Alpha Slop
Based on my general (and very amatuer) interest in classicism, philosophy, and history, the algorithm has assigned me: wannabe Stoic Alpha Male. ‘Tis a shame, as I do enjoy lots of this content on a general level, the specifics of how it is marketed to the disillusioned Western young man is essentially the adult man’s version of brainrot. There is no deep engagement; only calls to reshare short-form content, to buy this course which will definitely be the one to address all underlying problems in your life, to not think too carefully or critically about the proposed ideas. Just share the ragebait. Appease the algorithm so your betters may scrape another penny from the advertisers, in exchange for all your data and diminished attention span.
There does seem to be a new romanticism of the classical era in online spaces, particularly in western, right-wing, male-orientated spaces. These are the spaces an algorithm will generally usher me towards, which is slightly unfortunate and entirely predictable. I do want to see the marvels of Roman engineering, the sortition systems of Athens, the Meditations of Aurelius. However, the online fascination with classicism echoes the neo-druidry of the romantic era; a pagentry where the historic reality is oft overlooked in favour of an idealised version. They cast aside the genuine contributions of the women of history, the dependencies on slavery, the fact that art and philosophy and such was prized, yes, but also financially propped up by the rich in a way these grifters would decry as socialism. Whilst there is no doubt that the history and legacy of the classical era are rich, fascinating topics - do any of the thirty-thousand likers on a america-first, Deus Vult-tagged posts actually meaningfully engage with them? Have they actually read the Sophocles they extol? Or do they simply retweet to indicate proximity to intellectualism, and scroll to the next piece of attention-consuming ragebait?
If you are not part of the elite now; you would not have been part of the elite then. You would not be part of the bourgeoisie these accounts cast themselves as. That is not a failing, but that these accounts leverage the ideals and achievements of these civilisations to further the aims of the modern elite at the expense of the working person who consume them is baffling.
This links back to my previous post on rituals. Lacking religiosity and community, many turn to religious-like communities for guidance or consolation. These accounts propose extreme forms of stoicism, self-discpline, deprivation… impossible, ahistoric standards to ensure that young men believe everything is their fault or the fault of the outgroup. Currently, this would be immigrants in most western paradigms. This is not to say that there is no value in a classical education; in fact I would argue that now, in the face of declining literacy, access to discourse, and critical thinking, a classical education is more important than ever before.
Aspirations to better oneself are admirable. An interest in history heralds great possibilities. Retweeting a condensed, politically-propulsed post that assuages you of intellectual insecurities, by mere proximity to an ancient culture, is simply a disservice to your own mind. You must read for yourself, critique for yourself, think for yourself, to recognise the majorty of these so-called neo-classical accounts for what they are: grifters, and nothing more.
— Frost