“neocameralism.” By limiting politics to this narrow domain, Moldbug
reasons it creates space for a libertarian paradise.37 Moldbug calls him-
self a “Jacobite” and favors the restoration of the House of Stuart, but the
details of his futurist monarchy are less important than the thrust toward
the total privatization and authoritarianism.38
Drawing on an implicit machine metaphor, he argues that society
needs a “hard reset” not gradual political reform. But Moldbug’s strategy
for the destroying the Cathedral further distinguishes him from other
right- wing movements. He forbids neoreactionaries from engaging in any
form of activism, “violent or harmless, legal or illegal, fashionable or des-
picable.” Even voting is borderline. Instead, Moldbug advocates “the Steel
Rule of Passivism.” He counsels readers that “since you believe others
should be willing to accept the rule of the New Structure, over which
they wield no power, you must be the first to make the great refusal.”39
Moldbug’s rationale is that progressivism feeds on right- wing opposition.
By remaining passive, neoreaction “starves” progressivism of a neces-
sary enemy. Without a “loyal opposition,” “progressivism collapses into
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E M E R G E N T T H I N K E R S
sclerosis.” Eschewing politics also safeguards neoreaction from cooption
by those attracted to power, “vaccinat[ing] itself against Hitler.”40
Moldbug concedes that destroying progressivism is implausible. But
he thinks that with the internet it is possible. He suggests the collapse of
the Soviet Union as a model to follow. The sclerosis of the American gov-
ernment and the disjuncture between power structures and political rhet-
oric will naturally undermine confidence in the state. But indoctrinated
Americans also needed a visible alternative. The neoreactionary’s task is to
create a clear and obvious alternative or “Schelling Point.” The first steps
are challenging the Cathedral intellectually and theorizing an alternative.
Moldbug distills his plan into the mantra “Become worthy; Accept power;
Rule.” Having begun the creation of the Schelling Point, in 2013 Moldbug
drastically reduced his blogging and, after two years of silence, announced
in April 2016 that Unqualified Reservations had “completed its mission.”41
Harbinger and Archetype
It can be difficult to gage the seriousness of Moldbug’s project. On the
one hand, his droll tone and outlandish statements make it tempting to
dismiss him as a prank. There is some evidence to this effect. The Kindle
versions of his posts are published by the winkingly named TRO LLC.
In one particular post, Moldbug discusses at length Daniel Defoe’s The
Shortest Way with the Dissenters, a 1702 pamphlet that parodied Tory prop-
aganda to discredit the Right.42 It is possible that Moldbug highlighted the
pamphlet to indicate the reality of his blog.
However, Moldbug should be taken seriously. Despite some outland-
ishness, his core critiques and basic proposals are consistent, and his
use of exaggeration is purposeful. Neoreaction treats taboo thought as
liberation, and Moldbug’s use of comedy and transgression make sense
within this framework. His real identity was revealed online around
2012, and his tech work has occasionally suffered as a result. Two tech-
expos disinvited him in 2015 and 2016 causing minor controversy, and
Moldbug- Yarvin has since defended Unqualified Reservations under his
own name.43
Even if Yarvin had not done this, there would be reason to reckon with
Moldbug. Regardless of his intent, Unqualified Reservations developed a
dedicated following who read Moldbug seriously. Moldbug’s approach
reflects the online turn toward absurdist memes and “trolling,” the act of
inciting outrage by adopting provocative beliefs or actions. Simultaneously
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Mencius Moldbug and Neoreaction
199
ironic and sincere, trolling makes it impossible to disentangle the se-
rious from the intentionally provocative. If Moldbug is a prototroll, his
blog is intended to challenge society and cause teeth- gnashing in main-
stream publications like the Atlantic and the Nation. Most importantly,
antiprogressive arguments resembling Moldbug’s have entered the public
square. Moldbug was a harbinger of an antiprogressive trend most ap-
parent in the 2016 presidential election.
