Dark Enlightenment

In episode three, we’ll explore some of the basic features of the Western Enlightenment, particularly focusing on the liberal progressivism inherent in many of the new ideas of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Then, we’ll try to make sense of the threat such ideals presented to European fascists of the 20th century, who feared a societal descent into progressive depravity and persecuted the very idea of modern liberalism. That mantle has been taken up again in the 21st century, as tech bros and billionaires espouse a “dark” enlightenment meant to counter and erase any opposition to their world views.