A beginner's guide to the Redpill Right

Just like the libertarians who awarded Neal Stephenson a prize for depicting their utopia in Snow Crash.

4 Likes

What the world is a “Libertarian Socialist”?

All I’m aware of are the An-Cap variety.

It predates the use of Libertarian to mean capitalist by at least a century.

10 Likes

Hi, Cathy Brennan here. The writer, who I have never heard of, misrepresents my views. I don’t subscribe to “biological essentialism.” Indeed, I have no idea what that means. This is shameful “reporting.”

3 Likes

14 Likes

Of course, the whole “Dark Enlightenment” thing is unpopular not only because the ideas behind it are universally terrible but also because trying to read Mencius Moldbug is about as much fun as drowning in a tar pit. God save us from articulate assholes.

10 Likes

I think that the confusion over whether these guys are far-Right or far-Left comes from the way they combine the substance of the far-Right (a social order that preserves power for those that already have it at all costs) with some of the traditional trappings of the far-Left (atheism, cynical “rationalism”, technological progress, and the near-worship of anything that calls itself science, regardless of its actual scientific merit). For many Millennials (and I would imagine for some belonging to older generations as well) the Right in the USA has been nearly synonymous with fundamentalist Christianism for our entire lives. It’s pretty easy for me to see how Redpill guys would see themselves as being leftists solely because of their atheism.

FWIW, I’m a bleeding-heart lefty, and I’m way more likely to run into these guys in my social circles than traditional conservatives.

18 Likes

Market socialism is really an interesting area. You might enjoy “Feasible Socialism” by Alec Nove. If you Google it there are some PDFs around.

1 Like

Even more trivial is handwaving without proof.

1 Like

If you don’t know what it means, how can you say you don’t espouse it? Here’s a good summary.

11 Likes

You do hold positions against things you go out of your way to admit no comprehension of, however, and that’s plenty for me to know for now. Thanks for writing.

11 Likes

As I read this article I was facepalming… not because it’s a bad article but because I have known, and in fact worked for, people exactly like this.

Belief that ojectivity > subjectivity while believing that their own subjective views are objective: check.

Junk science + scientism = fail: check.

Getting burned by financial schemes as a result of overestimating their intelligence: check.

Belief that they can, and have the right to, manipulate women into sleeping with them: check.

Belief that successful people deserve their success and unsuccessful people must therefore be intrinsically inferior, while pretending not to be racist, sexist, classist, etc.: check.

Belief that the downtrodden secretly are ruling the lives of the priveleged: check.

People like that are embarrassing and uncomfortable to be around.

25 Likes

Marja, hi. You are male. You were born male. That is fine. You believe that your feelings of “being a woman” make you female. YOU are “gender essentialist” in that you believe that “gender” is so powerful as to override biological sex.

Now, the fact that you are male should not limit how you live your life and express yourself. You should be who you want to be. Have a nice life. Just stop demanding that women agree with your belief that your feeling of “being a woman” makes you a woman.

I’m related to people exactly like this. How do you think I turned out to be such a cranky ass? :wink:

4 Likes

I’m relieved to see someone else saw the hypocritical and convoluted points brought up here.
For the most part this article seems like some big ad hominem attack on non-“progressive”, non-statist commenters online who all happen to have seen The Matrix and relate to one particular scene.
I think the heart of this “red pill movement” is the political side effects of technology and an article discussing the ideas brought up by the techno-anarchist scene would have been more informative.

I know man-bashing is hip and trendy these days, guaranteeing boingboing some nice click traffic, but really the one-sided joke is getting old.

10 Likes

You’re a good mansplainer. Just accept that term. Show us how it’s done.

(edited to add: sorry @crashproof, this wasn’t supposed to be to you)

11 Likes

2 Likes

Hi, Cathy. Essentialism is the notion that our biological or genetic nature determines attributes essential to our identity; in this context, assumed or attributed biological characteristics as the basis of male and female gender.

I won’t speak for Jay, but as you’ve written many things like “transgender woman are in fact men” and “transwomen are men, what are you gonna do about it?” it seems reasonable for him to use a term–biological essentialism–in wide use to describe that notion, even if you would prefer a different one.

36 Likes

I agree that it’s generalized, but the author is categorizing different (overlapping) groups according to common characteristics, not trying to say that they’re part of the same self-identified movement.
And the common characteristics are definitely there. Spend time around young white men on the internet, you’ll realize fairly quickly that wherever you are, bigoted, overprivileged, self-absorbed jerks make up a not insignificant portion of them, and i personally quite like the term “Redpillers” to describe them. ^u^

7 Likes

I don’t know, I’m a woman, and I’m of the belief that we should respect how others view themselves as individuals. If someone is more comfortable identifying as a woman, and then maybe or maybe not transitioning to a woman, I’m okay with that. I don’t get to decide for others just like they don’t get to decide for me.

30 Likes