The kinda apt but over the top phrase is lifted from a new book, The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy, which was mentioned at last week’s mtg (Sorry – I can’t remember by whom). It describes what is or should be a well-known new political force in America. There is a deadly serious effort by a group of uber-wealthy and powerful U.S. technology company founders and leaders to fund or help bring about the end of American democracy and replace it with some kind of “superior” tech-based oligarchy. The movement’s goal for our society has been called Techbro Authoritarianism, “digital feudalism,” and even the funny but not so funny nerd fascism.
This group of men has poured untold billions into right wing politics, including to President Trump and his movement’s many pockets and partners. This is no longer Libertarianism. These people do not want to be left alone by govt; they want to use the power of AI, surveillance, and other tools to rule over us. The movement has its own political philosophers, like today’s Curtis Yarvin and yesterday’s George Gilder and Friederick Hayek.
You’ve heard of many of these (almost all) guys. Elon Musk (X and SpaceX). Peter Thiel (PayPal, Palantir). Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz (venture capital.). Larry Ellison (Oracle). David Sacks (Airbnb + Uber). Vivek Ramaswamy. The My Pillow guy (that’s a joke). Adjacent to or just below them are many other would-be techno revolutionaries. Some of them occupy key technology oversight positions in the Trump Administration.
Techbro influence is magnified because their vision dovetails with that of other anti-democratic forces currently sitting atop the commanding heights of U.S. politics, from plutocrats to parts of the religious Right to the “manosphere.” The last one is so influential but so little-known I added a link about it.
No discussion group that likes to talk about what has gone wrong with American democracy can fail to scrutinize the nerd Reich brotherhood, even though Nazi analogies are usually a stretch. To keep things from getting dark, we can discuss related issues, like the vast benefits of many of the products Silicon Valley provides, and ways to reign in their political power.
CivCon will be off on 8/31, and the usual topics committee will create a 3-month list of new topics before we meet again on 9/7. Non-political topic ideas are especially welcome.
Optional Backgrounders –
*Book review of Nerd Reich. Recommended.
* Trump is surrounded by billionaires, and major policies reflect their influence (AI and data centers, crypto, monetary policy, national debt). Recommended.
More, posted Thursday –
— [As promised, the organized manosphere is another little-publicized but big influencer on the MAGA Right – and you MUST learn about it. Recommended/stunning.]
— The rise of Techno authoritarianism. Atlantic Monthly 2024 (gift link via DavidG) Recommended – and before Trump was even elected.
— The Palantir Manifesto may be the worst, but there are many others. See, The Faux Intellectuals of Silicon Valley.
— Elon Musk (he brags about it!) is a White supremacist who thinks we are in a race war for Western Civilization’s survival. This is a very common POV on the Right. Recommended.
— “Freedom cities” is one of their big ideas.
— Long so super optional, but fun: These guys love sci-fi metaphors of a glorious future led by them and their tech. But they totally misuse the sci-fi they cite.
— OTOH POV: Most Silicon Valley leaders are not right-wing techno nuts. For most, backing Trump is all business.