Donald Trump and his surrogates sounded neoreactionary notes in
their condemnation of progressivism and the media. According to Politico,
the Breitbart executive chairman and Trump advisor Steve Bannon read
and admired Moldbug’s work, which confirmed Bannon’s conviction that
liberal technocrats were destroying “Western Civilization.” Though criti-
cism of progressivism and liberal media bias have long histories in main-
stream conservatism, Trump and Moldbug are distinct for their tone, use
of alternative media types, and disrespect for prevailing norms.
But neoreaction is also at odds with some of conservatism’s core
tenets. Moldbug’s philosophy is hyperindividualistic, thoroughly deraci-
nated from the regional, national, and religious identities conservatives
traditionally emphasize. He rejects patriotism, constitutionalism, and
populism. Most of the conservative Right venerates a narrow vision of
America’s political tradition utterly distinct from Moldbug’s vision of cor-
porate feudalism.
Moldbug’s relationship with white nationalism is also thorny. He is
“not exactly allergic to” white nationalist writers and accepts racialist
claims about “human biodiversity” but disavows it for political reasons.
While racialist thought may be “a sensible description of a general
problem,” it suggests erroneous solutions. White nationalism is mis-
guided because it emphasizes race rather than intelligence. More im-
portantly, identitarian politics are flawed because they are democratic
and counterproductive because they energize the Left.44 Neoreactionaries
have distanced themselves from the Alt Right and white- identity politics.
Nick Land, another neoreactionary thinker, says he does not “think the
Alt- Right (in America) is very serious.”45 Privately, however, Moldbug has
suggested that this distancing is a tactical consideration. In a message
to Milo Yiannopoulos, then a Breitbart reporter, on how to relate to neo-
Nazis, Moldbug counseled Yiannopoulos to “deal with them the way some
perfectly tailored high- communist NYT reporter handles a herd of greasy
anarchist hippies. Patronizing contempt.” Although disdainful of the neo-
Nazi Right, Moldbug sees them as a part of a broad right- wing assault on
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the Left. Neoreaction’s dismissal of neo- Nazism is cultural and tactical,
but not entirely ideological. “The liberal doesn’t purge the communist
because he hates communism,” Moldbug told Yiannopoulos. He purges
them “because the communist is a public embarrassment to
him.” Neo-
Nazis are losers “and losers rub off.”46
Where Moldbug has been most influential is among radical libertarians
and in burgeoning online subcultures. His overt anti- democracy is a de-
parture for American libertarianism but has a small but growing influ-
ence, especially following the 2008 financial crisis. Prominent libertarian
investors Balaji Srinivasan and Peter Thiel have echoed Neoreactionary
themes about seceding from the US for tech- CEO dictatorships.
Moldbug’s relationship with the investor- entrepreneur Thiel is his
most important connection. Thiel has considerable influence within
mainstream and libertarian circles. He was seriously considered for a cab-
inet position in the Trump White House, sits on the boards of several
major companies, including Facebook, and is a majority shareholder in
Palantir, a major intelligence contractor. Thiel invested in Yarvin’s tech
company and wrote while recommending Unqualified Reservations, that
he “no longer believe[s] that freedom and democracy are compatible.”47 In
2016 Moldbug privately boasted that he had been “coaching Thiel” who is
“fully enlightened” but “plays it very carefully.”48 Moldbug exemplifies an
important trend in radical libertarianism: a grim view of contemporary
society but supreme confidence in technology and the private sector to
supersede traditional politics.
Moldbug is perhaps best understood as an online archetype. Especially
with the growth of social media and the availability of video technology,
many right- wing activists have adeptly harnessed the web to create and
propagate their philosophies. The unprecedented platform of the internet
provides a space and audience for their world- historical theories. What
Moldbug captured in his verbose posts was a growing sense of social
frustration among mostly white, middle- class males resentful of dimin-
ished economic and social fortunes in a diverse, economically slowing,
post– Third Wave feminist society. This frustration manifests itself as
misanthropic superiority. Unqualified Reservations was the “highbrow”
predecessor and later companion to the transgressive anti- “politically cor-
rect” metapolitics of nebulous online communities like 4chan and / pol/ .
Moldbug represents a new type of thinker inseparable from the internet.
Moldbug was among the first of this new type of digital ideologue, but he
is far from the last.
