The Dark Enlightenment comes to the White House

Much has been written recently about Steve Bannon, former head of Breitbart News who is now serving as chief strategist and Evil Mastermind to the God-Emperor Donald J. Trump. And what a fascinating character he is.

I was delighted to read that Bannon is a fan of unconventional writers, like the pseudonymous Mencius Moldbug, a notable voice in the dank corner of the internet known as the Dark Enlightenment or the alt-right:

Bannon, described by one associate as “the most well-read person in Washington,” is known for recommending books to colleagues and friends, according to multiple people who have worked alongside him. He is a voracious reader who devours works of history and political theory “in like an hour,” said a former associate whom Bannon urged to read Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. “He’s like the Rain Man of nationalism.”

The Rain Man of nationalism! Come to think of it, that may have been a better title for this post.

Bannon’s readings tend to have one thing in common: the view that technocrats have put Western civilization on a downward trajectory and that only a shock to the system can reverse its decline. And they tend to have a dark, apocalyptic tone that at times echoes Bannon’s own public remarks over the years—a sense that humanity is at a hinge point in history. His ascendant presence in the West Wing is giving once-obscure intellectuals unexpected influence over the highest echelons of government.