Cult nihilism (ideology)

This page (or section) is a work in progress by its author(s) and should not be considered final.

This article is about the political ideology of Kæra'zna since 1853. For the underlying philosophy also occasionally referred to as Cult Nihilism, see Ritual nihilism.

Cult nihilism, known in formal contexts as Kæra nihilism or Azraic nihilism, is the extremist ideology and associated doctrine produced from the implementation of Ritual nihilist philosophy in Kæra'zna. In Kæra'zna proper, the term is associated with extremist interpretations of the state ideology - most prevalently expressed by the Purity faction. Due to its ideological roots as a political expression of Moral nihilism through the lens of furthering a collective in-group based upon an ethnonationalist framework of inclusion, the ideology has a complex relationship with fascism, with debates on the exact nature of the ideology in relation to that of fascism a common facet of the political analysis of Kæra'zna.

While even the term Azraic nihilism has been refuted as official doctrine by the currently ruling Fundamental Doctrinaires - with the faction's formal position being that the Kæra state adheres entirely to Ritual nihilism in its "pure, philosophical form", outside observers have noted the continuity of Kæra-specific additions to its philosophical root which can be presented as a broader ideological framework for the nation. Due to this de facto framework, factions within the Kæra Government tend to, with some deviation in specific aspects, adhere to the same ideological basis, with conflicts between factions generally over the implementation of Cult nihilism, rather than the basic foundations of the ideology itself.

Cult nihilism presents itself as - and predominantly adopts practices from - Ritual nihilism, however the ideology places considerable emphasis on the traditional cultural values of the Azraic people of North-eastern Borea, to which the ideology traces back much of its doctrine of Species supremacism, Anti-individualism and the encouragement of Necroequanimity - the traditional Azraic practice of rejecting the veneration of the dead. This willingness to adopt cultural practices has previously been linked to the tolerance towards the Cardinial faiths, despite the adoption of predominantly secularist and occasionally antireligious policies within the ideology, primarily targeted at the previously existing Akuan minority in Kæra'zna.

As an expression of such a convergence of beliefs, Cult nihilism has been described as promoting a semi-consequentialist model of the state, in which the overarching goals of the state are taken as absolute justification for any action taken by it that may cause harm to its population. This model naturally promotes a system to which the populace are disfranchised and taken out of the decision-making process in order to establish a meritocratic hierarchy for the advancement of the state as a whole, comparable to a technocracy. Despite this, the system's rejection of morality diverges it from traditional consequentialism, with adherents of Cult nihilism describe themselves as advancing the power of the state not for moral means, but as an adherence to a "natural state of belief" in which a group must seek to empower itself at the expense of others. In this, the ideology adopts an extreme and radical interpretation of the Ritual nihilist acceptance of pointlessness as a quality of the universe providing its beauty, advocating actions which can be internally described as without true purpose, while justifying them as expressing intrinsic aspects of sentience.

In its utilization of this model, the ideology has been described as in opposition to the prioritization of the individual, democracy, pluralism and the Marxist idea of class conflict, while maintaining some compatibility with ultranationalist and eugenicist rhetoric, causing scholarly sources to place the ideology broadly on the political spectrum's far-right.

Ideology and doctrine

Economics

Within the context of the establishment of Cult nihilism, the prexisting economically decentralised domestic system had proven an ineffective measure to benefit from the extensive extractable mineral and energy resources in Kæra'zna. As such, the establishment of an efficient, profit-orientated planned economy was deemed an imperative. As such, the model of state capitalism was propagated amongst Ritual nihilists, presented to the populace as a sacrificing of individual choice in order to provide for the greater collective. While some have suggested the system as socialist in purpose - in a way analogous to fascist nationalistic socialism, the economic structure instituted in Kæra'zna presents a number of capitalistic mechanisms in order to maximize economic output, including competition amongst workers and a strict economic hierarchy.

With the Cult nihilist rejection of objective views towards morality, adoption of measures deemed unethical in a majority of the world have been advocated and enforced by Ritual nihilists in accordance with the theory of self-sacrifice in order to further the nation as a whole. Such policies have been scaled back for skilled workers in the 21st century, however, due in part to pressure from the international community and an acknowledgement that a majority do not provide substantive economic benefit to counter the rate of workplace death and injury. Despite its opposition to the mechanisms of free-market capitalism, Ritual nihilists often opposed the notion of autarky, regarding the attempt to establish true self-sufficiency a “fool’s errand” due to the lack of arable land in Kæra'zna. Instead, the state alone held the prerogative to engage in international trade, often through the allocation of resources to state-owned corporations - which would be later absorbed into K-RAD.

Due to its rejection of Marxist ideas on class conflict, the economic theory of Ritual nihilism was considerably influenced by the economist Kel'næ, who argued that a hierarchy based upon biological and practical merit produced a system in which jobs could be allocated to those best suited to them, creating a stable production cycle reliant upon specialised workers trained to perform their specific job. As such, state intervention into the economy as an allocator of sapient and material resources is fundamental to the Ritual nihilist economy. This explicit hierarchy additionally plays a fundamental role in the societal structure that facilitates the state, with high-level bureaucratic work allowing those deemed of greater mental capacity to enjoy a greater degree of freedom, in exchange for heightened expectations of loyalty and adherence to national identity. In comparison, those given low-priority, simplistic manual labour positions are often taught only their work and the fundamental building blocks of survival, with a considerable number unable to read or write due to such being deemed unnecessary for them.