The clash of feminist and neoreactionary critiques of universalism

Abstract

This article brings two divergent theoretical approaches into dialogue around the topic of philosophical universalism. The goal is to foreground dangerous beliefs motivating the contemporary neoreactionary (NRx) movement and their connections to the ideological underpinnings guiding extreme US cultural and political shifts. While feminist universalism does not promise unassailable solutions in the face of tyranny, it does provide critical attention to those most damaged by it and thus serves as a necessary contribution to resistance. This article first puts European Enlightenment articulations of universal autonomy and personhood in conversation with feminist critical reformulations and transformations of these same values. An overview of key tenets of the Dark Enlightenment follows, which shows an inverted and perverted view of the principles of freedom, equality, and dignity. The final section takes up some contemporary implications of this shadow ideology in the current Silicon Valley evangelists of Advanced Generalized Intelligence (AGI) and adherents to trans‐ and posthumanisms.