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Time of India
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Subway reads: 10 books you can carry on your commute to look cooler than you are
From a pleasurable experience to a statement, we have come to an age where reading is cool and flexible. Celebrities carry it along as an accessory, as a part of their aesthetic. But they are not the only ones who can be blamed for their vanity; everyday commuters are in on it too. They carry it for various reasons, be it to calm their social anxiety, avoid meeting eyes with people, or just try to look cool. But the phenomenon is not all for the worse; who knows, the performative reading might also inspire someone to read further. Here are a few books that will not only make you look cool but also add to your overall development. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy Genre: Historical Fiction 'If everyone fought for their own convictions there would be no war.' A grand epic set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars, War and Peace follows five Russian aristocratic families whose personal dramas unfold alongside history. With sweeping philosophical reflections on fate, war, and identity, Tolstoy blends love stories, political intrigue, and meditations on human nature. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy Genre: Literary Fiction 'It is curious how sometimes the memory of death lives on for so much longer than the memory of the life that it purloined.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Brain tumor has left my son feeling miserable; please help! Donate For Health Donate Now Undo Set in Kerala, India, this Booker Prize-winning novel tells the tragic story of fraternal twins Estha and Rahel, whose childhoods are shattered by caste politics, forbidden love, and generational trauma. . I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou Genre: Memoir / Autobiography 'There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.' Maya Angelou's landmark memoir recounts her early life, growing up as a Black girl in the segregated American South. With unflinching honesty and lyrical grace, she explores trauma, identity, racism, and the power of words in shaping her voice. It's not just a story of survival—it's a testament to reclaiming one's narrative. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka Genre: Absurdist Fiction 'I cannot make you understand. I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me. I cannot even explain it to myself.' One morning, traveling salesman Gregor Samsa wakes up to find himself transformed into a giant insect. As he becomes isolated from his family and society, Kafka explores themes of alienation, guilt, and dehumanization in this surreal masterpiece. Though brief, the story's existential weight and eerie symbolism have made it a cornerstone of modern literature. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari Genre: Nonfiction / History ' You could never convince a monkey to give you a banana by promising him limitless bananas after death in monkey heaven.' Harari takes readers on a sweeping journey through 70,000 years of human evolution—from prehistoric tribes to modern capitalism. With bold insights and a knack for storytelling, Sapiens tackles everything from biology and sociology to religion and economics. It challenges conventional thinking and offers a thought-provoking narrative on who we are and how we got here. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini Genre: Historical Fiction 'One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs, Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.' Spanning three decades in war-torn Afghanistan, this moving novel tells the intertwined lives of Mariam and Laila—two women brought together by fate and suffering. Hosseini masterfully depicts resilience, love, and sacrifice amid violence and oppression. The story is both intimate and sweeping, with characters who stay with you long after the final page. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara Genre: Literary Fiction 'And so I try to be kind to everything I see, and in everything I see, I see him.' This devastating modern epic follows four college friends navigating adulthood in New York City, but it's really the harrowing story of Jude—brilliant, mysterious, and deeply wounded. Yanagihara doesn't shy away from trauma, chronic pain, or the complexities of survival, making the book as painful as it is profound. Coming of Age in Samoa by Margaret Mead Genre: Anthropology / Nonfiction 'The children must be taught how to think, not what to think. And because old errors die slowly, they must be taught tolerance, just as today they are taught intolerance.' Based on Mead's fieldwork in 1920s Samoa, this influential work challenged Western ideas about adolescence, sexuality, and culture. She documented how social norms are not biologically fixed but shaped by culture, sparking debate across anthropology and beyond. Though some of her conclusions have been contested, the book remains a foundational text. 1984 by George Orwell Genre: Dystopian Fiction 'Big Brother is Watching You.' In Orwell's dystopian future, individuality is crushed, surveillance is absolute, and even thoughts are policed. 1984 follows Winston Smith as he quietly rebels against the oppressive regime of Big Brother. With chilling relevance today, the novel explores propaganda, language manipulation, and totalitarian control. It's a sharp, compact statement piece. Holding it in public screams 'I see through the system'—and invites nods from fellow book nerds across the train car. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath Genre: Semi-Autobiographical Fiction 'I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart: I am, I am, I am.' Sylvia Plath's only novel is a semi-autobiographical account of Esther Greenwood, a young woman whose promising life unravels under the weight of depression and societal expectations. With sharp, dark humor and poetic intensity, The Bell Jar explores mental health, gender roles, and the search for identity.
