Lucas Blogs About Neoreaction a Basilisk

Once again, I must comment on the badass cover.

So, what's this book's deal?

Well, the deal with Neoreaction a Basilisk should be obvious from its subtitle: Essays on and Around the Alt-Right. But in case it isn't, it's a collection of essays by Elizabeth Sandifer concerning the origins and philosophical implications of the Alt-Right.

Not some light summer reading then?

Well, yes and no. While the subject matter is often quite serious, Sandifer's prose is engaging and accessible. For example, the first essay — from which the collection draws its title — is a lengthy and involved discussion of the texts that might be considered foundational to contemporary reactionary movements, with a lengthy digression comparing their prophetic mode to the poetry of William Blake; however, Sandifer's writing never becomes dry or academic. Partly because she makes liberal use of jokes and asides to show that while she's willing to take the arguments of the Alt-Right seriously in order to debunk them, she's not above poking fun at them.

It is hard to resist.

Yeah. But I think we've gotten a little bit ahead of ourselves here, usually I talk a little bit more about a book's content before we jump into discussing my thoughts on the writing.

Whatever, I'm flexible.

Cool. So, the first essay is largely about three figures that Sandifer deems important for understanding the concept of Neoreaction: Eliezer Yudkowsky, who wants to bring about a utopian society in which a benevolent AI watches over society like an Asimov novel; Mencius Moldbug, a blogger who essentially wants to undo the Enlightenment and the Protestant reformation; and Nick Land, an academic philosopher with similar stated goals but a different motivation. I have to admit that this essay is the densest in the collection and assumes the reader knows a bit more about Philosophy than I do. Subsequent essays cover such topics as Gamergate (a harassment campaign directed at women who make critiques of video games and/or make indie games that Gamergaters — for realsies, though, that's what they call themselves — don't like), the presidential candidacy of Donald Trump (the book was written before the last election), the Austrian School of Economics (essentially a movement in economics that exists solely to justify policies that harm the working class and enrich the . . . well, the rich), the anti-semitism lurking below the surface of the lizard people conspiracy theory (and not even that deep below the surface), TERFs (whom you may recall from last week's post about J.K. Rowling), and the ways in which wealthy people use their influence to boost Neoreactionary movements and shut down criticism. There's also an essay about the drama surrounding the Hugo Awards a few years back (although it apparently wasn't written with this collection in mind).

So she basically runs down the shitty stuff that far-right trolls have been doing online in the past decade?

Basically, yeah.

Why would you subject yourself to that?

Well, as I mentioned above, it's quite well-written. In addition to skillfully dissecting the Alt-Right's bad argumentation, Sandifer always keeps the reader engaged. There's also the fact that as a collection of essays, it allows the reader to sit and digest what they've read before moving on to the next entry. There's also more than a bit of schadenfreude in seeing someone dunking on these clowns. Like when HBomberguy offered this retort to Ben Shapiro. It might not actually accomplish anything, but it's fun.

You have anything else to say about it?

Not really, I read this because one of the essays was recommended by a YouTuber who's covering similar topics. It is a good read, but I suspect it's not exactly the kind of thing that's going to change anyone's mind, it's more of a preaching to the choir kind of thing. So make of that what you will.

Wait! What's the deal with the title?

Oh, that. Okay, have you heard of Roko's Basilisk?

I have not.

Okay, so Yudkowsky is into the idea of transhumanism, and hopes that one day we'll all be able to upload our consciousness into a computer governed by a benevolent AI. Apparently, a user named Roko raised the possibility that said AI might spend eternity torturing the uploaded consciousness of anyone who didn't do everything they could to bring it into existence.

Then wouldn't the AI be malevolent?

‾\_(ツ)_/‾. But the idea apparently spooked a bunch of users on the site, since you know, they want to believe in this utopian future where they live forever under the care of a computer program. The point is that Sandifer then uses the term Basilisk to refer to the various irrational boogeymen haunting neoreactionary movements, whether it's Marxism, the acceptance of trans people, or the possibility that videogames use misogynist tropes.

Got it. That's a pretty good analogy.

That it is, like I said, I enjoyed the book. I don't know that it would do much good to change people's minds, but if you're interested in where all these Alt Right weirdos are coming from, it's a good start.

Neoreaction A Basilisk: Essays on and Around the Alt-Right by Elizabeth Sandifer (one essay co-written by Jack Graham), Eruditorum Press trade paperback edition, 2017, 405 pages, pairs well with a Cuba Libre (or just a rum and coke if you don't have any limes) and a certain smugness

Links:

Here's Eruditorum, where the author blogs, if you're into that kinda thing.

More specifically, here's an online version of Sandifer's essay about the Hugo drama.

And, finally, here's the YouTube video where I found out about this book, it's part of Innuendo Studios' "Alt-Right Playbook" series which, as the name suggests, examines the rhetorical strategies used by the Alt-Right.