The PayPal Mafia and Their Techno Guru

But, He Has A YouTube!

[Preface]

This is a long one because it’s a big one. Deep, but not ‘rabbit hole’ deep.

There are two kinds of conspiracy phenomena going around. There are ‘conspiracy theories’- the things you believe someone is up to- and ‘conspiracy plots’- the things someone’s actually doing. For example, the Deep State is a right wing conspiracy theory about what the left is doing, but it doesn’t exist. Project 2025 is a conspiracy plot by the right outlining what they plan to do and you can read it on their own web site.

Democrats have no such plan going- even the ‘Green New Deal’ is only about advancing alternate energy and cleaning up pollution. There’s no liberal equivalent of Project 2025.

Today, we’re discussing the actual plans by Republicans, which are going to sound like conspiracy theories, mostly because they are created by the same mindset that invents conspiracy theories. They can imagine the opposition doing it because they would do it.

With that in mind……

~~~~~~

Part One; ‘The PayPal Mafia and Their YouTube Guru.’

We’ve talked a lot about Republicans and their current autocratic campaign, mostly from the perspective of Project 2025, the ‘Christo fascist coup plan’. (Say that three times over a salsa beat.) But, that doesn’t explain why techno bro Elon Musk- the richest man in the damn world, is even around, much less obsessed with destroying the nation’s infrastructure and implementing an autocratic government under Trump.

And, they are doing the most ridiculous, cruel and disastrous things we’ve ever seen in the US.

It’s batshit crazy.

I mean, f-ing batshit to beat the band.

Okay, yes, the lot of them are that bad, but let’s concentrate on those at the very top and the delusions they’re destroying the nation over.

There’s all of these bizarre obsessions with fascist autocracy, social austerity, even in behavior, polarizing along demographics, enabling corruption while killing social services, pretending they’re fraud. You see it going on with Musk and DOGE, and all of the gibberish coming out of Trump, and the Republicans stunning silence about it all.

Where the hell do they get this crazy shit?

Some of it comes from Russel Vought and the Heritage Foundation, authors of Project 2025. It’s among the oldest of the ultra-conservative-racist-autocratic political groups that dominate the Republicans. Subjugating minorities, immigrants, LGBTQs and dissidents has long been their objective.

All of the policies demanded by P2025 are based on their own conspiracy theories. Like, immigrants are all criminal gang members, LGBTQs are pedophiles, Democrats are letting illegals vote, liberals want to ban Christianity- the list goes on, all conspiracy theories they themselves invented.

And, as always, placing the interests of business and the wealthy above the social safety net is a cornerstone of modern Republican thought.

But, the PayPal Mafia thing is relatively new. It’s reputed to be comprised mainly of Musk, Thiel and the other original PayPal principles and oligarchs who just happen to control most of the Silicon Valley. They think they should be in charge because they’re just so damn smart. The rest is just boilerplate to them- they want all that discrimination, too. It’s just a matter of who’s in charge.

This convenient explainer is occasionally posted on Facebook;

“…Curtis Yarvin aka Mencius Moldbug.

- Yarvin preaches that the media and academia represent "The Cathedral" that secretly controls power and must be dismantled.

- He advocates for a corporate run, monarchy, led by a CEO-Dictator.

Says that Democracy is an "outdated software" and openly opposes it and that:

- Government agencies should be dismantled and The U.S. should be broken up into "patchworks" controlled by tech oligarchs.

- That the elite tech billionaires should rule because they have the intelligence to "fix" society

- That the "masses are asses" too dumb to govern themselves.

The strategy is to gut the government via R.A.G.E - Retire All Govt Employees to make government incapable of operating.

- Then to replace government with private corporations.

- To eliminate elections because they are "obsolete"

- To use distraction and chaos to prevent public resistance.”

So, yea, this guy.

This Yarvin schmuck.

Now, I’m not here just to cast aspersions or call him names for the sake of it. He’s made a serious proposal for a form of autocratic government and I’m commenting on it. And, as a practicing Orthodox Vaudevillian, I’m required to respond with puns and ‘Borscht Belt’ pejoratives whenever possible.

This is the ‘smart guy on YouTube’ worshipped as a guru by the ‘PayPal Mafia’.

This isn’t the first I’ve heard of him, but this sums him up pretty well, from what I’ve seen, heard and read.

Who is he? What’re his credentials?

Has he earned a degree in political science or history, or philosophy, or even basket weaving, ffs?

Not that I can find. If he was, you’d think that would come up first in his bio and searches.

Nope. Not that I’ve seen.

He’s said to be a software developer, but but his main thing appears to be blogging, like me and millions of others.

Okay, then, you say ‘what’re your ‘credentials, smart ass?’