USA Today
03-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Rams players reveal their summer reading lists ahead of 2025 season
Summer is a great time for catching up on books you've always wanted to read, and NFL players are no different. ESPN's Tim McManus asked a few NFL players what books they were reading this offseason, including Los Angeles Rams defensive backs Quentin Lake and Ahkello Witherspoon. While their answers weren't as ridiculous as some (Seattle Seahawks defensive tackle Leonard Williams is reading "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy), the duo still offered interesting reads for the summer. Lake is reading two books: "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell and "The 48 Laws of Power" by Robert Greene. "I like ['Outliers'] because it kind of shows you that if you grow up or if you're in a certain type of environment, it can really allow you to thrive," Lake told McManus. "Now, '48 Laws of Power,' I like that book a lot because it gives you rules. Now you don't take it literally, but there are certain things you can look at and it's like, 'Hey, how can I use my position that I'm in right now as an advantage to either elevate myself or get myself out of trouble?'" Witherspoon, meanwhile, is reading "James" by Percival Everett and "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr. Lake and Witherspoon will be two of the most important players in the Rams' secondary this season. L.A. didn't add any new pieces to the unit in the offseason so far between the draft and free agency and also didn't acquire Jalen Ramsey in a trade. Hopefully, the duo will learn enough from their reading to take their games to the next level in 2025.
Forbes
13-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
5 Hidden Reasons Culture Change Fails At Work And What To Do About It
I've been working on a set of satirical visuals to go along with a talk I'm giving. Two slides include fake products like ReplyAll-Pro™, for when looking busy is more important than being curious, and Mouse Jiggler-Certified Training™ that lets you pass a leadership module without having to listen. The problem is people laugh at them because they resonate. They capture what's wrong with a lot of company cultures: nobody talks about what's broken. PwC found 67% of leaders say culture is more important than strategy or operations, yet most employees report that their workplace culture hasn't changed in any meaningful way in the past year. Culture change may be one of the most talked about ideas in leadership, and still one of the most resisted. There are plenty of reasons that get listed for these problems, but there are some hidden reasons culture change fails, even when everyone says they want it. Are you a pro at showing up and saying nothing? That's become a silent badge of honor in some organizations. People get credit for being visible, not valuable. They might always be online and seem to respond to every message within seconds. I can think of a co-worker who had responses that were so long, they felt like reading War and Peace. When people like that attend meetings, they might say a lot of meaningless jabber. If everyone else isn't speaking, that's often enough to earn praise. But it sends the wrong signal: look busy, and you're doing great. So, the real high performers start to feel frustrated and low engagement quietly becomes the norm. Leaders who focus on busy or constant input forget to look at outcomes. Are they asking, who moved the needle this week and not just who talked the most? How To Fix It: Stop measuring time and start measuring traction. Set clear deliverables. Recognize people who take initiative, not just those who log long hours. Create rituals that reward exploration like a monthly 'best question asked' spotlight, or allow time for employees to work on one curiosity-driven idea each quarter. Are you certified in pretending to learn while multitasking? That's how people have adapted to performative systems. When employees realize that performance is measured by how many boxes they checked instead of contributions made, they start playing the game. That's how we end up with people using mouse jigglers to stay 'active' during training. Or they are obviously typing up something while they should be listening in a Zoom call. If your culture encourages game-playing instead of exploring problems or asking better questions, employees look for the fastest way to appear compliant. Everyone knows the system is broken, but they keep playing it anyway. How To Fix It: Evaluate your performance systems to see if you are tracking activity or impact. Replace training with short, interactive, curiosity-based learning bursts. Use follow-up questions instead of quizzes. Reward questions that lead to better solutions instead of just 'finishing' modules. Was that promotion earned, or just the reward for having an unmatched ability to nod politely? That unspoken