not paying taxes). They actually ARE powerful because they can summon and command this power, but they would be even more powerful if they didnt need to.
I think this idea plays into Yarvin's that the momment these people are removed from power they immediately will cease to be a threat. They only know how to play bully, not the way around.
Really thoughtful commentary. I feel we are watching some type of power/political end game as one party is garnering resources and feverishly placing their acolytes into position. All the while repealing certain laws or plain ignoring them for the gains desired. We have templates of where singular party rule has brought us in the past. The desired outcome for those that are freedom loving are Herculean in nature currently. But I try to stay optimistic, we have overcome so much more in our storied history.
If they thought their agenda was popular, and if they weren't terrified of the people installing someone who will go off-script, they wouldn't be taking all those measures you mention.
I don't think there's much for us, "the people," to do. Its pretty clearly out of our control. The best thing imho is to make and participate in culture and art. Which is what Yarvin has been saying.
The real attack vector on the emerging woke authoritarianism is not what some small group of rightwing cypherpunk billionaires are doing, but the rate of adoption of bitcoin and the migration out of cities. Control of the currency is everything, and if they get their way with things like central banks digital currencies and social credit scores, it will be a new means by which to surveille the population and destroy those who think and act outside the regime's preferred behavior and thought. Bitcoin (not crypto, bitcoin) allows for true store of value, independent of the existing banking system, and because of it's proof of work system it incentivizes the buildout of energy infrastructure. Henry Kissinger is quoted as saying "control the food, and you control the region. control the energy and you control the nation. control the currency and you control the world."--well, bitcoin is decentralized energy-money. If your local farmer or rancher will accept bitcoin, you have the foundation for an entirely parallel energy-food-money economic system that cannot be manipulated by bankers/politicians/etc. Learning the value of bitcoin, buying and holding and transacting with bitcoin, is something tangible that can actually be done--instead of hoping the twitter deal goes through.
In the end, I believe the sum total of decentralized, grassroots pressure on the system from the growth of things like bitcoin (but also substack, gab, rumble, etc.,) as well as attempts at elite-level Caesarism a la Musk, Trump, Thiel, Masters, Vance, etc., (as you rightly point out), equal dual pressures on the existing regime. One bottom-up, the other an elite-to-elite flank attack--the existing regime cannot possibly sustain these dual attack vectors forever (probably not for much longer if I had to guess). Plebs buying up bitcoin, building businesses on bitcoin, orange-pilling their neighbors, coworkers, friends, families, will have the persistent and deleterious effect of melting the iceberg of fiat finance and taking the air out of the everything bubble; AND billionaire rightwingers and their constellation of competent coders, tech investors, etc., launching flank attack after flank attack via acquisitions and elections, will also force the regime to keep their guard up in the traditional fights in courtrooms and voting booths.
Regimes lose when they engage in multi-front wars, and our existing would-be woke authoritarian regime has opened up more than two fronts (Russia in Ukraine, China and Taiwan, MAGA and FBI, and proxy conflicts with Musk/Thiel, OPEC, and others). The strategic reserves, approval ratings and legitimacy of the Biden, recruiting numbers, and consumer sentiment are low--all indicators that the regime is not capable of projecting power from Washington.
The markets are melting down, bonds are melting down, currencies are already depreciating rapidly. England and Japan are about to monetize their entire systems because they're trapped between lowering rates to stimulate economic activity and hyperinflation, and raising rates to control inflation and making debt payments unsustainable--entire nations will go bankrupt.
The big battle will be when currencies fail and central bankers try to snap central bank digital currencies in place, if the population accepts this the woke regime will basically have all the possible attack vectors to their control covered and it will be almost impossible to replace them. If populations around the world reject these CBDCs then the central banks will implode and we'll have to build a new financial system. Gone will be the days when your time and talent are stolen from you by central bankers and politicians who manipulate the supply and costs of money.