Žižek And So On Accelerationism w/ Michael Downs
Jun 24, 2025
Michael Downs, an insightful theorist and author of the Dangerous Maybe Blog, joins to delve deep into accelerationism and its implications. He discusses Žižek's critique of progress, contrasting accelerationism with degrowth communism. The conversation touches on cyber-positivity, the zero point of modernity, and the philosophical horror of AI. They explore the tensions of nostalgia in politics and examine how accelerationism is reshaping ideology in our tech-driven world, probing the complex relationship between modernity and humanity’s future.
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Žižek's Theoretical 'Stuxnet' Move
- Žižek stages a theoretical 'Stuxnet' by placing degrowth communism and accelerationism side by side.
- This juxtaposition destabilizes forced choices and reveals dialectical tensions between opposing crises responses.
No Perfect Return to Past
- You cannot return perfectly to any romanticized past because modern developments irreversibly change society.
- Attempts to regress will always accelerate towards a hybrid future shaped by what came after.
Accelerationism Centers on Tech Progress
- Accelerationism primarily involves understanding what exactly is accelerating, mainly technological development driven by capitalism.
- Capitalism acts as a science fiction machine, propelling technological advances culminating in artificial intelligence.
