"Exiting the Vampire Castle" is an essay written by the English theorist
Mark Fisher for the online publication ''The North Star'' in 2013. It argues for increased leftist solidarity by departing from the phenomenon of online
callout culture to instead orient activity around organization of efforts around the accountability of one's economic class, rather than around traits in identity and culture.
Synopsis
Fisher argues that a largely online style of identity-based leftist discourse grounded in "witch-hunting moralism" halts productive leftist discourse and undermines class politics. In particular, the combination of a primary focus on identity and the policing of others' speech is deleterious.
Fisher saw the turn from class and materialism towards identity as a move from objective outward-facing goals to subjective inward goals that result in fragmentation of the left's efforts and community.
Reception
''
Jacobin magazine'' described "Exiting the Vampire Castle" as Fisher's "most loved and hated essay".
Influence
In her book ''
Kill All Normies
''Kill All Normies: Online Culture Wars from 4chan and Tumblr to Trump and the Alt-Right'' is a 2017 non-fiction book by Angela Nagle published by Zero Books. It focuses on the development of internet culture, the nature of political correctness, ...
'',
Angela Nagle
Angela Nagle (born 1984) is an American-born Irish academic and non-fiction writer who has written for ''The Baffler'', ''Jacobin (magazine), Jacobin'', and others. She is the author of the book ''Kill All Normies'', published by Zero Books in 20 ...
grounds her critique of the left on Fisher's essay. She uses the essay to diagnose the political situation of the
2016 United States presidential election
The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...
in particular and leftist use of social media platforms in general.
book ''Against the Web'' uses concepts from "Exiting the Vampire Castle" to describe the limits Brooks observes in leftist tactics. Noting the condemnation and alienation common among leftists of the Castle, Brooks proposes a "cosmopolitan socialism" alternative built on the works of
Cornel West,
Amartya Sen, and
C. L. R. James.
References
External links
*{{cite web, url=https://thenorthstar.info/?p=11299, last=Fisher, first=Mark, author-link=Mark Fisher, title=Exiting the Vampire Castle, date=22 November 2013, archive-date=29 November 2013, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131129003704/https://thenorthstar.info/?p=11299, url-status=dead, website=The North Star
2013 essays