And yet, the most terrifying part? Donald Trump, the supposed strongman at the heart of it all, is oblivious. He has no grand ideological project beyond his own power. He does not understand the system being built around him, nor the fact that his own presidency is merely a vehicle for forces that see him as a useful, temporary battering ram against democracy.
But those around him? They understand perfectly.
This article is a good summary of the rabbit-hole I started going down when that Sam Altman/OpenAI drama happened (effective altruism -> effective accelerationism -> dark enlightenment -> etc). I had no idea so much of the “elite” were that out of touch with reality before that.