Currently, the political landscape, both internationally and nationally, presents a bleak picture dominated by a polarized struggle between the right and left. At some level, both sides recognize that we are spiraling toward a profound crisis—not necessarily a literal death, but an annihilation of our understanding of what it means to be human.
The liberal left tends to deny this reality, clinging to fantasies and political strategies aimed at escaping or ameliorating the crisis. These efforts, however, often end up reinforcing the very issues they aim to resolve. Conversely, the right embraces an extractive, petro-capitalist approach, claiming ownership over this annihilation and deriving meaning from a conscious drive towards it.
In this context, the contest between the two sides is ultimately meaningless, as neither can truly "win." The ongoing struggle only serves to drive the screw of history deeper into the ground. When it comes to recruiting followers, the right has an advantage: it offers a genuine fantasy of cathartic apotheosis, a vision of liberation through the acceptance and embrace of our darkest desires. In contrast, the liberal left’s vision is mired in denial and sublimation, promoting a politics of speech and virtue ethics that, while ostensibly aiming for an expanded vision of humanity, often serve as weapons wielded against each other and ourselves due to deep-seated self-loathing.
The right's response is to assert that engaging in politics by openly embracing our destructive impulses is genuinely cathartic and liberatory, even if it leads to annihilation. Both sides, however, fundamentally assume that the current social order is doomed.
The real challenge lies in resisting both the despair and self-loathing of the left and the cathartic nihilism of the right. Instead, we must come to terms with the current impossibility of politics and recognize the necessity of a genuine break with consent and resistance. This path is seen as impossible by mainstream politics because it entails meaningful danger, a concept that conscious politics cannot process, as those engaged in politics are often in it for personal gain or pleasure.