skillset tends to get rewarded over actual results in some cultures. Leaders say they want curiosity, collaboration, and innovation, but then promote people who do and say what they think the leaders want to see and hear rather than what needs to be done. Promotions often go to the most agreeable people, not the ones pushing for real progress. This happens when the selection process favors consistency over courage. The person who always agrees might feel easier to manage, but they won't challenge outdated systems or stretch others to grow. How To Fix It: Reward people who question the usual path, not just the ones who memorize it. Ask: who has helped others learn? Who has challenged assumptions without creating chaos? Who has created space for new perspectives? You need to put those metrics on paper. Train managers to look for those who challenge the status quo. Ask one bold question and win a front-row seat to your own stalled career. That's the unspoken prize for pushing too far in meetings where curiosity is advertised but not welcomed. I've worked at places where I asked a bold question in a meeting and you could feel everyone looking at each other like 'No you didn't.' There was this sense that everyone wanted to get their popcorn and watch what happened next. Everyone expected a negative response because that's what usually happened. It doesn't take long for people to get the message. Don't push or challenge leadership. Be sure you just play the game. That's when people stop raising their hands. How To Fix It: Start with leadership modeling. Have an executive open a meeting by asking a question they don't know the answer to. Thank employees who raise tough questions, even if they slow things down. Offer anonymous 'challenge prompts' where people point out rules or habits that block curiosity. Celebrate when something changes because of it. Welcome to culture training, presented by the committee who pay the highest price for the fallout of it not working. That's the reality for the people asked to run culture change without any real power to change the system itself. Culture change often gets handed to HR, mid-level managers, or engagement committees. These people care deeply and try hard, but they usually don't control the systems that actually drive behavior. They can't change how promotions work, how bonuses are distributed, or how decisions get made at the top. So, culture becomes something that gets talked about in surveys and meetings, but never changes how the business operates. And people stop believing that it matters. How To Fix It: If senior leaders want culture change, they need to model it directly. Not just by approving initiatives, but by actively participating in them. Make culture goals visible and specific. Tie part of leadership performance reviews to how well they cultivate learning and curiosity in their teams. How To Reinvent Culture Change getty If you're still waiting for a culture change but watching every idea disappear into a filed survey, you're not imagining it. A lot of companies spend more time appearing to change than actually doing it. People hear curiosity praised in meetings, but when nothing ever changes with decisions or promotions, they stop taking it seriously. Until culture stops rewarding silence and spotlighting sameness, you'll keep seeing the same 'fresh ideas' copied and pasted into to-do lists. That culture change you're waiting for? It's probably stuck in a draft email labeled 'Circle Back To Later.'
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Laila Soueif, on 247th day of hunger strike for jailed British-Egyptian son, defiant in face of death
Laila Soueif, lying shrunken on a hospital bed at St Thomas' hospital in London on the 247th day of her hunger strike in pursuit of freedom for her son, imprisoned British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, is locked in what may prove to be her last of many trials of strength with Egypt's authoritarian regime. A remarkable, witty and courageous woman, she has the self-awareness to admit: 'I may have made a mistake, God knows,' but she will not back down, and anyone looking back at her rich life has little evidence to doubt her perseverance. Speaking from the hospital on Tuesday, Soueif said: 'My message is: use my death as leverage to get Alaa out. Don't let my death be in vain.' Soueif told the BBC: 'It's something that I passionately don't want to happen. Children want a mother, not a notorious mother – whether the notoriety is good or bad – but if that's what it takes to get Alaa out of jail and to get all my children and grandchildren's lives back on track, then that's what I'm going to do.' Fattah was arrested in September 2019, and sentenced in December 2021 to five years in jail for 'spreading false news and harming Egypt's national interest'. A UN panel concluded Egypt was illegally detaining him. Soueif described her eventful life to the Guardian. Born in