Well, being only two years younger, I can claim the same level of cultural exposure as Yarvin, 70, as of this writing. As a professional musician/audio-video producer/engineer for 50 years and growing up in the last half of the 20th Century, I feel I’ve observed life from a number of perspectives and have the ability to relate that, so I write from a knowledge base of both study- my own- and of experience. (And a certificate in music history and literature.)

What I have to say is based on the facts I learn, and the perspective they give me. I’m talking about things that we all can see, and history we all can easily verify. When I speculate, I believe it’s with good cause and support. (Like I will here today.)

So, I don’t claim any high credentials or authority, just a lucid ability to impart a viewpoint, or tell a joke. I strive to write in a professional manner, and say true and veritable things in an accessible, hopefully, entertaining way. (As did many of our legendary film, satire and philosophical writers. I mean, Mark Twain, ffs.)

And, I do talk about politics. And I’ve definitely chosen a liberal side. I’ve even published a plan to expand the Supreme Court to 13 and make it an elected body with term and age limits.

(Why Not Let the Voters Stack the Court?)

Is that journalism? Are blogs journalism? I don’t think they are by nature, but I think they’re a vehicle for it. I consider my pieces to be opinion, backed up by the facts and history I cite. Doesn’t make me a journalist, but not being a journalist doesn’t mean I’m not a writer.

I’m commenting on life, and I dabble in a wide swath of it, and I often say what I think is good or bad behavior, valid philosophy or junk writing, ingenuous or disingenuous. But, that’s what humanist/humorist/historian philosophy is for.

I am still not advancing batshit political mantras.

And, yes, absolutely, Yarvin has the same ‘right to art’ that I just claimed, the same right to free speech and to publish his works, and the right to believe what he believes. I would never tell him he can’t share his opinions.

Books, videos, blogs- as we used to actually say, I may disagree with what you say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it. (Yea, we really used to say that shit. I know.)

And, he has done so, and that means he’s exposed himself for criticism in the public square, as have I.

But, that intrinsic right to art is not necessarily a great credential on its own, especially when you don’t say veritable or lucid things. Most especially when you say batshit things like ‘democracy is outdated software’, ‘elections are obsolete’ and ‘the masses are too dumb to govern themselves’.

Even so, I’m far from inventing or advocating a form of autocratic government that requires the destruction of the entire current world order because I believe ‘I know better’.

Yarvin? In that sense, he has less ‘credentials’ than I do.

Because he is inventing and advocating a form of autocratic government that requires the destruction of the entire current world order because he believes ‘he knows better’.

I’m not ‘conspiracy theorizing’ this, he fucking said it. This plan is his ‘thing’.

His videos and blogs all promote it with the same grievances and liberal conspiracy theories that have permeated the right since ‘Q’ reared his ugly head.

He might as well be the aliens guy, or the meme stealing ‘prophet’. Hey, ‘gurus’, you know who else didn’t have any credentials of any kind but claimed the authority to create a system of government in his head?

Karl Fucking Marx.

So, am I saying that being a guitar player from Detroit gives me more credibility to comment on modern politics and society than Yarvin, or Marx?

You’re Goddamn right it does.

Not because I’m so lofty- but, because I’m not-, and, because he’s proposing batshit autocracy. Yarvin’s ‘plan’ is just as ludicrous as Marx was, with a few mixed metaphors to push it along. And, don’t forget the dramatic names!

So, let’s get on to the ‘master plan’, Moldbug’s ‘Dark Enlightenment’.

Part Two- ‘The Master Plan’ (bwahahahaha)

The ‘Dark Enlightenment’ is the snazzy name for Yarvin’s ‘philosophy’ outlined above, which, on its face, and in conjunction with the GOP’s Project 2025, and by comparison to Marx, sounds like communism ruled by the bourgeoise.

But, then, that’s essentially what fascism was, anyway. Marxism with a smiley face. In communism, the state owns everything. In fascism, the elite own everything and the state controls the elite.

In the ‘Dark Enlightenment’, the elite own everything and control the state.

So, techno-communism ruled by the Christo-fascist bourgeoise. Echoing Marx and amplifying with each repeat, they would own not just the ‘means of production’, but the ‘means of existence’.

And, we can’t stress this enough, by his own accord, democracy goes away for good.

Basically, the fascist bullshit Yarvin expounds is the same century-old diatribe that spurred a world war and got its ass kicked back to the Stone Age.

See, the thing is, a CEO dictator running with corporate power is exactly what Mussolini meant when he coined ‘fascism’, which he also called ‘corporatism’. Which is, of course, what drew Hitler to him and why we ended with fucking Nazis.

So, doesn’t that kind of make Carl Yarvin just another Nazi? (I’m just asking questions!!)

