This is an odd book, or really a series of blog posts strung together as a book. Its thoughts are meandering and Moldbug (referred to as Yarvin for the rest of this review) is good at considering history in its broad strokes, complete with quotations drawn from obscure thinkers and historians, men little read today who nevertheless can be quite illuminating.… Yarvin is at his best when he blazes a path. His take on the Nazis’ role and position in history is original and incisive, as is his honesty in accepting that Nazis are fellow reactionaries, but ones who did everything wrong. His views are even left in some regards. He thinks colonialism never left Africa and that ours is a sham democracy run by elites. Yet, he considers the left elite power structure, dubbed “the Cathedral,” as the dominant force, constituting as it did in 2008, the press and the universities. In his summation we do not live in an open society, but one of restricted thoughts and punishable blasphemies.… as he write here:”Here is my theory about progressivism: it is a “Relationship Built on Self Interest.” It is exactly what Alinsky says it is: a way for people who want power to organize. It brings them together around the oldest human pleasure other than sex: ganging up on your enemies. It lets them rationalize this ruthless, carnivorous activity as a philanthropic cause. But the real attraction is the thrill of power and victory—sometimes with a little money thrown in.”… I was impressed by how many trends he perceived in 2008. The rise of racial tension, Maoist tactics on the Left (complete with an antifa reference), Internet surveillance and censorship, the Progressive rejection of free speech, the call for open borders, and the breakdown of the Neo-liberal international order (although he does not use that term). He is at his best seeing the errors, logical failures, and dogmas of the Left, and before these became more apparent after 2012. — An edited Customer review @ goodreads,com
The author makes reference to the Cathedral many times but it is only here that he defines what that that term means.
…[T]he information organs of a type 1 society are synoptic. They see the world through one eye, one set of doctrines, one official story. Call it the synopsis.
I think the post-1945 mainstream synopsis is important enough to be a proper noun. Let’s call it the Synopsis. Let’s also give the set of institutions that produce and propagate the Synopsis — mainstream academia, journalism and education — a name. Let’s call them the Cathedral. ..
you believe in the Synopsis and trust the Cathedral, you are either a progressive or an idiot. There is no way to receive a mainstream university education, read the Times every morning, trust both of them, and not be a progressive. Unless, of course, you’re an idiot.
I think Obama was the that first political entrepreneur. The Antifa and BLM have provided those storm troopers for the left wing Democrats but their powers appear to have diminished somewhat near the end of Biden’s term and president Trump’s return.
…[The] first political entrepreneur who finds a way to deploy gangstas as storm troopers, a trick the SDS often threatened but never quite mastered, will have pure dynamite on his hands.
The Great Reset proposed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) seems to have also run out of steam. That does not mean that Mencius Moldbug/Curtis Guy Yarvin’s reset is going to happen anytime soon.
…[O]ur government has a clear procedure for 100% legal closure: it can pass a constitutional amendment which terminates the Constitution. While it would be foolish to insist on this level of legal purity, it would be crass to not aspire to it.
But let’s acquire a little neutral distance by saying that we live in Plainland, we are presently ruled by Plaingov, and we wish to replace it with Plaincorp. The transition should be a total reset: the policies, personnel and procedures of Plaincorp have nothing in common, except by coincidence, with the operations of Plaingov. Of course, Plaincorp inherits Plaingov’s assets, but with a completely new decision framework. Arbitrary restructuring can be expected.
For obvious reasons, I prefer the word reset. But English does have a word for a discontinuous transition in sovereignty: coup. Not every coup is a reset, but every reset is a coup.
Yesterday was travel day to the summer camp. Got up early but it was not early by New Mexico time , the plan being to arrive in Lordsburg when either Kranberry’s Restaurant or Ramona Café was open at 8:00. The web is showing conflicting information about Kranberry’s being permanently closed but the Ramona is right next door. It turns out that Google Maps is screwed up and the building which was Kranberry’s (still has their name on it) is now Ramona’s (they have a banner with their name on it). A good Mexican restaurant that has tamales and eggs on the menu, at a very good price, that I couldn’t resist.
The route drive was about 250 miles on this route: US191, I-10 (82 mi), US70, NM90, Truck Bypass Rd 9Silver City), US180 & NM12.
Last Friday my A/C stopped working again did not start again on Saturday morning as it has in the past. When I say the A/C is not working what is failing to work is the fan, the compressor is still working but I don’t get and cool air. I had the Park Host call a RV shop in Gallop, NM to get me connected via email. The plan is to go to the garage in Reserve today and see if they can do anything to fix the fan problem. If not then I’ll drive to Gallop and have the shop there check it out. RV City’s solution was to install a new A/C at an estimated cost of ~$2,000. If it comes to that I guess I’ll have to pay it but I think there must be a cheaper solution than their Throw Away policy. Here is one alternative if it comes to doing a total replacement TurboKool.