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The Rhetorical Circulation of Neoreactionary Exit Gregory ABSTRACT Hyperstitional Communication and the Reactosphere: The Rhetorical Circulation of Neoreactionary Exit Gregory Michael Zoda, M.A. Chairperson: Leslie A. Hahner, Ph.D. This thesis evaluates the communicative means through which neoreactionaries compose a broader alt-right reactosphere. By retrieving the concept of hyperstition from the archives of the Cybernetic Culture Research Unit—an experimental poststructuralist collective based at the University of Warwick in the 1990s—I reemphasize the role of mythos in the rhetorical circulation of far-right memes and accelerationist theory. Aspirational nihilism, as the affective nodal point of the reactosphere, coopts structural feelings of disaffection and puts them in service of racial capitalist futures such as transhumanism or the right to exit. Centering research on the mythological foundations of extremist subcultures is key to deflating the collective fervency that sustains neoreaction. I conclude with a call for rhetorical studies to discover its own exits from the dominant social order or else risk ceding a monopoly on future possibility to neoreactionaries. Copyright © 2021 by Gregory Michael Zoda All rights reserved CONTENTS List of Figures .................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... vii Chapter One .........................................................................................................................1 Enter the Reactosphere .....................................................................................................1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................1 Literature Review ........................................................................................................11 Methodology ...............................................................................................................27 Thesis Framework .......................................................................................................40 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................43 Chapter Two.......................................................................................................................45 Hijacking the Outside: Rhetorical Circulation and Hyperstitional Communication ......45 A Prelude by the Bay ..................................................................................................45 The Missing Subject of Circulation ............................................................................52 “A description with divine power. In the beginning was the Word” ..........................68 “CCRU does not, has not, and will never exist” .........................................................85 “Coldness be my God” ..............................................................................................116 Mapping the Reactosphere ........................................................................................135 Chapter Three...................................................................................................................150 “Everything starts from the end”: Roko’s Basilisk as Neoreactionary Hyperstition ...150 Introduction ...............................................................................................................150 “Perhaps we share an Outside” ................................................................................156 You Just Lost the Game ............................................................................................162 Rococo’s Basilisk, or: Nightmares of the Rich and the Famous ...............................169 Chapter Four ....................................................................................................................173 White Flight from Citizenship: Neoreaction and the Rhetorical Circulation of the ‘Right to Exit’ ...............................................................................................................173 Introduction ...............................................................................................................173 The Right to Gov-Corporatism .................................................................................177 Circulating Exit Signs ...............................................................................................180 iv Manifesting Passivism...............................................................................................182 The Petri Dish............................................................................................................186 Conclusion .................................................................................................................196 Chapter Five .....................................................................................................................198 Conclusion: Nomenclature Trolling and the Right to be Invaded ................................198 A Call for a Left Exit.................................................................................................198 The Right to be Invaded ............................................................................................201 Final Thoughts...........................................................................................................203 Bibliography ....................................................................................................................205 v LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 1 – “The History of Science Fiction” by Delphi Carstens ........................................115 Fig. 2 – Barron Trump 2036 cyberpunk meme ................................................................130 Fig. 3 – Two-Axis Chart of the Alt-Right........................................................................137 Fig. 4 – Dark Enlightenment Visual Trichotomy ............................................................138 Fig. 5 – “Visualizing Neoreaction” by Scharlach ............................................................139 Fig. 6 – An “Are Ya Winning Son?” meme about Roko’s Basilisk. ...............................159 Fig. 7 – A meme comparing Roko’s Basilisk to The Game. ...........................................162 Fig. 8 – 4Chan post reading “It’s trans…” ......................................................................188 Fig. 9 – 4Chan disagreement about the right to exit ........................................................188 Fig. 10 – 4chan post quoting Yarvin defending fortification of all sovereignty borders.189 Fig. 11– 4Chan post contrasting pre-WWI migration in Europe with the modern border ..........................................................................................................................................190 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project would not have been possible without the endless love and encouragement of my family, friends, and colleagues. My parents, brother, grandparents, and extended family have been an invaluable personal foundation throughout my education, and I’m incredibly grateful for their unconditional support. I want to thank everyone I’ve encountered in debate—friends, rivals, coaches, and students—for constantly challenging me intellectually, keeping me up-to-date with the cutting-edge of research, and teaching me how to use my voice in service of a more just world. Everyone that recommended books, sent me articles and podcasts, or just listened to me workshop my ideas directly contributed to the final version of this thesis. No work can be attributed singularly, and I am uniquely indebted to an immense collective of scholars, artists, and activists that I have the privilege of interfacing with regularly. Thank you, Dr. Gerber, for taking a chance on me seven years ago and recruiting a kid from New Hampshire to come debate for Baylor. I don’t know where I would be right now or what I would be doing if you hadn’t offered me that opportunity. Thank you, Dr. Varda, for going above-and- beyond as a mentor and academic advisor by providing counsel no matter the topic at hand. I can’t begin to count the number of conversations that we had behind Castellaw, but so many of them were integral in my development as a debater, as an academic, and as a person. Thank you, Dr. Hahner, for providing the blueprint for the rhetoric of memes and for being an unwaveringly positive force for your students. I have no idea how you juggled the number of advisees you took on, and the fact that you did so while still being incredibly organized, providing detailed advice and revisions for every student’s work, vii and expressing genuine enthusiasm about our research is a testament to your unparalleled skill and dedication as an educator. I also immensely appreciate you and Dr. Varda opening your home for holiday dinners and going out of your ways to make the Comm Department feel like a family. My final thanks go to my partner, Kels. You make me smile every day, have kept me grounded throughout some unbelievably turbulent years, and been a daily inspiration that professional and creative work do not have to conflict. You’ve been more supportive of me and my work than I could ever ask for. I love you very much. viii CHAPTER ONE Enter the Reactosphere Introduction Contemporary rhetorical analysis of
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