He virtually says it all in his blogs, he’s put out a book on Amazon and a shitload of YouTube videos, and somehow, it’s superfluous how, these gazillionaire twats in Silicon Valley heard it and glommed onto him.

Oh, great.

His only difference from outright fascism is that the corporate honchos have more control. And, Trump, who thinks he’s another Mussolini, but not a Hitler (he is) is also far stupider and fits perfectly with Yarvin’s assessment that he can just be dumped when they finish with him. (Wait- stupider than Mussolini? Is that possible? Sadly, yes.)

By Russ Vought’s schedule in Project 2025, Trump can be toast on July 20, 2025.

The PayPal Mafia’s ‘Dark Enlightenment’ and the Heritage Foundation’s ‘Project 2025’ Christo-fascist blueprint are separate things and not really willing bedmates.

Still, Project 2025 overlaps with much of Yarvin’s sick bullshit. It’s being implemented at light speed. The entry opportunity this affords the oligarchy is the entire reason Musk, who has no honest reason for any of this, is even around, despite the fact that everything he’s doing is horrifically damaging to his brands, the US government and world stability.

Musk’s insidious ‘DOGE’ is basically a 5th column of the PayPal Mafia, there to facilitate the ‘Dark Enlightenment’ with a takeover at the logistical level. Scaling the digital battlements, so to speak. Meanwhile, P2025 is attacking culture, immigration and ‘wokeness’. (Yes, they still think that’s a thing.)

I know, it sounds like a conspiracy theory- “the oligarchs are going to take over the world by infiltrating the White House and giving all our secrets to Russia while they wreck the market and raid the government for money and tax breaks” .

But, it’s not a theory if they’re doing it. And all of those things have already happened. DOGE has been hacking and exposing our data to Russian hacking, the market has gone haywire even as Musk gets $40B in federal contracts and puts Social Security on the chopping block to pay for the tax cuts.

As they say- “you’re not paranoid if they’re really out to get you”. They actually say these ‘pillars’ need to be destroyed and they are actually destroying them.

So, from reading Yarvin AND P2025, here’s what I gather may, could be, not saying it is, not saying it isn’t, just saying maybe, you know, when you take it all in and look at from,,, aw hell, this is the kind of bullshit we could be facing. (Speculation alert!! Danger, Will Robinson!)

The P2025 plan is to completely transform the US government to Christian Nationalism in 180 days and they are way ahead of schedule. Once it’s done, and techno-corporatocracy has complete control, Trump can be dumped anytime, and J.D. Vance was groomed from the outset to be the ‘babysitter’ president, a figurehead with no real authority, beholden to the billionaires who control him.

That is why Thiel and Musk personally demanded Trump name Vance as his VP. Thiel spent $5 million placing Vance in the Senate, and they made much of their campaign donations contingent on his inclusion.

So, Trump can be dumped. He has his use, and when that’s done, sayonara!

For the record, I’d much prefer to see him in prison, but, Putin has a very different moral scale on that point. And Trump, imbecile that he is, still knows far too much.

But, over here on the Yarvin/Thiel/Musk/ side, all of this nonsense spewing out of Trump daily is the chaos they want to obscure their actions. The animosity he’s creating between our allies- claiming he will ’take’ Canada, Greenland, Gaza and the Panama Canal, siding with Russia against Ukraine- not only protects their under-the-table moves, but is more than enough to impeach him at any time.

As to the other impeachable issues- the crypto corruption, the insider trading, the silencing of media and the disappearing of immigrants and dissidents- they’re all, like, down with that shit.

But, they do need Trump as a shield while Musk executes the plan. So, Mike Johnson is largely just waiting for Musk and Thiel to say ‘go’, and then, suddenly the whole Republican Party just may appear to grow a spine and throw Trump out on his ass with the unanimous impeachment that the first one should have been.

If this was a movie, and it is, that would be the plot being foreshadowed.

The most likely trigger would be Trump declaring war on someone.

While Republicans have stood by and watched Trump and Musk dismantle Article 1 of the Constitution, that’s all part of the plan, because they would have enormous trouble doing the the horrific things Project 2025 calls for as legislation. Trump doing it illegally because he enjoys immunity is much more convenient. It leans on the old adage, ‘ask for forgiveness rather than permission’. Or, in Trump-speak- ‘fuck permission, just do it and then lie.’

But, when he declares war, they may suddenly jump up and yell. Only Congress is allowed to actually declare war.

Even if Denmark were to declare war on us because Trump illegally sends troops into Greenland, Congress still must return with their own proclamation. Trump can’t just yell ‘they said it first’. Congress has to vote for it.

He will try.

And, if the plan is complete by the time he does, bye-bye Cheetolini.