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Mencius Moldbug and Neoreaction
201
Notes
1. Mencius Moldbug, “A Formalist Manifesto,” Unqualified Reservations (blog)
(hereafter UR), April 23, 2007, http:// unqualified- reservations.blogspot.com/
2007/ 04/ formalist- manifesto- originally- posted.html. Moldbug’s identity is now public knowledge, but his blog posts are cited as he posted them under
his nom de web.
2. Justine Alexandra Roberts Tunney, introduction to A Gentle Introduction to
Unqualified Reservations, by Mencius Moldbug (New York: TRO LLC, 2009), vii.
3. www.socialmatter.net.
4. Mark Lilla, The Shipwrecked Mind: On Political Reaction (New York: New York
Review of Books, 2016), ix– xxi.
5. Angela Nagle, Kill All Normies: The Online Culture Wars from Tumblr and 4chan to
the Alt- Right and Trump (Washington, DC: Zero Books, 2017).
6. Mencius Moldbug, “How I Stopped Believing in Democracy,” UR, Jan 31, 2008,
http:// unqualified- reservations.blogspot.com/ 2008/ 01/ how- i- stopped- believing-
in- democracy.html.
7. SMPY at JHU Precollege Newsletter, no. 10, Sept 1, 1988, 2. Found at https://
digital.library.unt.edu/ ark:/ 67531/ metadc268929/ m1/ 2/ ; Curtis Yarvin, Richard Bukowski, and Thomas Anderson, “Anonymous RPC: Low- Latency Protection
in a 64- Bit Address Space,” in Proc. Of the 1993 Summer Usenix Conference, 175–
186, June 1993.
8. Paulina Borsook, Cyberselfish: A Critical Romp Through the Terribly Libertarian
Culture of High Tech (New York: PublicAffairs, 2000), 3.
9. Ibid.
10. Mencius Moldbug, “OL8: A Reset is Not a Revolution,” UR, June 5, 2009, http://
unqualified- reservations.blogspot.com/ 2008/ 06/ ol8- reset- is- not- revolution.
html.
11. George Hawley, Rightwing Critics of American Conservatism (Lawrence: University
of Kansas Press, 2016), 145– 178; George H. Nash, The Conservative Intellectual
Movement in America since 1945 (Wilmington, DE: ISI Books, 2006), 497– 499.
12. Mencius Moldbug, “From Mises to Carlyle: My Sick Journey to the Dark Side
of the Force,” UR, February 4, 2010, https:// unqualified- reservations.blogspot.
com/ 2010/ 02/ from- mises- to- carlyle- my- sick- journey.html.
13. Hans- Hermann Hoppe, Democracy—
The God That Failed: The Economics
and Politics of Monarchy, Democracy, and Natural Order (New Brunswick,
NJ: Transaction, 2002).
14. Mencius Moldbug, “OLXII: What Is to be Done?,” UR, July 2, 2008, http://
unqualified- reservations.blogspot.com/ 2008/ 07/ olxii- what- is- to- be- done.html.
15. James Burnham, The Machiavellians: Defenders of Freedom (New York: John
Day, 1943).
16. Moldbug, “From Mises to Carlyle.”
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E M E R G E N T T H I N K E R S
17. Mencius Moldbug, “A Gentle Introduction (part 4),” UR, January 29, 2009.
http:// unqualified- reservations.blogspot.com/ 2009/ 01/ gentle- introduction- to-
unqualified_ 29.html.
18. Mencius Moldbug, “OLXIV: Rules for Reactionaries,” UR, July 17, 2008, http://
unqualified- reservations.blogspot.com/ 2008/ 07/ .
19. Mencius Moldbug, “OL9: How to Uninstall a Cathedral,” UR, June 12, 2008,
https:// unqualified- reservations.blogspot.com/ 2008/ 06/ ol9- how- to- uninstall-
cathedral.html.
20. For example, Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida, or Judith Butler.
21. Andrew Hartman, A War for the Soul of America: A History of the Culture Wars
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2015), 113.
22. Nicole Hemmer, Messengers of the Right: Conservative Media and the Transformation
of American Politics (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016).
