Accelerationism Ideology

An Accelerationism Ideology is a radical political ideology that advocates for accelerating the processes of societal transformation to achieve desired outcomes more quickly.

• Context:
  • It can attempt to destabilize existing Societal Systems through the Capitalist Growth, Technological Change, and Infrastructure Sabotage.
  • It can support Disruptive Actions, such as:
    • Utilizing Automation to expedite Economic Shifts.
    • Promoting radical policies to hasten Political Revolution.
    • Encouraging Rapid Urbanization to transform societal structures.
    • Advocating for Aggressive Environmental Policies to rapidly address climate change.
    • Supporting Technological Disruption in various sectors to bypass traditional development pathways.
    • ...
  • It can range from being a Left-Wing Accelerationism to being a Right-Wing Accelerationism.
  • It can range from being an Effective Accelerationism (e/acc) to being an Ideals-Driven Accelerationism.
  • …
• Example(s):
  • as described in (Noys, 2014).
  • as described in (Mackay & Avanessian, 2014)
  • …
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Futurism,
  • Gradualism,
  • Marxism.
• See: Social Revolution, Critical Theory, Reactionary, Effective Accelerationism, Technological Singularity, Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari.

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References

2023

• (Wikipedia, 2023) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerationism Retrieved:2023-11-12.
  • Accelerationism is a range of revolutionary and reactionary ideas in left and right-wing ideology that call for the drastic intensification of capitalist growth, technological change, infrastructure sabotage and other processes of social change to destabilize existing systems and create radical social transformations, otherwise referred to as "acceleration". It has been regarded as an ideological spectrum divided into mutually contradictory left-wing and right-wing variants, both of which support the indefinite intensification of capitalism and its structures as well as the conditions for a technological singularity, a hypothetical point in time where technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible. Various ideas, including Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari's idea of deterritorialization, Jean Baudrillard's proposals for "fatal strategies", and aspects of the theoretical systems and processes developed by English philosopher and later Dark Enlightenment commentator Nick Land, are crucial influences on accelerationism, which aims to analyze and subsequently promote the social, economic, cultural, and libidinal forces that constitute the process of acceleration. While originally used by the far-left, the term has, in a manner strongly distinguished from original accelerationist theorists, been used by right-wing extremists such as neo-fascists, neo-Nazis, white nationalists and white supremacists to increasingly refer to an "acceleration" of racial conflict through assassinations, murders and terrorist attacks as a means to violently achieve a white ethnostate. While predominantly a political strategy suited to the industrial economy, acceleration has been more recently discussed in debates about humanism and artificial intelligence. Yuk Hui and Louis Morelle consider acceleration and the "Singularity Hypothesis". James Brusseau discusses acceleration as an ethics of innovation where humanistic dilemmas caused by AI innovation are resolved by still more innovation, as opposed to limiting or slowing the technology.

2014

• (Noys, 2014) ⇒ Benjamin Noys. (2014). “Malign Velocities: Accelerationism and Capitalism.” In: Zero Books. ISBN: 978-1-78099-980-0.
  • NOTE: Malign Velocities: Accelerationism and Capitalism is a book by the philosopher Benjamin Noys, published in 2014. It is a critique of accelerationism, a political and philosophical movement that argues that the best way to overcome capitalism is to accelerate its internal contradictions and instabilities.

    Noys argues that accelerationism is a flawed response to the problems of capitalism. He traces the history of accelerationist thought, from the Italian Futurism of the early 20th century to the cyberpunk movement of the 1980s and 1990s. He argues that accelerationism is based on a number of false assumptions, including the belief that capitalism is a stable and predictable system, and that its contradictions can be manipulated to our advantage.

    Noys also argues that accelerationism is a dangerous ideology. He argues that it could lead to the intensification of the worst aspects of capitalism, such as exploitation, inequality, and environmental destruction. He also argues that it could lead to the development of new forms of authoritarianism and control.

2014

• (Mackay & Avanessian, 2014) ⇒ Robin Mackay, and Armen Avanessian, eds. (2014). “#Accelerate: The Accelerationist Reader.” Falmouth, United Kingdom: Urbanomic Media Ltd.; in association with Merve.
  • NOTE: Accelerate: The Accelerationist Reader is a collection of essays and other texts that trace the genealogy of accelerationism, a controversial current in contemporary philosophy. Accelerationism is the insistence that the only radical political response to capitalism is not to protest, disrupt, critique, or détourne it, but to accelerate and exacerbate its uprooting, alienating, decoding, abstractive tendencies.

    The book includes texts by a variety of thinkers, including Marx, Nick Land, Sadie Plant, Iain Grant, CCRU, and Armen Avanessian. The texts explore a wide range of topics, including the relationship between technology and capitalism, the nature of reality, and the possibility of a post-capitalist future.

    One of the central themes of the book is the idea that capitalism is a system that is inherently unstable and prone to crisis. Accelerationists argue that the best way to overcome capitalism is to accelerate its own contradictions and instabilities. They believe that this will lead to a breakdown of the system and the creation of new opportunities for radical change.

    Another key theme of the book is the idea that technology is a force for liberation. Accelerationists argue that technology can be used to overcome the limits of human biology and society. They believe that we should embrace new technologies, even if they are disruptive or dangerous.

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