Curtis Guy Yarvin (born 1973), also known by the
pen name Mencius Moldbug, is an American
blogger. He is known, along with philosopher
Nick Land, for founding the
anti-egalitarian and
anti-democratic philosophical movement known as the
Dark Enlightenment or neo-reactionary movement (NRx).
In his blog
Unqualified Reservations, which he wrote from 2007 to 2014, and in his later newsletter
Gray Mirror, which he started in 2020, he argues that American
democracy is a failed experiment that should be replaced by an accountable
monarchy, similar to the governance structure of corporations. In 2002, Yarvin began work on a personal software project that eventually became the
Urbit networked computing platform. In 2013, he co-founded the company Tlon to oversee the Urbit project and helped lead it until 2019.
Yarvin has been described as a "neo-reactionary", "neo-
monarchist" and "
neo-feudalist" who "sees
liberalism as creating a
Matrix-like
totalitarian system, and who wants to replace American democracy with a sort of
techno-monarchy". He has defended the institution of
slavery, and has suggested that certain races may be more naturally inclined toward servitude than others. He has claimed that whites have higher
IQs than black people, but does not consider himself a white nationalist. He is a critic of US
civil rights programs, and has called the civil rights movement a "black-rage industry".
Yarvin has influenced some prominent
Silicon Valley investors and
Republican politicians, with venture capitalist
Peter Thiel described as his "most important connection". Political strategist
Steve Bannon has read and admired his work. U.S. Vice President
JD Vance "has cited Yarvin as an influence himself.
Michael Anton, the
State Department Director of Policy Planning during
Trump's second presidency, has also discussed Yarvin's ideas. In January 2025, Yarvin attended a Trump inaugural gala in Washington;
Politico reported he was "an informal guest of honor" due to his "outsize influence over the
Trumpian right.