While the bombast could be gone- Vance is incapable of it- we will still be dictated by a moron, nonetheless. Vance is no smarter than Trump, just less arrogant. The only real question is; how much of the Constitution are they planning to destroy? Having impeached and removed Trump, a new Vice President would be nominated by Vance and voted on by Congress, where Republicans hold majorities.

Ideally, per Yarvin’s philosophy, that VP would be Musk, but he can’t, unless they decide to ignore the 12th Amendment, which States that the Vice President must meet the requirements to be president. Musk does not. He isn’t a natural citizen. (The 12A/22A loop is also why Trump can’t sneak in a third term running as VP.)

But several other PayPal Mafia elite are eligible. And, once one of them is VP, that’s a few unlucky steps for Vance away from the PayPal Mafia actually having the White House. Literally, a CEO/Dictator would be in charge.

This is where the winner of the intramural battle is chosen. If Vance picks a Heritage guy, we have Christo-fascism. If he picks a PayPal Mafia guy, we have techno-fascism with a side of Christo-culture enforcement.

So, they are literally carrying out this yutz Yarvin’s insane fucking fascist plan.

I know.

This homegrown stupid wing of conservatism has been trying since the 1930s to undo the New Deal, and every subsequent protection of rights ever passed. On the local front, they want to do all of this socially crippling damage laid out in Project 2025 as a matter of course.

On the international front, they don’t want to care. Staying out of the fray is enough to honor Putin. The PayPal Mafia and Heritage both want an isolationist America-first illiberal thing. Getting out of NATO would be enough.

But, they keep forgetting they put the biggest twit in the galaxy in the White House and they probably didn’t anticipate him threatening to take Canada, for Christ’s sake. Even Greenland, Gaza and Panama were already beyond the pale, but Canada!?!?!?

Even these assholes don’t want actual war with Canada, or Denmark, or Panama, or especially, the EU. But, that’s what they get for backing a batshit crazy pathological lying thieving narcissist lunatic as their leader to execute an astonishingly stupid blogger mantra as a model of government.

They can’t control him this time. He’s far too deeply enabled. Musk has to complete his sabotage by the time they have to dump Trump.

Yarvin is only one of the recent right-wing YouTube gurus. The Vought/Heritage plan is over 40 years old- they can’t give it up now just because it’s been co-opted by a clownish moron.

But, while the plan may not have originally anticipated Trump, their embrace of him has altered its course, and not necessarily where they wanted to go.

And, where, pray tell, is that?

Part Three; The Moscow Twist

Yup. Russia.

Now, of course, we can’t help but feel that Putin is still the ringleader in all of this.

Everything the PayPal Mafia and the ‘Dark-E’ (shorter- like it?) wants to do manifests as a reduction of US power against Russia. Trump, of course, is doing the most damage just by being the asshole that he is, and Musk is achieving many of Putin’s wishes by dismantling the US government from the database up. Not to mention, pipelining info directly to Russia. (E.g.- minutes after DOGE hackers tampered with systems at the NLRB, a Russian IP tried to login with one of DOGE’s usernames and passwords.)

All of the bullshit Trump is creating between the EU, Ukraine and the US is just peachy for Putin, as it leads to the US being out of NATO, possibly in hostile conflict with the EU, and, therefore, unlikely or unable to stop Putin from rampaging across Europe with North Korean troops. (Most of his have died in the course of not taking Ukraine.)

I’m tellin’ you folks- this Russian plan to depose the US internationally has been in the works since 1946, when Stalin decided to keep his Nazi spoils. Putin has been working for it since the 70s, and in control of it since 1999. Communist propaganda began in the 1930s, and the invasion of other countries was a recurring theme throughout the Cold War and during Putin’s regime.

More to the point, he has been cultivating these Republicans to this position, independent of the ‘Dark-E’ or P2025, since the 90s. From propaganda to money laundering to kompromat, he has his fingers in everybody’s pies. He’s admitted outright that he helped Trump get elected, both times, and his staff has said that Trump ‘has obligations’ because of it.

The PayPal Mafia (Dark-E) and the Heritage Foundation (Project 2025) both planned to use Trump to get them in the door to gain control of the country, but because they chose a convicted criminal, batshit madman and Russian tool, they have all ended up being played by Putin.

With Trump, Vought and the PayPal Mafia stupidly falling for this shit, we are all now in great danger.

Yarvin and Vought have laid out their plot in their respective manifestos, the dominos are in place and Trump is kicking them over, upending the liberal consensus and giving Putin the upper hand with everyone but China, on whom he relies as an ally and supporter.

But, as I said, if it was a movie, we’d know this was coming by the end of Act III.

Um, it’s Act V.

Godammnit.

The guy on YouTube with the Confederate flag on his wall told me this would happen.

C.2025 Cousin B