Granola Nazis and Neoliberal Mystics

Abstract

In Granola Nazis and Neoliberal Mystics we discuss digital traditionalism or the ways in which new technologies enable old ideologies, often reactionary, and new modes of life which often call the images of ancient traditions. Each section discusses two seemingly opposed elements of digital traditionalism, first, the rise of white nationalist online influencers, and their use of women’s media, second, the UK fascist group patriotic alternative, a group who couch white supremacy in a return to so called traditional ways of living in a mix of a hippie’s back to the land and a Nazi’s blood and soil. The third section looks at the neoliberal mystics, entrepreneurs who use the language of ancient spiritual traditions and wellness for technocratic ends. While they seem at first opposed, the rugged homesteaders and the suited HR bureau-crats, each of these groups blends new technology and reactionary politics, traditionalism and futurism in ways which tell us a lot about the present moment. These new technologies are ways of making money, but also making value for the (white) nation.