A specter is haunting the West—not the specter of communism, but something far more volatile and nebulous: technological romanticism.
Israel Centeno
History teaches nothing to those with internet access. The repetition of historical patterns, so clear in books, becomes invisible when it arrives dressed as a trending topic. But it’s here nonetheless. There’s no Lord Byron leading the charge, though we do have influencers with the air of exiled prophets. There’s no Goethe riding the rails, but Jordan Peterson is reading Dostoevsky on TikTok. And of course, there’s no uprising against monarchies—only a rebellion against algorithms, globalist elites, and anything that smells like New York, Brussels, or shared intelligence.
What defines this new romanticism?
The exaltation of instincts over reason.
Feeling now outranks thinking. Guts override graphs. “It feels true” has replaced “I think, therefore I am.” Within MAGA logic or Europe’s alt-right revival, the sensation that your country “no longer belongs to you” is enough to call for reconquest.
Nostalgia as political program.
No one promises a shining future anymore—only the restoration of a golden past. Make America Great Again. Reconquer France. Bring back sovereign Britain. The 19th century has returned, silently, with its broken maps and wounded pride.
The cult of the emotional hero.
Where once we had enlightened monarchs, now we have anti-establishment billionaires. Musk as Victor Frankenstein. Trump as a disheveled King Lear. Javier Milei as the libertarian Byron of the Southern Cone. All unhinged. All messianic. All trending.
The rejection of rational universalism.
Goodbye Enlightenment, hello tribal timelines. The world is no longer one, but a thousand online tribes, each with its own totem, its own martyr, its own Telegram channel. Europe turns its back on unity. America fragments by state. Nationalism returns wearing startup merch.
And technology?
There’s no contradiction, only synthesis. Technological romanticism feeds on the very system it despises. It hates the algorithm—but lives off it. It loathes the globalist agenda—but organizes on Discord. It is anti-modern from a verified account.
Marx once said that history repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce. Today it unfolds as livestream, with hashtags and playlists. Revolutions are no longer built on barricades, but in Reddit forums, between Crusader memes and Nietzsche gifs.
Romanticism has returned, with all its monsters. Only now, they host podcasts, mint NFTs, and promise to save civilization.
There is nothing new under the sun. But now, the sun has filters.
Centeno's Lighthouse 