In nature, the presence of a single predator—a shark circling a reef—signals a hidden ecosystem of threats lurking beyond the shadows. This concept of indicator species teaches us that one organism’s existence implies others: where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

In our current season of The Great American Collapse, Elon Musk is that smoke.

His rise as a billionaire technocrat and senior Trump advisor isn’t an anomaly; it’s a giant reminder that a broader network of oligarchs, philosophers, and enablers is lurking just around the corner.

These key figures reshaping America into a corporate dystopia are known as The Dark Enlightenment (DE), an elite network of white supremacist, anti-democracy, anti-egalitarian, pro-monarchy grifters who wish to turn America into a collection of corporate-owned states. Their beliefs may be currently fueling Elon and DOGE’s attack on federal workers, but their values are anything but new.

Previously condemned to the fringes of society and Reddit, Elon Musk’s addition to the Trump administration serves as a signal to his predator peers that the waters of American society are now safe for consumption.

There are the four important figureheads of the Dark Enlightenment we need to watch out for:
1. Curtis Yarvin
2. Nick Land
3. Peter Thiel
4. Marc Andreessen

These figures operate within a landscape of fear, where their wealth and ideology alter the psychological and structural currents of society whether we know it or not. Just as sharks deter fish from fertile waters, their dominance stifles democracy, drains resources, and poisons institutions. We are the fish, and the coral reefs that once protected us—unions, laws, journalism—are now decaying before our eyes. Below, we map the predators and their hunting grounds.

1. Curtis Yarvin: The Godfather of the Alt-Right

Curtis Yarvin, the founder of The Dark Enlightenment, is a central philosophical figure among the alt-right and Neoreactionaries (NRx) who argues democracy is a failed experiment, America needs a high IQ CEO to rule the nation, and that slavery is a natural relationship. His blog Unqualified Reservations promotes “neocameralism”—governance by corporate-style “state franchises” owned by shareholders.

• Influence: Yarvin’s writings provide the intellectual scaffolding for tech oligarchs seeking to bypass democratic accountability. Neoreactionaries like Marc Andreessen and tech elites like Peter Thiel not only parrot his writing, they also fund his projects, including Urbit, a decentralized internet protocol designed to bypass democratic oversight. Yarvin’s writings have also inspired far-right politicians like Vice President J.D. Vance, who has quoted and credited Yarvin many times.

2. Nick Land: The Father of Accelerationism

Nick Land is a philosopher turned NRx guru whose writing on “accelerationism” urges embracing capitalism and unrestricted technological process and pushing them to the absolute limits in order to cause societal collapse. Instead of avoiding chaos and destruction, Land believes society should run towards the fire in hopes of burning everything down so the technocratic white supremacist elite can build an artificial general intelligence-run society of their own.

His 2013 essay The Dark Enlightenment frames modernity as a failure and calls for a return to feudal hierarchies. He’s also an advocate of Eugenics which he calls “Human Biodiversity” or “hyper-racism.”

• Influence: Land’s ideas combine Silicon Valley transhumanism with white supremacy. His work is celebrated in far-right forums like Less Wrong, /pol/, and cited by tech CEOs seeking to dismantle regulations.

• Contradictions: While Thiel and Musk build new systems, Land’s nihilism borders on apocalyptic, critiquing their “naïve optimism.”

3. Peter Thiel: PayPal Mafia Lynchpin

Peter Thiel, the infamous billionaire PayPal co-founder, has openly scorned democracy (“I no longer believe freedom and democracy are compatible”) and funds projects to replace it. This includes NRx-aligned politicians like J.D Vance and Blake Masters of Arizona. His ventures include:

• Palantir: Mass surveillance software used by ICE to separate migrant families and Israeli militaries to target hit-lists of Palestinian civilians.

• Urbit: Thiel funded Curtis Yarvin’s vision of a corporate-controlled internet.

• Seasteading: Failed plans for floating city-states free from governance.

4. Marc Andreessen: Big Tech Monopoly Man

Before Microsoft Internet Explorer, there was Netscape Navigator, a product created by tech company Netscape founded by Marc Andreessen. Though he has donated to Democrats in all previous elections, Marc has made a hard pivot to the far-right and has been a proud MAGA supporter since the attempted assassination of Trump. In his 2023 Techno-Optimist Manifesto, Marc glorifies unchecked innovation, dismissing ethics as “roadblocks.” He invests in AI, crypto, space colonization, and bio-tech startups aiming to disrupt governance. Trump is also looking towards Marc for guidance on Big and ”Little Tech.”

• Influence: Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), his $35B fund, backs projects like Anduril Industries (AI-powered border surveillance, military drones).

The Dark Enlightenment’s Goals

1. End Democracy: Replace it with corporate-run “neocameralism” or AI-driven technocracy.

2. Global Apartheid: Privatize essential services (healthcare, policing) for profit, excluding “unproductive” populations.

3. Colonialism 2.0: Exploit Global South resources via crypto-colonialism (e.g., Bitcoin mining in Africa) and AI surveillance.

Real-World Impact

• Palantir in Gaza: Israel uses Palantir’s AI to track Palestinians, enabling mass arrests and home demolitions.

• Anduril’s Border Tech: U.S. and EU deploy Anduril’s drones to militarize borders against refugees.

