Geeks for Monarchy: The Rise of the Neoreactionaries (techcrunch.com)

Overview & Context 🧠

In this November 22, 2013 article for TechCrunch, Klint Finley profiles the then-nascent neoreactionary movement (aka the Dark Enlightenment), spotlighting tech-geek intellectuals who advocate for a return to monarchy, hierarchy, and anti-democratic governance.

🔍 Key Insights

• Argues neoreactionaries combine Silicon Valley futurism with pre-revolutionary political ideals, voicing distaste for democracy and egalitarian norms.
• Identifies Curtis Yarvin (Mencius Moldbug) as the movement’s originator, with followers like Nick Land and Michael Anissimov drawn from tech-savvy communities like Hacker News and Less Wrong.
• Highlights early political echoes in figures such as Peter Thiel and Pax Dickinson, indicating the movement’s broader ideological reach in tech circles.

⚠️ Why It Matters

• Marks one of the first mainstream tech-press reports on neoreactionary ideology, showing how fringe political philosophies infiltrated geek culture.
• Helps explain later trends: the binding of tech innovation, cryptocurrency libertarianism, and authoritarian political models—especially surrounding figureheads like Thiel and Yarvin.
• Serves as a foundational snapshot of how Dark Enlightenment ideas migrated from obscure blogs into mainstream tech and political discourse.

📚 Citation

Finley, K. (2013, November 22). Geeks for Monarchy: The Rise of the Neoreactionaries. TechCrunch. Retrieved from https://techcrunch.com/2013/11/22/geeks-for-monarchy/
Summary generated by ChatGPT (GPT‑4).