While this kind of thing isn’t quite ‘theory’, it definitely has some elements of theory within it, but it also uses very grandiose writing and mythological references. This one seems to be created as a museum exhibit with some connection to Mozilla.
Is there a name for this type of essay or a way I could find more like it? This sort of thing is very fun to read even if it’s not serious theory. The subject matter is more or less unimportant to me.
Marx on Capital as a Real God
https://ianwrightsite.wordpress.com/2020/09/03/marx-on-capital-as-a-real-god-2/
edit: oops I was too late lol
https://ianwrightsite.wordpress.com/2021/11/25/dark-eucharist-of-the-real-god/
For your consideration
This is acid Marxism yeah?
Have you read Cyclonopedia? It’s like the theory fiction book, and is quite a ride. It’s like someone put post-structuralism and Persian mythology into a blender.
A lot of the Warwick CCRU stuff reads the same way, including the worst of all Nick Land lol. Reza was loosely associated with them, but has gone his own way since.
Less theory fiction, but has a similar vibe to the essay you posted is Accelerando by Charles Stross.
You are literally the only other human being I know who has read Cyclonopedia. It so fucking good and I can’t convince anyone to check it out
I know like two other people who have read it. Its a book with a small intended audience.
When I read it I would explain it to my partner and they would look at me like I was losing my mind lmao.
Have you ever found anything like it? I feel like anyone trying to emulate it would fall flat because it was compelling partly because it was pretty novel at the time. The only thing close for me is just reading a thousand plateaus, which has a similar unhinged quality lol
Have you ever found anything like it?
Honestly, no. I love stuff that is completely sui generis like that.
I feel like anyone trying to emulate it would fall flat
I agree about emulation. It is also emerges out of the moment where Deleuze and Guattari-influenced Accelerationist theory was all the rage, and that was the context that I read it in. No idea what someone picking it up now would make of it
I haven’t, but I’ve just added it to my list. It sounds good from the description. :)
It can be a hard read at times because it’s quite dense with esoteric theory. See my edit about Accelerando too, it’s a fun read and packed with ideas.
If you like the first chapter of Cyclonopedia, there is a book called XYZT written by the same author (not Reza, but someone else). I haven’t read this yet, but will be soon. I’ve heard mixed opinions on it.
Ian Wright’s essays can have a similar vibe too, and is explicitly about Marxism
I wouldn’t say it approaches the mystical, but I think you might enjoy James Bridle’s New Dark Age. Here’s a series of his essays where he attempted to photograph every surveillance camera in London.
Maybe you’ll find some interesting (and some too-far-gone) stuff at /r/sorceryofthespectacle?