Britain in 1956, where she lived until she was two, she comes from an academic family. Her father, Mostafa Soueif, was the founder of Cairo University's psychology department and founder of Egypt's Academy of Arts. Her mother, Fatma Moussa, was a professor of English literature at Cairo University, an accomplished translator of Shakespeare and Naguib Mahfouz, the Egyptian Nobel prize-winning novelist. Her sister Ahdaf is a distinguished novelist and essayist. Her parentage gifted her a love of literature. At the age of 11, bed-ridden from typhoid, she was given a copy of War and Peace to keep her quiet and now even in hospital a novel has always been on her bed. She said she was also raised on Jane Austen, so is 'partial to texts in which every word is considered and nothing is superfluous'. She also developed a love of maths, telling her father at the age of eight that she loved 'solving maths puzzles, and it did not seem like school work'. She went on to become an assistant professor of maths at Cairo University. She spent her adolescence on Brazil Street in Zamalek, an affluent district in Cairo where like any other neighbourhood there was a band of rebellious teenagers. 'I loved riding motorcycles with the boys and had fleeting romances, but I steered clear of drugs. I never hid anything from my parents either. I'd even take my romantic calls on the house phone,' she recalled. She said her sister Ahdaf 'was always the polished, captivating mademoiselle – five boys would be infatuated with her at the same time. She was the older sister everyone admired. Meanwhile, I was the punk, trying everything out. Our parents never wanted us to be replicas of each other, or of them.' Politics was always part of the household and a pivotal moment came in 1967 when Israel defeated Egypt in the six-day war. It was a political awakening. She said: 'People who'd always remained silent spoke out. I remember seeing family friends who had been close to the regime, officers in the army, sitting in our living room, weeping: 'We betrayed the country! We lost it.'' She recalled her first student protest in high school in the early 1970s, when demonstrations were erupting across campuses calling for an uprising against the Israeli occupation of Sinai. 'I remember watching students march from everywhere, even Zamalek, to Tahrir Square. A student friend and I joined, thrilled.' She met her husband, Ahmed Seif el-Islam, and the father of Alaa, at Cairo University. She was doing an MA in algebra and he was a member of a secretive group called Al-Matraqa that had split away from the Egyptian Communist party, disillusioned by the party's reformism. Laila had inherited from her parents a cynical attitude towards any party organisation, but she loved Seif for his mind and his sincerity. Related: Must Laila Soueif die from her hunger strike in London before her son Alaa Abd el-Fattah is released? | Helena Kennedy Alaa was born in 1981. In 1983, her husband was arrested and tortured. A year later she was given the chance to undertake a PhD at Poitiers University in France, taking her son with her, but returned to Cairo for a year after her husband was arrested in 1983. He was found guilty of illegal weapons possession, and sentenced to five years in jail. On bail, he went into hiding with his wife and young son for three months only to decide that life as a fugitive was impossible and so gave himself up. In jail he was again tortured. While in prison he received a BA in law and within a month of leaving jail was admitted to the bar. He became one of the most effective human rights lawyers in Egypt. It was in France that Laila formed a deep emotional bond with Alaa, but started to learn the sacrifice involved in political activism. She said: 'The fact that Seif was in prison when Alaa was very young created a very special relationship between us. 'I had to explain things that you should never have to explain to a child – why his father was in prison, that there are bad police and good police – the good ones, who catch thieves and organise traffic, and the bad ones, who arrest people who oppose the government. 'You don't usually need to know these things when you're four or five.' Later her admiration for Alaa's ability to look after his two younger sisters comforted her in continuing a teaching career. On returning to Cairo full-time, she helped found the March 9 movement in 2004, an organisation dedicated to academic autonomy and removing the state from universities. Her reputation as someone who would confront the police in protests became legendary. She was often the last to leave. Although she participated in the demonstrations in Tahrir Square in 2011, she like many had not anticipated the scale of the popular movement that would bring about the fall of Egypt's then president, Hosni Mubarak. By then she was the matriarch of three human rights activists. Sanaa, the youngest of the three and then 18, joined their