Ep. 17: Justin Murphy on Accelerationism, Ideological Fragmentation, & Religion

On this edition of Parallax Views I revisit the topic of accelerationism (covered in previous episodes with Elizabeth Sandifer and Eliot Rosenstock) with the help of University of Southhampton political scientist, Youtuber, and Other Life podcast host Justin Murphy.

We begin the discussion by brielfy delving into how Justin got into academia. From there we dive right into the main topic of accelerationism. We start out with Justin giving his definition of accelerationism and its take on modernity. Then we get into the different branches of accelerationism - r/acc (right accelerationism), l/acc (left accelerationism), and u/acc (unconditional accelerationism)- before discussing the criticisms of these lines of thought. From there we discuss some of the main players within the accelerationist milieu such as Nick Land and Edmund Berger. This leads us down the rabbit hole of Nick Land's dark accelerationist vision of the technological future and its implications.

From there we discuss the horrors that can be unleashed through modernity and the way in which religion can act as a social technology against these horrors. This opens us up for a discussion of the Frankfurt School philosopher/sociologist Theodor W. Adorno, his critique of instrumental reason, and the influence Adorno's writing has had on Justin's thought.

This leads Justin into making an unexpected comparison between Adorno and the currently popular conservative Canadian public intellectual Jordan Peterson. This leads us to discuss Justin's research into the political ideologies of Jordan Peterson's fanbase. His surprise findings in this regard cause the conversation to break out into a wider discussion of Justin's research into political ideology and fragmentation. This turn in the conversation allows us to discuss the central accelerationist concepts of "Exit" and "patchwork" in depth.

Finally, to round out the discussion we circle back around to the topic of religion. We discuss why religion has become so important to Justin and specifically his renewed interest in Catholicism. In this last segment we get into how Justin's radical politics are connected to his own religious beliefs as well discussing Catholicism's often overlooked history of breeding radically emancipatory thinkers and movement.

Justin's Other Life podcast

Justin Murphy