Emptywheel

4 weeks ago | emptywheel.net | Ed Walker

The introduction to this series should be read first. It has the index to all posts in this series. Yarvin has written several substack posts on Trump and his henchmen since the inauguration. In Barbarians and Mandarins (BM) he reacts to the first six weeks. In Actually You Shouldn’t Van People (Van) he says it’s a mistake to pick up non-citizens on the street and throw them in vans. He criticizes Trump’s tariff/trade actions here (M1) and here (M2), calling these policies “mercantilism”.

1 month ago | emptywheel.net | Quinn Norton

The Death of the Internet and Karim Khan’s InboxThe International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan is not having a good year, and neither is the ICC in general. It was never an easy job, going after people who commit Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity. The ICC tries to prosecute crimes in opposition to regimes like Russia, who do things like murder whole cities and steal children so routinely it’s like doing the laundry for them.

1 month ago | emptywheel.net | Ed Walker

The introduction to this series should be read first. It has the index to all posts in this series. Yarvin explains why he’s writing in this post. He opens with a poem by the Greek poet C. P. Cavafy, Que Fecit — Il Gran Rifuto, which, roughly translated, is He Who Makes The Great Refusal. Here’s the text:For some people the day comeswhen they have to declare the great Yesor the great No. It’s clear at once who has the Yesready within him; and saying it,he goes forward in honor and self-assurance.

1 month ago | emptywheel.net | Ed Walker

The introduction to this series should be read first. It has the index to all posts in this series. Blue Pill, Red PillIn his second blog post, Curtis Yarvin makes what he calls a case against democracy. He begins by pointing out that we are all steeped in democracy and its values from birth, and it’s hard to change. To help see things differently (of course using The Matrix image of the red and blue pills) he offers ten statements about democracy and an alternative view.

1 month ago | emptywheel.net | Ed Walker

The introduction to this series should be read first. It has the index to all posts in this series. The previous post discussed two aspects of Yarvin’s first blog post, his rejection of current ideologies and his loathing of democracy. This post describes the ideology he created, formalism. The goal of formalismYarvin starts with the proposition that the only truly significant problem facing humans is violence. The goal of formalism is to rid the planet of violence.