Accelerationism: Core Concepts and Intellectual Context

This briefing document reviews the main themes and important ideas found in the provided sources, focusing on accelerationism and its intellectual context.

I. Accelerationism: Core Concepts and Variations

Accelerationism, in its broadest sense, is the idea that societal progress requires accelerating existing trends or underlying forces within history, often technological or capitalist. However, the Wikipedia article on “Accelerationism” highlights several distinct strands:

• Nick Land and Right Accelerationism: This branch, associated with philosopher Nick Land, often views technological and capitalist development as forces that can dismantle existing social orders, sometimes with a focus on what they perceive as the inherent potential of capitalism to lead to radical societal transformation. Land is referred to as “the Godfather of accelerationism” in his Wikipedia entry. His work departs from academic conventions, incorporating “unorthodox and esoteric influences.” Right accelerationism can sometimes intersect with “dark enlightenment” ideologies.
• Left-Wing Accelerationism: This strand seeks to accelerate societal change in a more egalitarian and socialist direction, often advocating for the strategic use of technology and the intensification of existing social and economic contradictions to achieve radical social and political goals. The “#ACCELERATE MANIFESTO for an Accelerationist Politics” by Alex Williams and Nick Srnicek (mentioned in the CCRU Wikipedia entry referencing #Accelerate: The Accelerationist Reader) is a key text here.
• Effective Accelerationism: This variation focuses on practical interventions and strategies to bring about desired societal change, often involving a more pragmatic approach to technology and political action.
• Far-Right Accelerationist Terrorism: This is a dangerous and violent interpretation of accelerationism that advocates for the use of terrorism to hasten societal collapse, often driven by extremist and white supremacist ideologies.

The Cybernetic Culture Research Unit (CCRU), discussed in its Wikipedia entry, is presented as a “renegade academia” that explored these ideas, particularly the intersection of technology, cybernetics, and esoteric thought. The CCRU’s work, including figures like Sadie Plant and Nick Land, is seen as a precursor to contemporary accelerationist thought. Simon Reynolds describes the CCRU as exploring “convergence. Concurrence.” and “Making connections. Minting new currencies.”

II. Key Philosophical Influences and Concepts

Several philosophical works and concepts are central to understanding the intellectual underpinnings of accelerationism:

• Anti-Oedipus (Deleuze and Guattari): This work, summarized in its Wikipedia entry, critiques psychoanalysis and explores the concepts of “desiring machines” and “social production.” It argues that unconscious libidinal investments are inherently social and political, challenging the Freudian focus on the family. Key ideas include:
• Desiring Machines: The unconscious is not a realm of lack but a productive force composed of interconnected “desiring machines.”
• Body without Organs (BwO): A concept referring to a plane of immanence, a field of pure potentiality and intensity, prior to rigid organization. Deleuze and Guattari allude to psychoactives like peyote as a means of “loosening… the worldview of the user” leading to “relative deterritorialization.”
• Deterritorialization and Reterritorialization: Capitalism is seen as a force of “deterritorialization,” breaking down traditional social structures and codes, creating a “rhizomatic zone of multiplicity.” However, it also engages in “reterritorialization,” imposing new forms of control and organization.
• Libidinal Investment in the Social: Deleuze and Guattari argue that desire is not merely a subjective phenomenon but is deeply intertwined with the “economic, infrastructural ‘base’ of society,” not just the “ideological, subjective ‘superstructure.’” They state, “The truth is… sexuality is everywhere: the way a bureaucrat fondles his records, a judge administers justice, a businessman causes money to circulate; the way the bourgeoisie fucks the proletariat; and so on. […] Flags, nations, armies, banks get a lot of people aroused.”
• Libidinal Economy (Lyotard): Lyotard’s 1974 book, as described in its Wikipedia entry, builds upon Freud’s idea of libidinal economy, linking it to political economy. Following the May ’68 protests, Lyotard distanced himself from traditional critical theory and Marxism, feeling they imposed a rigid “systematization of desires.” He argued for recognizing the “desire of capital” within its essential exchanges, even in seemingly “alienated” forms like labor and commodity fetishism. He poses the question: “isn’t fetishism an opportunity for intensities? Doesn’t it attest to an admirable force of invention, adding events which could not be more improbable to the libidinal band?” Lyotard explores the “jouissance of anonymity” and the “repetition of the same in work,” suggesting a hidden force and “force of resistance, force of jouissance” within seemingly fragmented labor conditions. He emphasizes that libidinal instantiations are “never unequivocal” and resist simple sociological or political decoding. Capitalism is presented as a “frantic flight, an aleatory voyage of libido, an errancy that is marked by the ‘whatever’ of Kapital.”
• Critical Theory: The Wikipedia entry on “Critical theory” places figures like Adorno, Horkheimer, and Habermas within a tradition of social critique influenced by Marx. While accelerationism often critiques aspects of traditional critical theory for being insufficiently radical or for focusing too much on critique rather than transformation, it shares a lineage in questioning existing power structures and social arrangements.

