TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2018, 7PM
Capitalism With a Transhuman Face
HEAD – Genève, Boulevard Helvétique 9, 1205 Genève, seminar room 27, 2nd floor
The most salient feature of the far-right movement, which became known as the alt-right is its relation with IT, rather than with the diminished expectations of the post-industrial working class. This, I would argue, points to a new configuration of fascist ideology taking shape under the aegis of, and working in tandem with, neoliberal governance. If every rise of Fascism bears witness to a failed revolution[1], one could say that the rise of cryptofascist tendencies within the tech industry bears witness to the failures of the “digital revolution,” whose promises of a post- scarcity economy and socialized capital never came to pass. From this perspective the online cultural wars are a proxy for a greater battle around de-Westernization, Imperialism and white hegemony.
[1] This statement is usually attributed to Walter Benjamin, though it is at best an elision of his arguments and not a direct quote.