The Dark Enlightenment Begins?

New Batman movie alert? Unfortunately, the Dark Enlightenment has more to do with reality than blockbuster movies. In a nutshell, the Dark Enlightenment, also known as NRx, functions as an anti-democratic movement that utilises governmental changes to enthrone a powerful leader or ‘CEO’ to call the shots (Rosenfeld, 2024). The ideas surrounding the movement stem from individuals like Nick Land and Curtis Yarvin. Yarvin, under his pseudonym ‘Mencius Moldbug’, frequents his online blog to flaunt his tentatively satirical views, pretentiously writing about consuming the ‘Red-Pill’ (Yarvin, 2007). Despite the movement’s frightening tone and questionable thinkers, perhaps the real issue lies within NRx’s accelerationist theory, particularly in how it parallels current political ongoings. 

Rapid change in the governance of the United States.

What screams accelerationist, fast-paced change? An influx of executive orders sounds pretty accurate. Over Trump’s first 100 days in office, he signed 142 executive orders, more than any other president had historically accomplished in that time frame (Gomez and Bryson, 2025). But how is this relevant to the accelerationist philosophy of the Dark Enlightenment? These rapidly paced actions of executive control feel like a flash flood occurrence, acting as an attempt to instigate unquestionable power.

Speaking of governmental influence, J.D. Vance has cited Yarvin’s ideas when discussing his future plans for the US on a Conservative podcast. “There’s this guy Curtis Yarvin, who has written about some of these things,” said Vance. Yet he suggests Yarvin’s ideas about societal collapse are too ‘defeatist,’ and conservatives should instead ‘seize the institutions of the left’  (Murphy, 2021, 25:29). We’re seeing intense levels of extremism fusing into the governance of the United States, even further polarising the already heated political climate. It’s apparent that this is a threat: powerful individuals covertly and quickly pulling the strings that shape the future of Western democracy.

Autocratic ideas, swift arrests, and executive orders are well and truly terrifying. You wouldn’t think that these far-right ideas would have a direct influence in the UK, right?

New character unlocked: Peter Thiel.

Wrong! Peter Thiel is a venture capitalist and silent financier to those who support the accelerationist philosophy of the Dark Enlightenment. He funded and supported Vance’s 2022 campaign for a Senate seat, is a co-founder of PayPal, a board member at Facebook, and, most importantly, co-founded Palantir Technologies in 2003 (Tracxn.com, 2025). This company provides data analytics solutions for commercial and governmental use under the software platform Palantir Gotham. Gotham, huh? The Dark Enlightenment begins! 

Unfortunately for us, the NHS Federated Data Platform holds a £330 million contract with Palantir, signed in 2023, providing Mr Thiel with a vast roster of all our data (Newton, 2025). More ironically, as Palantir is said to be investing £1.5 billion into the UK’s military for AI projects (Ministry of Defence, 2025), Thiel’s influence appears to be much closer to home than anticipated. This can be seen in his involvement in the healthcare, defence, and technological sectors in the UK. His dark superpower is reliant on keeping monetary monopolies to undermine democracy.

The reality is that an authoritarian technocapitalist state is being created through governmental and international influences, as conceived by Land and Yarvin, not exclusive to the United States, but also in the United Kingdom.

The Dark Enlightenment Ends?

Entirely misconstrued narratives and money-hungry actions by unhappy people are what this Dark Enlightenment represents. The Dark Enlightenment, unfortunately, acts as the baseline for individuals who support the MAGA movement, worshipping Donald Trump, the idol. During his current term, we have certainly seen the methods of accelerationism in his misuse of heightened executive control. 

But how can we counteract this form of radical populism? Educating effectively and en masse about the dangers extremism poses to democracy and prioritising the democratic principle of checks and balances. Those in power are held to account by ‘We the people’, and a culture of fear should not develop in response to this movement. Resisting political tyranny and lobbying against a technocapitalist state is the process needed for the preservation of democracy.

Bibliography:

Gómez, F. and Bryson, A. (2025). Trump sets executive order record in his first 100 days. [Online] Cbsnews.com. Last updated: 29 April 2025. Available at: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-first-100-days-executive-order-record/ [ Accessed: 20 October 2025].

Ministry of Defence (2025). New strategic partnership to unlock billions and boost military AI and innovation. [Online] GOV.UK. Last updated: 18 September 2025. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-strategic-partnership-to-unlock-billions-and-boost-military-ai-and-innovation. [ Accessed: 20 October 2025].

Murphy, J. (2021). J.D. Vance - JML #070. [Video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMq1ZEcyztY [ Accessed: 20 October 2025].

Newton, S. (2025). Doctors against Palantir’s NHS software put ‘ideology over patient interest’. [Online] The Independent. Last updated: 9 July 2025. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nhs-peter-thiel-donald-trump-british-medical-association-conservative-b2784760.html [ Accessed: 20 October 2025].

Rosenfeld, J. (2024). Accelerationism | Types, Origins, Marx, Nietzsche, Left, Right, Lord of Light, & Facts. [Online] Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/accelerationism. [ Accessed: 25 November 2025].

Tracxn.com. (2025). Peter Thiel - 2025 Portfolio & Founded Companies [Online] Tracxn.com. Last updated: 4 November 2025. Available at: https://tracxn.com/d/people/peter-thiel/__5GyjNuF1ts5vtAbLawGTG0NffbSJZXMqKwfs_QDvAiU [ Accessed: 20 October 2025].

Yarvin, C. (n.d.). Unqualified Reservations by Mencius Moldbug. [Online] Available at: https://www.unqualified-reservations.org/  [ Accessed: 20 October 2025].