III. Themes of Technology, Capitalism, and Transformation

The sources repeatedly touch upon the intertwined nature of technology, capitalism, and the potential for radical transformation:

• Acceleration of Technological and Capitalist Processes: Accelerationism, as the name suggests, centers on the idea of intensifying existing technological and capitalist dynamics. Nick Land’s work, as indicated by his Wikipedia entry and the mention of “acceleration” as a “main interest,” is crucial here. His concept of “hyperstition” (mentioned in the CCRU entry) explores the power of ideas and narratives to shape reality, often through technological and cultural feedback loops.
• Critique of Stasis and Limits: Several texts express a dissatisfaction with existing social and political limitations. Deleuze and Guattari in “The Civilized Capitalist Machine” argue that capitalism has no exterior limit, only an “interior limit that is capital itself and that it does not encounter, but reproduces by always displacing it.” They see crises as “the means immanent to the capitalist mode of production.” Similarly, the “Pasted Text” on “A limit continually pushed back” describes capitalism as a “metamorphosis, with no extrinsic code, having its limit only within itself, a relative, postponed limit.”
• The Role of Desire and the Unconscious: Lyotard and Deleuze & Guattari emphasize the importance of libidinal forces in shaping social and economic systems. Lyotard contends, “Every Political Economy is Libidinal,” arguing that even seemingly abstract economic processes are driven by underlying desires and intensities. Deleuze and Guattari similarly see desire as a fundamental productive force within the “social field.”
• The Nature of the Human and Posthuman Possibilities: Some sources hint at a questioning or transcendence of traditional humanistic perspectives. The “Pasted Text” on “Inhumanism” argues that a “commitment to humanity is inhumanism” because the full elaboration of reason’s autonomy leads to a redefinition of the human. The excerpt from Samuel Butler’s work in “Pasted Text” raises the question of evolving “mechanical consciousness” and whether humanity might become a “parasite upon the machines.”
• Space as a Frontier and Metaphor: The “Pasted Text” referencing “Fedorov” and “cosmism” presents space travel as a project to escape the limitations of Earth (“to consider the earth a trap”). This resonates with accelerationist desires to break free from existing constraints and explore radical new possibilities.

IV. Dystopian and Utopian Potentials

The sources contain both dystopian and potentially utopian undertones associated with accelerationist thought:

• Dystopian Visions: The CCRU’s exploration of “malevolent lobster invasion” and the “labyrinthine series of dead ends, impasses and incommensurable differends” suggests a potentially chaotic and oppressive future resulting from unchecked acceleration. Land’s later association with the “Dark Enlightenment” also points towards a pessimistic view of societal progress and a preference for radical, often authoritarian, alternatives.
• Utopian Aspirations (or Radical Transformation): Left-wing accelerationism, in contrast, aims for a more egalitarian and just future through the strategic acceleration of social and technological change. The idea of “minting new currencies” (CCRU) and the discussion of alternative social and economic models in the “red stack” text suggest possibilities for constructing new social orders. The “Lord of Light” excerpt, while fictional, depicts a protagonist (“the last ‘Accelerationist’”) who uses technology and a “new” religion to challenge an oppressive, technologically advanced elite, suggesting a narrative of liberation through accelerated change.

V. Cautions and Criticisms

It is important to note that accelerationism is a complex and contested set of ideas with significant criticisms:

• Risk of Unintended Consequences: Accelerating existing trends without careful consideration can lead to unforeseen and negative outcomes.
• Potential for Elitism and Authoritarianism: Some interpretations of accelerationism, particularly on the right, can embrace elitist or authoritarian solutions.
• Violence and Extremism: The connection between far-right accelerationism and terrorism is a serious concern.
• Lack of Clear Political Strategy: Critics often argue that accelerationism lacks a concrete and ethical roadmap for achieving desired social change.

VI. Conclusion

The provided sources offer a glimpse into the complex and multifaceted landscape of accelerationist thought. From its philosophical roots in Deleuze and Guattari’s critique of capitalism and desire, and Lyotard’s concept of libidinal economy, to the more contemporary articulations of left and right accelerationism, these ideas grapple with the potential for radical social, technological, and political transformation. While some strands offer potentially liberatory visions, others carry significant risks of dystopian outcomes and alignment with extremist ideologies. Understanding the diverse influences and interpretations of accelerationism is crucial for navigating contemporary debates about societal change and the future of politics.