The tech oligarchs and their ongoing attempted coup of American democracy.
Elon sends his heart to you.
I found a conspiracy theory on the internet and I believe it. In this conspiracy: shadowy people with malign intentions get together and hatch a plot to surreptitiously hijack the American government and use it for their nefarious ends. I'm not talking about George Soros or cultural Marxism. I'm not talking about something which might potentially happen in the future. I am talking about what is happening in America right now.
[media=https://youtu.be/5RpPTRcz1no]
The key figures who are carrying out this takeover are Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. Though (via JD Vance) they also have links to their co-conspirators in the Heritage Foundation. Donald Trump is very important but only in the sense that he is the marketing figurehead for the operation and he can help carry a section of the population with him. Also, giving him the keys to state agencies that they wish to destroy.
Obviously, Musk isn't going to say that DOGE is really about destroying the US administrative state and needs some plausible deniability.. So, how do you do that? Well, they argue that what you are doing is about making the government more efficient. You tell your Republican supporters that the government is awash with waste and corruption. The bonus of this is that it's an easy sell to Conservatives because they already think this. They are predisposed to think of any government agency as like this: even if they directly benefit from it or it is essential.
The other arguments they use are culture war issues. Trumpsters will support them if they say they are against DEI or overseas aid. They are indeed cutting these things but only because they are cutting everything. Even things that the Consumer Protection Bureau (which saves Americans money) or the IRS (which makes money). Both these things being weak is obviously good for billionaires and Musk in particular because his companies are/were being investigated. Meanwhile, Musk's companies continue to get multi-million-pound subsidies from the US state. Is that fraud? In reality, DOGE and this administration (regime?) will do a lot of harm to Americans.
So, this is a libertarian capitalist slashing the state and feathering his own nest. Yes, but the motivations are even worse. The tech oligarchs want to destroy the US administrative state so they can rebuild it and mould it in a way that suits them and suits Trump's borderline dictatorship. This is not idle speculation about their motivations. Project 2025 said that the Trump administration wanted to fire most government workers and replace them with people who have 'conservative' policy values. In addition, this policy idea shows the real crossover between the authoritarian right and the tech oligarchs because Thiel and Musk both take their inspiration from someone called Curtis Yarvin.
Yarvin is an ultra-right political philosopher who is openly against democracy and thinks that the government should be completely remade to serve 'meritocratic' interests. He used the acronym RAGE (Retire all government employees). That is the real goal of an agency that never had anything to do with efficiency or saving people money. The tech bros know they are the smartest guys in the room (the room being Earth) and have a low opinion of the rest of humanity. They see democracy as a market inefficiency and are seeking to solve the problem by retro-engineering it. Trump will be the pliant CEO and they will be the board of directors. Just like Orban's Hungary, there will have to be some elections again but only when the state, law, media and cultural apparatus have been stacked in their favour. The constitution will continue to exist but will be ignored.
None of this is based on reading signs for weird hand signals or re-interpreting photo-shopped images. This conspiracy is all on public record in blog posts, talks and interviews. It's also in Project 2025. However, its all just criminally under-reported.
This is what is actually going on and people need to wise up and stop them,
P.S. This post was heavily influenced by the work of journalist Gil Duran who has been watching these people for years.
https://www.thenerdreich.com/
His blog has an apt title.
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@Burnley123 so they're evil because they want to create a networkstate?
Yeah, exactly. A network state still needs people to pledge allegiance—not necessarily in the same way as traditional countries, but in a more voluntary, opt-in way. Instead of being born into it like a normal nation, you'd choose to be part of it based on shared values, goals, or economic interests.
@Burnley123 to me, it's silly to think that a digital govt could pose a risk to, say, america.
if the problem is that the wealthy are going to use it as a tax haven and take their wealth away from america—they can already do that. networkstate or no networkstate—they can already grab all their things and set up camp elsewhere. i mention this because this is how i see a traditional govt combatting a networkstate—eviction, more or less: if the problem is that people worry that a digital governemtn will rule or ruin their lives: (a) it's voluntary, and (b) people could vote a for a traditional government that can 'evict' and/or punish these so-called digital citizens.
@thrash Yes but individuals have a choice as long as they have money. If you read Thomas Piketty's work, you'll know that capital has a historic tendency to monopolise. That is statistically proven.
Unlike some people, you have imagination and are taking this seriously. Musk, Thiel et al are not being honest or making a an argument for libertarian techno states on their own terms. We know they want this only because thye have said this in the past or little discussed forums. They are effectively lying and jumping on board (the highly authoritarian) Trump train to get the job done.
Some people would live very well in this world. Will they call the first freedom city Elysium?
@thrash i considered that they could make it exclusive to elites etc., hence why i said: people can just vote for a traditional government that would dismantle their little network state—from their physical roots. 10000000% tarrifs on tech products; subsidies given to competitors who aren't aligned with any network state, etc etc. there are ways to combat these people via democracy.
there's no way a traditional government would roll over for an autocratic tech government—that's wishful thinking. the world would be reduced to radioactive dust before anything akin to that happens.
@thrash It wouldn't do so at once and people would not think that this is what was happening. If we agree that the tech bros want network states then they literally have the MAGA crowd unwittingly fighting for the end of America. The Trump regime won't complete the process towards the future they want but it will be a huge first step
I've long thought that universal voting rights only got granted in the west because of the rising power of the industrial working class in the late 19th century.
Well, labour power is now much weaker than it was and AI is set to take things even further in that direction. The technology for non human military systems is accelerating at a real pace.
Can you see a future in which private property is policed by robot armies and corporation's have ai doing most of the jobs? I can.
What value would the the rest of humanity have in this future?
