“This is the date of birth. This is the date of birth. This is the date of birth,” echoed the introductory line in the manifesto of the Christchurch shooter, who killed 51 people at a mosque in 2019. His claim was that white people were being “replaced” by other races and would not survive without action.
A few years later, the same obsession with birth rates has become a idiom of Elon Musk’s daily social media activism.
Don’t get me wrong, Elon Musk is neither a white supremacist nor a right-wing radical. Nevertheless, like others with extremist opinions, he promotes the view that society is declining and action is needed to prevent the associated apocalypse. These rhetorical overlaps are hardly coincidental. They stem from a reactionary philosophy that has a long history of going viral.
Population collapse due to low birth rates is a greater threat to civilization than global warming
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 26 August 2022
Concerns that low birth rates inevitably lead to population collapse have haunted the West ever since mass consumption became its dominant lifestyle. This reverses the old Malthusian fear of rapid population growth that would outstrip our ability to produce food. Seen in the bigger picture, both are variations of a common narrative known as the Fall.
The idea of decadence – the moral decline resulting from excessive indulgence – informs many parts of everyday sense-making, particularly cultural criticism.
Have you ever read American historian Christopher Lasch’s famous bestseller about the contemporary culture of narcissism? Have you ever seen the popular meme that claims “weak men make hard times”? Have you ever followed the cultural teacher’s tweets about the loss of beauty in architecture? Have you ever watched Jordan Peterson’s 1,293 YouTube videos? The details vary, but the overarching theme of the Fall is the same each time.
Decadence as a narrative is a useful double-edged sword. It portrays the public as lazy and in need of discipline. Meanwhile, the corrupt elite simply need to be replaced. It laments the erosion of authority and is based on the premise that every society rests on eternal hierarchy. According to the story, too much freedom, fun, and flexibility endangers order, and thus prosperity.
So, some rules for life: Men must submit and obey for the greater good. Women must reproduce to secure the survival of our people and the future of our children. A new elite class would replace the liberal elite and rebuild the culture. Otherwise, civilization, or at least nations, are in danger. Does this sound familiar?
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 4 August 2024
Since the Biblical legends of Sodom and Gomorrah and the Hindu myth of Kaliyuga, opponents of equality and the rule of law have accused the society of being decadent.
From ancient populists to Italian fascists in the Roman Empire, decadence is the transhistorical scaffolding that binds together the branches of anti-liberal philosophy.
Today, the neoreactionary philosopher and proponent of the “Dark Enlightenment”, Curtis Yarvin, declares in the New York Times that democracy is “dead”. He wants to establish an American monarchy in its place. Political scientist Patrick Deneen’s claim of “almost complete separation of the ruling class and the citizenry without discrimination” is similarly based on the story of the Fall.
All these ideas are based on the cyclical notion of time. Rise and fall. To blossom and decay. Apocalypse and palingenesis, meaning national or ethnic rebirth.
In my research, I have analyzed hundreds of German and French neo-fascist magazines. In the end, there was the same endless repetition of data collapse and annihilation. I called it the conservative crisis narrative.
politics of crisis
In most cases, there is no need to worry. Fall is just a cliché. But that’s why everyone can sell their own versions of this story so easily – as long as they repeat the grand narrative. Facts don’t matter and the devil isn’t in the details.
J.D. Vance, Donald Trump’s vice president, candidly admitted during the 2024 campaign, “If I have to make stories to make the American media actually pay attention to the suffering of the American people, that’s what I’m going to do.” His confession reveals a sociological truth about the function of crisis narratives.
According to American anthropologist Janet Roitman, in what she calls the “politics of crisis”, such a narrative “cannot be taken as a description of the historical situation nor can it be considered a diagnosis of the state of history”. Instead, she elaborates, it is an “essentially political condemnation”.
Every crisis narrative necessarily strengthens the call for liberators. Donald Trump claims, “The 2024 election is the last chance to save America.” Musk reposted, “Only AfD can save Germany.” This is a scalable story.
Elon Musk’s philosophy
In France, Guillaume Faye, the far-right philosopher who inspired the identitarian movement, invented a reactionary philosophy called “archeofuturism”. It aims to combine skyrocketing technological advancements and medieval ethics of chivalry and hierarchy. That’s not far from how Musk responded to the collapse story with a call for radical long-termism.
For example, the “digital town square” that X claims is indicative of a feudal public sphere. Musk’s digital reimagining of the aesthetics of ancient Rome reflects the far-right’s desire for an American Caesar. Oswald Spengler’s Decline of the West, the most influential book on pre-fascist Germany, promoted this idea.
100 years ago, a German historian observed something:
All cultures have a set life cycle – you can guess when (and how) they will end.
He predicted that the beginning of the 21st century would spell disaster for big cities…
And a new Caesar will rise… (thread) ? pic.twitter.com/Vv7PW9WFwN
– Culture Critic (@Culture_Crit) 17 January 2025
It appears Musk’s philosophy is that men will have to submit to his long-term ambition of CEO-king. In order to conquer space, colonize Mars, and merge the human brain into a singular artificial intelligence, the individual and his needs become insignificant. And that’s what the story of the Fall is about in the first place.
,Author: Felix Schilck, Research Assistant, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Tübingen)
,disclosure statement: Felix Schilck received a scholarship from the Hans Böckler Foundation)
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
