DOGE Dismantling of Democracy
Dark Enlightenment's other goal besides data collection
In follow up to how DOGE stole the data of all Americans, the smash of the DOGE “smash and grab” plan is just as critical to the Dark Enlightenment purpose. If this sounds nuts, it did to me when I first heard the term this spring, so much so that I didn’t revisit it until Elon’s Grok volunteered the response. As we saw with the Kirk assassination suspect’s cartridge engravings, memes have power and that power includes the ability to come to life despite their plausible deniability and unbelievable level of absurdity when you’re told about it.
One fundamental point to remember is that DOGE is not dead, it’s just past the loud stage and on to the surgical stage with Project 2025 architect Russell Vought at the helm. The “kind” view of Russell Vought’s goal in doing something so destructive and unpopular is that he hopes to destroy the administrative state so thoroughly that the next administration can’t rebuild it. That comes from Erick Erickson who I interacted with a decent amount on RedState when in the College Republicans. The much darker view is that the National Conservatives do not plan to have free and fair elections or relinquish power by any other means than by force.
In interests of time and because getting it directly from Elon’s AI app lends some credibility, here’s what I received in response to “How does DOGE fit into the Dark Enlightenment besides data collection for Palantir?”
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, aligns with Dark Enlightenment (also known as neoreactionary or NRx) ideology in several ways that go beyond its data-related initiatives. The Dark Enlightenment is an anti-democratic philosophy that critiques modern liberal democracy as inefficient, egalitarian, and prone to decay, advocating instead for hierarchical, authoritarian structures often modeled on corporations or monarchies ruled by competent elites—thinkers like Curtis Yarvin (Mencius Moldbug) envision “CEO-kings” or sovereign executives who bypass bureaucratic inertia and democratic checks to impose order and progress.
DOGE operationalizes this by treating the federal government as a bloated, underperforming corporation in need of ruthless streamlining. Musk and Ramaswamy have proposed firing up to 75% of the federal workforce—echoing Yarvin’s “RAGE” (Retire All Government Employees) strategy to gut the administrative state and rebuild it under centralized, tech-driven control, rendering traditional branches of government ceremonial. This isn’t mere cost-cutting; it’s a philosophical assault on the “Cathedral” (NRx term for the interlocking media, academia, and bureaucracy that perpetuates democratic egalitarianism), aiming to install a “unitaryf executive” with plenary powers.
Key figures bridge DOGE to NRx circles: Musk has echoed neoreactionary themes in his critiques of “woke” bureaucracy and calls for tech-led governance, while Ramaswamy’s writings on corporate sovereignty align with Yarvin’s vision of “patchwork” governance—fragmenting the state into competing, efficient enclaves run like startups. DOGE’s recruitment of young, ideologically aligned “zoomers” (tech-savvy Gen Z operatives with NRx sympathies) to infiltrate agencies further embodies this, creating a shadow network to neutralize opposition and enforce top-down reforms without congressional oversight.
In essence, DOGE advances NRx by accelerating the erosion of democratic norms in favor of technocratic feudalism, where efficiency trumps accountability and elite innovators hold unchecked power—potentially paving the way for a “Night of the Long Knives” style purge of the old guard. Critics see this as a “neo-reactionary coup,” but proponents view it as necessary to rescue a failing system.
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