Is the modern right preparing for the end times?

The political actions of the tech oligarchs make sense if they think that most of humanity is going to die due to an environmental catastrophe, and they get to rule what is left. From Elon's obsession with colonising Mars to Theil's network states, it does show (cynical) long-term thinking. The Trump administration's obsession with taking Canada and Greenland also makes a lot more sense in a world where the Earth's temperature has risen by a few degrees and these places are far more habitable.

They also believe in network states, which are small nations run on a corporate structure where AI and robots do most of the work, and they are completely unchallenged. Their alliance with Trump and the MAGA movement can be seen as a method for accelerating American decline and ensuring that they have appropriate control over what is left. These would seem like ridiculous ideas and dystopian. However, Peter Thiel has been on record as being against democracy; he wrote a foreword to a book that predicted this outcome. Curtis Yarvin (praised by Theil and Vance) has written an essay on how to dismantle the US government (like DOGE has done)

Gil Duran is the world's most important journalist.

https://www.thenerdreich.com/

Naomi Klein (a long read but excellent) on the links between MAGA and the tech oligarchs.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2025/apr/13/end-times-fascism-far-right-trump-musk

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The Trump administration may be incompetent and riddled with contradictions but it's not based on madness. It has plans and a vision; Nihilistic and cynical though that may be.

SunshineGirl · 36-40, F

I think the more insightful conservatives are coming to realise how unsustainable their regular economic pursuits are and have determined to grab as much as possible for themselves before the whole thing blows up.

Burnley123 · 41-45, M

@SunshineGirl That is part of it, yes. The West is in decline and understanding this is crucial to understanding Trumpism. The tariffs' idea is an own goal, it's based on an idea of grabbing onto more of a shrinking pie. Exploiting (frankly, extorting) former allies is part of that rationale.

Our economic models (and what we take for granted) are unsustainable in another way too. The planet can not take much more of the things that drove growth. If you have wealth and power but accept that a climate catastrophe is inevitable, why wouldn't you make plans to ensure that you are insulated (or further benefit from) a slow-burn collapse?

Klein's argument is essentially that.