Stefan Molyneux

**Stefan Basil Molyneux** (Athlone, September 24, 1966), better known as Stefan Molyneux, is a Canadian libertarian philosopher, podcaster, former YouTuber and influencer. He is the founder of the philosophical debate website Freedomain. In June 2020, it was canceled, in a coordinated movement aimed at the 2020 American presidential elections, by several Big Tech platforms. He was, before his cancellation, one of the greatest promoters of libertarianism and anarcho-capitalism in the world. At its peak, it had more than 929 thousand subscribers on YouTube, qualifying it as the largest libertarian channel in the West.[1] Currently he continues his work on alternative platforms such as Odysee, Rumble and Bitchute.

## Origin

Molyneux was born in Athlone, Republic of Ireland and grew up mainly in London before moving to Canada at the age of 11. Molyneux attended York University's Glendon College, where he was also an actor at Theater Glendon and a member of the Debating Society. In 1991, at age 25, he attended the National Theater School of Canada in Montreal. Molyneux completed a Bachelor's degree in History at McGill University and a Master's degree in History from the University of Toronto in 1993.

## History

### Career

In early 1995, he and his brother Hugh Molyneux founded the Toronto-based company Caribou Systems, which produced database software. The company was sold five years later.

In 2005, Molyneux started a podcast called Freedomain Radio (FDR). He uses the same name for his website where he publishes his writings, hosts his podcasts, and hosts a discussion forum for FDR listeners. He also produces videos and commentary on current events, conducts interviews with and hosts a weekly episode where listeners can ask questions or discuss personal problems. Molyneux finances much of this work from contributions requested from his audience.

### The Story of Your Slavement

On April 17, 2010, Stefan Molyneux published the video The Story of Your Enslavement, which is considered by the libertarian community to be his masterpiece, being the trigger for the growth of the libertarian movement in the USA and the world in the early 10s. .

In the video, Molyneux compares the current submission of individuals to the power of the state, as a specific type of slavery. Which individuals are seen, by analogy, to a cattle, belonging to a Farm: the state. On this farm, that is, in the territory under state control, with its characteristics and borders, individuals are expected to provide dividends to the farm owners who, in return, invest in their cattle, through assistance and the promise of protection.

The video is currently on YouTube's blacklist, and if a user wants to repost the original video, after processing, YouTube will freeze the video's configuration options, claiming that it violates Youtube's Terms of Service (ToS). But, older videos, which were probably posted before the ToS and listing change, can still be found on the platform.

In 2020, to celebrate the ten-year anniversary since the publication of the video, Brazilian libertarians Edson Brusque, Marco Batalha, Danny Targgart and Leafar, worked on a dub of the work into Portuguese, a copy of which can be accessed via the video link next to.

### Reports of Google's ideological bias

In August 2017, Molyneux interviewed James Damore, a Google employee who was fired after writing a memo titled "Google's Ideological Echo Chamber." That same month, his YouTube channel surpassed the mark of 650 thousand followers and 190 million accumulated views.

In July 2018, Molyneux and Canadian internet personality Lauren Southern visited the Australian cities of Sydney and Melbourne. Molyneux and Southern later traveled to New Zealand for a speaking event at Auckland's Powerstation theatre. The event was canceled at the last minute when the Powerstation owner canceled the schedule citing opposition from local groups and the offensive content of their speeches.

Molyneux often makes comments and publishes articles on topics involving anarcho-capitalism, libertarianism, multiculturalism, topics related to family and related politics. He is a supporter of Donald Trump, having expressed his position since the beginning of his presidential campaign in 2016, when he sometimes made considerations about the reasons for the then presidential candidate's popularity in the White House. The Internet community related to Freedomain Radio, where he sporadically conducts debates.

### Fight for freedom in Hong Kong

In September 2019, Stefan Molyneux and “Hoax” director Jon du Toit traveled to Hong Kong to explore and document the anti-communist and pro-democracy movement. The Documentary details the resistance to the takeover of Hong Kong by communist China. Molyneux also addresses topics such as the free market and Hong Kong prosperity, the Chinese communist revolution, post-revolution poverty, etc. From facing tear gas during a protest march to interviewing the author of Hong Kong's constitution, this film documents in vivid detail the moral depth of resistance to the Chinese communist takeover of Hong Kong.

