Accelerationism

Accelerationism is a range of ideologies that call for the use of capitalism and associated processes to create radical social transformations. Broadly, accelerationism engages with antihumanism, as well as posthumanism, and seeks to accelerate desired tendencies within capitalism at the expense of negative ones, though variants differ greatly on which tendencies and if this will lead beyond capitalism or further into it.

Accelerationism originated from ideas from philosophers such as Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, who speculated in the 1970s that emancipatory forces within capitalism, particularly deterritorialization, could be radicalized against it and its oppressive aspects. Inspired by these ideas, some University of Warwick faculty and students formed a philosophy collective known as the Cybernetic Culture Research Unit (CCRU) in the 1990s, led by Nick Land. Land and the CCRU drew upon contemporary media and culture such as cyberpunk and jungle music to further develop these ideas. They theorized a self-revolutionizing capitalism that would culminate in a technological singularity, resulting in artificial intelligence surpassing and eliminating humanity, though they drifted from these ideas and dissolved by the 2000s.

In the 2010s, the movement was termed accelerationism by Benjamin Noys in a critical work, followed by a renewed interest in its ideas. Thinkers such as Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams advocated a left-wing accelerationism based on embracing capitalist technology and infrastructure to move past a stagnant capitalism, exploring themes such as automation of work. This was associated with Prometheanism, which engaged with ideas such as rationalism, posthumanism, and a rejection of limits on change. Land, having moved to China, also engaged with the Dark Enlightenment movement as part of his right-wing accelerationism, rejecting egalitarianism and democracy in favor of CEO-run states to promote the singularity.