Xenosystems | Nick Land

First conceived in 2013 by British philosopher Nick Land, Xenosystems is the ur-text of neoreactionary thought. Pathbreaking, uncompromising, and, as its name suggests, utterly alien, Xenosystems’ cold, often “anti-human” analytical approach to the problems of the early 21st Century provides a clarifying, if equally horrifying lens through which to see our current and future realities. Presented here in book form for the first time, these selected excerpts, organized around the blog’s main themes of fragmentation, entropy, techno-capital, and political and social disintegration, captures the spirit of neoreaction and the discursive battlefield over which these idea were originally forged.

About the Author

Nick Land, born on January 17, 1962, is a British philosopher known for his controversial and influential ideas14. He served as a lecturer in Continental Philosophy at the University of Warwick from 1987 to 1999. Land co-founded the Cybernetic Culture Research Unit (CCRU) with Sadie Plant at Warwick. Land's early work focused on post-structuralist philosophy and cybernetics3. He gained notoriety for his unconventional teaching methods and radical ideas, often engaging in intense discussions with students and colleagues7. His writings from this period are collected in "Fanged Noumena: Collected Writings 1987-2007".

After leaving academia around 2000, Land moved to Shanghai. He later re-emerged as a prominent figure in the "Dark Enlightenment" and neo-reactionary movements, developing a philosophy known as "Accelerationism". Land's work has been influential in various philosophical circles, including speculative realism and the alt-right movement. Land is the author of several books, including "The Thirst for Annihilation: Georges Bataille and Virulent Nihilism" and "Templexity: Disordered Loops through Shanghai Time". He has been described as "the Godfather of accelerationism" and continues to be a controversial figure in contemporary philosophy.