The Internet's Countercultural Roots

On free speech, the tech right, and politicisation.

Geoff Shullenberger, managing editor at Compact, joins Alex and George to talk about Peter Thiel, René Girard, victimhood and the antichrist.

• Does it make sense to talk of "right-wing cancel culture"? Is it different from the left's?

• Is countercultural trolling in tension with "defending Western civilisation"?

• What does René Girard argue about mimesis and scapegoating? Why have his theories become popular?

• Is right-populism still politicising? How does it relate to libertarian anti-politics and hard-right militarisation?

• How has Silicon Valley libertarianism adapted to the new state-capitalist disposition?

For the full episode, subscribe at patreon.com/bungacast

Links:

• René Girard and the Rise of Victim Power, Geoff Shullenberger, Compact

• The Real Stakes, and Real Story, of Peter Thiel’s Antichrist Obsession, Laura Bullard, Wired

• The Faith of Nick Land, Geoff Shullenberger, Compact