Philosopher Challenges Techno-Optimism in New Book, Warns of Silicon Valley's 'Dark Enlightenment'
Guillaume Paoli, a philosopher, has published 'Something Better than Optimism', challenging the prevalent techno-optimism and its influence on climate policy. Meanwhile, tech billionaires in Silicon Valley are embracing a 'Dark Enlightenment', seeking an extremely unequal society.
Paoli's book critiques the optimism that has long driven technological advancements and neoliberal thought, tracing its roots back to figures like Bernard Mandeville. This optimism, often placed in annual climate summits, has failed to yield significant results, with recent summits hosted by major fossil fuel producers proving ineffective.
Paoli argues against reducing the ecological disaster to just climate and CO2 concentration. He sees the failure of climate diplomacy as a clear indicator against optimism. Instead, he proposes 'collapsology', a concept that deals with societal collapses and what can still be saved.
In Silicon Valley, tech billionaires are pursuing a 'Dark Enlightenment', a term associated with American far-right blogger Curtis Yarvin (Mencius Moldbug). Yarvin advocates for neo-reactionary ideologies that reject democracy in favor of corporate-run city-states or monarchies. This vision, influenced by thinkers like Nick Land, includes a 'hard reset' of society with hierarchy and corporate sovereignty. The 'singularity ideology' in Silicon Valley, aiming to replace natural life with artificial, is based on Mandeville's ideas.
Current policies are not enough to achieve the two-degree target, let alone the 1.5-degree target that was exceeded last year. Paoli's most likely scenario is that Homo sapiens will eventually go extinct due to its actions. However, he refrains from categorical pessimism, offering ways to deal with the coming collapses.
Paoli's 'Something Better than Optimism' provides a critical perspective on techno-optimism and its impact on climate policy. Meanwhile, the 'Dark Enlightenment' in Silicon Valley raises concerns about the future of society and the influence of tech billionaires. As climate targets remain unmet, Paoli's call for a shift in mindset and the exploration of 'collapsology' gains significance.
