RFK JR. AND THE END OF ENLIGHTENMENT RATIONALITY

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Anne Applebaum examines the rise of "New Obscurantism," a global trend blending pseudoscience, conspiracy theories, mysticism, and authoritarian politics that undermines Enlightenment values of reason, law, and democracy. Using the Romanian election of Călin Georgescu as a case study, she highlights how figures like Georgescu employ spiritual rhetoric, nationalist myths, and social media manipulation to gain influence. Georgescu, despite his irrational beliefs and associations with authoritarian ideologies, garnered significant popular support through TikTok campaigns supported by suspected Russian meddling, before Romania annulled the election.

This trend parallels movements worldwide, including in the U.S., where figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard represent a fusion of left and right ideologies that reject traditional conservatism and liberalism in favor of anti-vaccine sentiments, conspiracy theories, and pro-Russia stances. Applebaum traces historical precedents for this cultural regression, drawing comparisons to periods of mysticism in the declining Venetian and Russian empires. She warns that this anti-rational movement threatens to replace democratic principles with superstition, fear, and charismatic authoritarianism, jeopardizing global stability and governance based on Enlightenment ideals.

Anne Applebaum, "RFK Jr. and the End of Enlightenment Rationality," *The Atlantic*, January 7, 2025.Unlocked gift link: