The Real Technofascists of Silicon Valley: Why Big Tech Oligarchs Hate Democracy
When I first started seeing coverage of what seemed like a deranged plan from the Trump administration to take over Greenland, I felt like I was losing my mind. Not because I didn’t understand the plot, but because none of
The story behind the Silicon Valley oligarchs' hatred for democracy begins with a book called "The Sovereign Individual," which was published in 1997. The book was written by a British author and predicted the collapse of democracy and the world order, emphasizing the importance of crypto-currency and advanced automation in surviving such an event.
The book had a profound impact on tech billionaires like Peter Thiel, as they saw it as a blueprint for their future. Thiel, who co-founded PayPal, became a prominent figure in the "Nerd Reich" ideology, which advocates for the creation of new territories to protect the wealthy from a dystopian future. This ideology, which is a mashup of libertarianism and fascism, advocates for the dissolution of democracy and the establishment of "special economic zones" ruled by tech CEOs.
The book's influence can be seen in Thiel's investments, his foundation's funding of free-market think tanks, and his support for appointing PayPal co-founder Ken Howery as the U.S. ambassador to Denmark. The author of the story, Amy Westervelt, explores the intersection of the "Nerd Reich" ideology and the information ecosystem in her book "Brought to You By: How Corporations Warped the Truth, Conned the Public, and Broke Democracy."
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