activism during the Mohamed Mahmoud street clashes in 2011 that resulted in more than 40 being killed. A week before Mubarak's fall in February 2011, Soueif's husband was arrested in his office and later interrogated in prison by Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, then head of military intelligence, and now president. In an exchange with Sisi, Seif el-Islam unusually answered him back, describing Mubarak as corrupt. Seif el-Islam later told the Guardian that Sisi 'became angry, his face became red. He acted as if every citizen would accept his point and no one would reject it in public. When he was rejected in public, he lost it.' The episode is sometimes cited as one reason Sisi seems so determined to keep Alaa in jail. The revolution, in the hands of the Muslim Brotherhood, imploded. Soueif said: 'We couldn't believe that the most prepared organisation for governance wasted itself on eliminating the opposition as its first task, instead of achieving tangible accomplishments on the ground. Even the religious current in Iran, when it took power, implemented some social and economic achievements for the masses before it became a dictatorship. But for the MB to start by fighting the opposition in the streets – how did they think that would work?' With the collapse of the revolution and the capture of power by the military, the family suffered. In June 2014 Alaa was first arrested for violating protest laws and then in October Mona, the middle daughter, then aged 20, was convicted of a similar offence and jailed for three years. She had two spells in jail. At the time Soueif and her other daughter Mona went on a hunger strike lasting 76 days. When her husband died aged 63 in August 2014, two of his children were in jail, and were barred from seeing him in hospital. Alaa spoke movingly at his father's funeral. Since then Soueif's life has been one long attempt to secure his release and ensure his life in prison is bearable. She was once asked during the hunger strike whether what she was doing frightened her. 'My mind is aware that I am doing something different, but my feeling as a mother is that this is normal and intended. 'Any mother in my circumstances with the ability to do so would do this. People don't easily realise what you can do. I know all the time that there are things that work, I don't guarantee the results at all, but I tell myself that there's nothing more to lose.'
Time of India
03-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Curtis Yarvin: 10 things to know about 'mad philosopher' behind Trump 2.0
Once upon a meme, in a faraway land called the Internet, a man named Curtis Yarvin wrote 120,000 words calling for the end of democracy. Most people would've laughed. But billionaires don't laugh—they fund. And now, the man who once described San Francisco's underclass as potential biodiesel is being taken seriously by people who carry nuclear briefcases. Yarvin—formerly Mencius Moldbug, currently the "Dark Elf" of the dissident right—isn't just an edgelord with a blog. He's the house philosopher of Silicon Autocracy. From whispering sweet nothings to Peter Thiel to influencing J.D. Vance's wet dreams of a bureaucracy-free America, Yarvin has become the Rasputin of the red-pilled. If you're still catching up, here are 10 things you need to know before the crown lands on his head. 1. The Blogger Who Would Be King Yarvin's empire began with a blog—and a manifesto longer than War and Peace. Back in 2008, when Obama still symbolised hope and change, Yarvin was quietly uploading screeds under the alias Mencius Moldbug. His pièce de résistance? An Open Letter to Open-Minded Progressives—a 120,000-word hand grenade tossed into the cathedral of liberal consensus. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Esse novo alarme com câmera é quase gratuito em São Paulo (consulte o preço) Alarmes Undo Yarvin argued that democracy was a bug, not a feature; the American Revolution a tragic mistake; and that we'd be better off under a corporate monarchy. His ideal ruler? Not Plato's philosopher-king, but a startup bro with nukes and a board of directors. 2. The Cathedral Must Burn Yarvin's biggest idea is that liberalism is a religion—and Harvard is its Vatican. According to him, America isn't ruled by elected officials. It's ruled by 'The Cathedral'—an unholy alliance of media, academia, and bureaucracy. Not through conspiracy, but through soft consensus. NPR, Yale, the Times, and your HR department are all saying the same thing, because they all worship the same gods: Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion. And like any heretic, Yarvin wants the Cathedral razed, its priests defrocked, and its temples converted into data centres. 