23. Mencius Moldbug, “OL5: The Shortest Way to World Peace,” UR, May 15,
2008, http:// unqualified- reservations.blogspot.com/ 2008/ 05/ ol5- shortest- way-
to- world- peace.html; “A Gentle Introduction (part 3),” UR, January 22, 2009,
http:// unqualified- reservations.blogspot.com/ 2009/ 01/ gentle- introduction- to-
unqualified_ 22.html.
24. Hawley, Rightwing Critics, 67– 70.
25. Mencius Moldbug, “Why I Am Not a White Nationalist,” UR, November 22,
2007, http:// unqualified- reservations.blogspot.com/ 2007/ 11/ why- i- am- not-
white- nationalist.html.
26. Mencius Moldbug, “A Gentle Introduction (part 4),” UR, January 29, 2009,
http:// unqualified- reservations.blogspot.com/ 2009/ 01/ .
27. Hartman, War for the Soul of America, 113– 114.
28. Nagle, Kill All Normies, 28– 39.
29. Ibid., 86– 100.
30. Mencius Moldbug, “OL7: The Ugly Truth about Government,” UR, May 29,
2008, http:// unqualified- reservations.blogspot.c
om/ 2008/ 05.
31. Moldbug, “A Gentle Introduction (part 1).”
32. Moldbug, “A Gentle Introduction (part 7),” UR, March 5, 2009, http:// unqualified-
reservations.blogspot.com/ 2009/ 03/ gentle- introduction- to- unqualified.html.
33. Moldbug, “A Gentle Introduction (part 6),” UR, February 19, 2009, http://
unqualified- reservations.blogspot.com/ 2009/ 02/ gentle- introduction- to-
unqualified_ 19.html.; “OL8.”
34. Moldbug, “A Formalist Manifesto.”
35. Moldbug, “A Gentle Introduction (part 4).”
36. Moldbug, “OL4: Dr Johnson’s Hypothesis,” UR, May 8, 2008, http:// unqualified-
reservations.blogspot.com/ 2008/ 05/ ol4- dr- johnsons- hypothesis.html.
37. Moldbug, “How Dawkins Got Pwned [ sic] (part 6),” UR, November 1, 2007,
http:// unqualified- reservations.blogspot.com/ 2007/ 11/ how- dawkins- got-
pwned- part- 6.html.
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Mencius Moldbug and Neoreaction
203
38. Moldbug, “OL8.” (see n8)
39. Moldbug, “A Gentle Introduction (part 9a),” UR, September 3, 2009, https://
unqualified- reservations.blogspot.com/ 2009/ 09/ gentle- introduction- to-
unqualified.html.
40. Ibid.
41. Moldbug, “Coda,” UR, April 18, 2016, http:// unqualified- reservations.blogspot.
com/ 2016/ 04/ .
42. Moldbug, “OL5: The Shortest Way to World Peace,” UR, May 15, 2008, http://
unqualified- reservations.blogspot.com/ 2008/ 05/ ol5- shortest- way- to- world-
peace.html.”
43. Curtis Yarvin, “Why You Should Come to LambdaConf Anyway,” Medium,
March 27, 2016, https:// medium.com/ @curtis.yarvin/ why- you- should- come- to-
lambdaconf- anyway- 35ff8cd4fb9d.
44. Ibid.
45. George Hawley, Making Sense of the Alt- Right (New York: Columbia University
Press, 2017), 45– 50.
46. Joseph Bernstein, “Alt- White: How the Breitbart Machine Laundered Racist Hate,”
BuzzFeedNews, October 5, 2017, https:// www.buzzfeed.com/ josephbernstein/
heres- how- breitbart- and- milo- smuggled- white- nationalism?utm_ term=.
ptROyy5xq#.kcGyRRPNv.
47. Peter Thiel, “The Education of a Libertarian,” Cato Unbound, April 13,
2009,
https:// www.cato- unbound.org/ 2009/ 04/ 13/ peter- thiel/ education-
libertarian; Corey Pein, “Mouthbreathing Machiavelli’s Dream of a Silicon Reich,” Baffler, May 19, 2014, https:// thebaffler.com/ latest/ mouthbreathing-
Key Thinkers of the Radical Right Page 34
