White Supremacists Embrace "Accelerationism"

[Judi Lynn]

April 16, 2019

Accelerationism is a term white supremacists have assigned to their desire to hasten the collapse of society as we know it. The term is widely used by those on the fringes of the movement, who employ it openly and enthusiastically on mainstream platforms, as well as in the shadows of private, encrypted chat rooms. We have also recently seen tragic instances of its manifestation in the real world.

The concept of acceleration has existed for years as a fringe philosophy. Some of the earliest examples are rooted in a Marxist notion that the intensification of an unhinged force, such as capitalism, for example, will inevitably result in that force’s own self-destruction. However, some white supremacists have adopted the terminology and determined that a societal collapse is both imminent and necessary. On March 21, 2019, one anonymous 8chan user, who promoted white supremacist views, wrote, “I used to think acceleration was a marxist [sic] trick…Now, however, I see its value.”

Brenton Tarrant, the alleged perpetrator of the mosque massacres in New Zealand, subscribed to accelerationism -- the concept was specifically articulated in his manifesto, which he posted moments before his shooting spree. Tarrant dedicates an entire section of his manifesto to this concept under the heading “Destabilization and Accelerationism: Tactics for Victory.”

Tarrant’s actions seemed to breathe new life into the discussion of accelerationism and spurred a resurgence of references, paired with praise for his actions, on platforms including Gab, YouTube, Reddit, 8chan and others.

More:
https://www.adl.org/blog/white-supremacists-embrace-accelerationism-0

[JDC]

1. White ISIS

A danger to everything and everyone.

[MH1]

2. "collapse of society as we know it" - also longed for by some on the extreme left

(as alluded to in the OP)

The problem with the notion that things will get "better" somehow after the collapse of the current "evil" social structure: it fails to consider the unequal distribution of natural power among people. (and/or assumes that all people, including the naturally powerful, are innately good and will somehow come to their senses and work for the good of all people, once the current evil social structure is demolished. That's ridiculous.)

[murielm99]

3. Susan Sarandon