• Musk’s Mars Fantasy: Distracts from Earth’s crises while his factories exploit Global South labor.

Reclaiming the Waters: How to Resist

The Dark Enlightenment isn’t a fringe ideology—it’s a predator-dominated ecosystem. Musk, Thiel, and Yarvin are not lone sharks; they’re part of a school reshaping the currents of power. What we are watching unfold with the mass firing of federal workers is all part of a well-calibrated ideology designed to erode democracy and install fascism.

Coral Reef = Public Institutions: Just as reefs protect marine life, unions, antitrust laws, and independent journalism shield society. But oligarchs are hell-bent on destrying these safeguards:

• Deregulation: Thiel’s Palantir and Musk’s SpaceX operate with minimal oversight.

• Media Control: Musk’s X platform drowns facts in far-right propaganda.

• Resource Hoarding: Billionaire wealth, like sharks dominating a reef, blocks upward mobility for working-class Americans.

Schooling Fish = Collective Resistance: To survive, we must rebuild the reefs and collectively organize together.

• Tax Wealth: We must continue advocating for greater taxation on wealth.

• Break Monopolies: Power shouldn’t be concentrated in the hands of a few.

• Strengthen Unions: Unions function like a school of fish — together we are strong.

• Restore the Reefs: Whether it’s public funding for school lunches or greater protections under SNAP, public resources, safety nets, and accessible resources are the only way we can protect as many people as possible. Where institutional support fails, we can make-up through mutual aid groups.

Stories On My Radar

How Trump and Netanyahu Plan to Turn Gaza into a Luxury Playground

Donald Trump’s June 2024 proposal to transform Gaza into a U.S.-controlled “Riviera” — displacing its 2.2 million Palestinians — aligns with Israel’s genocide and far-right annexation goals known as ‘Greater Israel.’ The plan, praised by PM Netanyahu, would bar Palestinians from returning while inviting global investors to rebuild Gaza’s coast as luxury resorts.

Key Details:

• Forced Displacement: Trump pressures Egypt/Jordan to absorb Gazans, threatening aid cuts. Both nations reject this as ethnic cleansing.

• Corporate Profiteering: Jared Kushner (Trump’s son-in-law) praises Gaza’s valuable “waterfront property” and seeks Saudi-backed deals.

Backers:

• Netanyahu’s Coalition: Far-right ministers like Bezalel Smotrich host conferences proposing Gaza as Israeli real estate.

• U.S. Republicans: Lindsey Graham urges Israel to “level Gaza”.

• Silicon Valley: Peter Thiel and Balaji Srinivasan promote techno-colonial “solutions” like AI-powered surveillance (Anduril Industries).

Legacy of Colonialism:

Trump’s plan mirrors Israel’s 1948 Nakba (expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians) and ongoing apartheid. Even though the ICJ rules Israel’s actions “plausibly genocidal,” the U.S. continues to veto ceasefires while sending multi-billions of dollar in military weapons .

This is nothing more than straight-up colonialism. One genocidal racist maniacal nation supporting another.

Outsourcing America: Trump’s Plan to Privatize Everything

The Trump-Musk administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has terminated thousands of federal workers since January 2025, targeting roles in environmental protection, scientific research, and historic preservation.

Probationary employees—many in critical agencies like the National Park Service (NPS) and National Institutes of Health (NIH)—received abrupt dismissal notices, destabilizing services millions of Americans rely on. But what is the overall goal?

Simple: privatize national parks to begin resource mining and oil drilling, eliminate federal workers and replace them with Trump-Musk loyalists, artificial intelligence, and private organizations. We’ve already seen Trump disparage the U.S Postal Service, but we’re now watching as that same ethos spreads like a viral infection eroding every other American public resource and protection.

Unions have also noted that DOGE’s cuts to agencies like NASA are a Trojan horse for privatization, replacing civil servants with Musk-linked contractors like SpaceX.

From closing down the VA suicide hotline to firing National Park Rangers and Cyber Security experts, the crumbling infrastructure and fallout of American public services is a tragedy that touches all Americans. Critics liken this massive sweep of firing and deregulation to Reagan’s union busting, but with a Silicon Valley’s approach.

This is still the beginning of The Dark Enlightenment’s purging of America. There’s no telling if this country will even look and operate the same in a few months.

Monday Meme Dumps

Wednesday Reel Roundup

BIPOC Creators You Should Follow

Meet Nina Turner, a Democratic Socialist, Educator, and former Ohio State Senator who became President of the Bernie Sanders-affiliated group, Our Revolution, and the national co-chair of Sander’s 2020 Presidential campaign.

I first encountered Nina’s progressive voice in 2020 where she advocated for equitable pay for American workers, Medicare for All, and against the rise of white nationalism in America.

From her refusal to endorse Joe Biden to her criticisms of the Democratic establishment, I have always admired Nina Turner’s willingness to defend progressive values in the face of adversity, harassment, and political chaos.

As we dive deeper into Trump’s fascist vision of America, it will become increasingly important for us to identify truth tellers connected to those in power. Nina is one of the few voices at the top I’ve been able to trust all these years, and I’m confident you’ll learn just as much from her as I have.

Follow her on Instagram and Facebook and show some love to a real progressive leader!

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