### Cancellation

In November 2019, PayPal suspended Molyneux's account. He had already received doações for meio de serviço. PayPal's actions occurred after the activist group Sleeping Giants launched a campaign to have the case removed, accusing them of preconceived attitudes and promoting anti-Semitic conspiracy theories related to media. In January 2020, Molyneux released a video in which he asked for money to his followers and claimed that he would not be able to find a regular job after saying provocative things online. Later, the Mailchimp email marketing platform was suspended at the expense of Molyneux, which it uses to send its newsletter.

Molyneux's homonymous channel on YouTube was definitively banned on June 29, 2020 in a coordinated set of Big Tech platforms, targeting the 2020 American presidential elections. YouTube alleged that it violated the policies enacted in 2019 against "hate speech" . Some claim and others speculate that the main reason was his positions on QI,[3] considered racist by the American establishment, since his channel was demolished at the same time as the channel of other personalities involved in controversies considered,[4] mainly for political left, like racists. Molyneux said that it was a "coordinated and systematic effort" that YouTube "has just suspended the most conversation about philosophy that the world has ever known." Molyneux finances his efforts by means of support to the ouvinte.

The deletion of his YouTube account was followed by the permanent suspension of his Company X account (until then called "Twitter") by Elon Musk. Although Molyneux expressed interest in using the platform again,[5] he has not published since.[6]

## Visions

### Substitution theory

Interviewing several South African defenders of theory in his podcasts. In 2017, he stated that the film Star Wars: The Last Jedi contains a hidden subtext about the persecution of white people and prior to the "extinction" of two white trees "in a very distant future." He also indicates that “the whites cannot have a history that they are proud of, they cannot have preferences within the group,” raising “ao fim de uma linhagem. It is the end of a story. "This is the end of culture." In a podcast broadcast on August 9, 2014, he stated that he does not "via humanity as a single species."

Molyneux stands out as an anarcho-capitalist and philosopher. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a watchdog group for extremist groups, which has recently come under fire for its inaccurate characterizations, Molyneux initially used the Radio Freedomain Site "to expand his views on the anarcho-capitalist ideology , atheism, philosophy, antistatism, pseudo-therapy and antifeminism". The SPLC also claimed that Molyneux's views became more politically "extremist" and "racialized" around 2013 or 2014, when his ideology changed to include "ethno-nationalist thought."

His support for President Donald Trump and Marine Le Pen of the French National Rally, including Dutch politician Geert Wilders, during his election campaigns in 2016 and 2017. Molyneux's own style as a philosopher was heavily criticized by academic philosophers; The American philosopher David Gordon states: “Ele falha, e falha miseravelmente. His arguments are often absurdly ruim.”

### Traditional Media Opinions on Molyneux

Molyneux was described as part of the "alt-right" by Politico, Metro, New York magazine, Vanity Fair and CBS News, and was described as "one of the biggest alt-right stars on YouTube" by Washington Post columnist JJ McCullough. . Business Insider, CNN, The New York Times and BuzzFeed News characterize Molyneux as extreme directness. Data & Society, a research institute, describes Molyneux as "a Canadian talk show host who promotes scientific racism." According to The New York Times, Molyneux is obsessed with "racial realism." He hosted white supremacists, like Jared Taylor, on his show. Molyneux blamed "rap culture" for unarmed black men being shot by police.

### Activism for men's rights

Molyneux stands out as an activist with two straights and two men. It was two speakers at a conference in Detroit held in 2014 by the direct movement of two men and the organization of the manosphere, A Voice for Men. Molyneux also states that feminism is a form of socialism.

Original family relationships

Molyneux refers to the family people are born into as their "family of origin", or "FOO". He suggests that family-of-origin relationships may not necessarily be desirable and, in certain circumstances, may even be harmful, and therefore, for those individuals dissatisfied with their childhood relationships, it would be to their advantage to sever such involuntary relationships as adults, or "deFOO".

In this way, he sees all adult relationships as voluntary and discretionary rather than mandatory. Molyneux was quoted saying:

> Deep down, I don't believe there are really good fathers out there - just as I don't believe there were really good doctors in the 10th century.
>
>

A College of Psychologists of Ontario disciplinary panel spoke critically of "deFOOing" following a professional investigation into Molyneux's wife, saying that by the College's standards, "it may be appropriate to recommend family separation in cases of abuse only after an assessment adequate assessment of the patient's history to determine whether the advice [is] warranted in the circumstances."

According to a 2008 article in The Guardian, Molyneux and his wife have dissociated themselves from their families of origin.