3. From Nerd to Neo-Reactionary He was once a liberal coder with a ponytail. Then he took the red pill—and never came back. Yarvin didn't always fantasise about abolishing elections. He started as a leftie tech bro who dropped acid, read Foucault, and dated sex-positive feminists from Craigslist. His pivot to fascist adjacent came post-9/11, post-Iraq, and post-pat-on-the-head career path. Disillusioned with liberal consensus and wired on Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Yarvin stumbled into the Dark Enlightenment—an internet rabbit hole where monarchy, race science, and Austrian economics coexisted peacefully, like tax havens and startup founders. 4. Urbit: Coding the Kingdom He didn't just want to build a regime—he wanted to program one. Literally. Urbit was Yarvin's dream of a digital feudalism: a decentralised computer network where every user owns a 'planet,' governed by a new coding language he invented himself. Investors like Andreessen Horowitz gave him millions. It didn't work. Urbit is now mostly a libertarian Discord with stars and galaxies. But the point wasn't usability—it was theology. Like Yarvin's politics, Urbit is elegant in theory, cultish in practice, and unusable by anyone with a day job. 5. Philosopher to Billionaires Peter Thiel liked what he saw. So did Vance. Now Yarvin's whisper is public policy. Thiel gave Yarvin his nod of approval, Marc Andreessen calls him a friend, and J.D. Vance openly cites him as inspiration. For the first time in modern politics, someone who believes elections should be abolished is influencing people who can abolish them. When DOGE—Trump's Department of Government Efficiency—purged civil servants en masse, it echoed Yarvin's RAGE plan: Retire All Government Employees. When Trump called Gaza 'the Riviera of the Middle East,' it sounded suspiciously like a Yarvin Substack post. 6. The Red-Pilled Rasputin He wants to seduce the elite—one 'high elf' at a time. In Yarvin's Tolkien-infused self-image, he's not a tyrant—he's a Dark Elf, sent to whisper forbidden truths into the ears of beautiful elites. Liberals are 'high elves,' conservatives are 'hobbits,' and he is the enigmatic sage showing them how to burn down Mordor and replace it with a charter city. He doesn't want MAGA rallies. He wants salons with QR-coded footnotes and neoreactionary art hoes sipping biodynamic wine. 7. He Cries at Lunch, But Fantasises About Genocide His affect is fragile intellectual. His policies would give Genghis Khan pause. Yarvin cries. A lot. He cries about Baltimore's homeless, about his kids' future, and sometimes while quoting obscure 18th-century monarchists. But behind the tears lies a worldview in which the state should have the power to exile, isolate, or digitally sedate entire populations. He once suggested putting San Francisco's underclass in solitary VR to avoid 'the moral stigma of genocide.' His ideas are brutalist architecture for the soul: cold, sharp-edged, and antiseptically inhumane. 8. The Style Is the Substance Yarvin isn't read for truth. He's read for transgression. You don't read Yarvin to be convinced. You read him to feel naughty. His prose is baroque, sarcastic, and full of italicised rants that feel like a very smart person talking down to you at a BDSM dinner party. He doesn't argue—he overwhelms. Like a one-man DDOS attack on liberal sensibility. He weaponises footnotes, memes, and 19th-century philosophers to convince a disaffected Zoomer that maybe, just maybe, freedom was a mistake. 9. Courtier to a Counter-Establishment He failed at building a product. So he built a vibe. Urbit flopped. His blog fizzled. But Yarvin thrives in the cultic vibe economy of the dissident right: Dimes Square, Substack, Thiel-funded salons, and MAGA masquerades. He reads poetry at fascist-adjacent film festivals. He writes love letters to crypto-lords. He poses for moody portraits while decrying democracy as 'a lie told by clerics to peasants.' And like any good aristocrat, he never lets anyone forget that he's read more books than you. 10. The Joke's Over. He's in the Room Now. For a while, Yarvin was performance art. Then the performance became policy. In 2008, he was the punchline. In 2025, his ideas echo from the Oval Office to ICE holding cells to Harvard funding withdrawals. Trump's blitzkrieg of civil society, Elon's reign over federal agencies, and Vance's plans to bulldoze the courts all bear his fingerprints. The dissident right no longer needs to form a vanguard. It is the establishment. The Dark Elf got invited into the tower—and now he's rearranging the furniture. Postscript: The Philosopher-King of Nothing Yarvin is a man of ideas with no workable blueprint. His brilliance lies in diagnosing the rot, not fixing the structure. He romanticises kings, cosplays monarchism, and mourns Enlightenment liberalism like an ex-girlfriend he'd still insult in group chats. But give him credit: he saw the appetite for authoritarianism long before the rest of us. And while liberals were busy fact-checking, Yarvin was vibes-crafting. In the age of aesthetics, the crown goes not to the competent—but to the most convincingly unhinged.
