E2: #Technocracy, Inc.
#Understood #CBC #TheMakingIfMusk
#InequalityIsThePlan #tech #NaziElon #farright #PeterThiel #DavidSachs #MarkAndreesen #TechFascism #Ethnostate #ApartheidSouthAfrica ##NerdReich #Techfeudalism #TechAuthoritarianism
#TechAuthoritarianism
[The Verge, Decoder]: Why tech billionaires want a âcorporate dictatorshipâ, Jon Fortt, CNBC journalist, Gil Duran, author of The Nerd Reich, a newsletter and forthcoming book about the shifting politics of Silicon Valley and the rise of tech authoritarianism.
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/decoder-with-nilay-patel/id1011668648?i=1000718286811
Head of @signalapp answering the question " What are the hopes of counter-power in epistemic authoritarian society rulled by big tech"
#techauthoritarianism #digitalprivacy
Earlier this week I wrote a bit of analysis about two articles focusing on different fascist visions for "state capture" in America; Mark Robinson's Christian Nationalist dream in North Carolina, and the tech-bro authoritarianism exemplified by Network States and Balaji Srinivasan's plans for a captured city of San Francisco. You can now find a cleaned up version of that discussion on my website:
https://www.ninaillingworth.com/2024/08/10/recommended-reading-captured-states/
Recommended Reading: Captured States
"Whether by establishing their own new cities, or taking over existing political structures, what Srinivasan and the billionaire tech fascists who adore him are talking about here is another form of the very same state capture style of wielding political power as the systems Mark Robinson and the GOP are installing in North Carolina. These dystopian plans are both blueprints for establishing a permanent âPork Reichâ in which the rights of everyday individuals, including their democratic rights, are wholly superseded by the whims of reactionary capitalists and powerful fascist blocs controlling these power structures at an institutional level. Both Robinsonâs and Srinivasanâs plans bear all the hallmarks of a fascist regime, including dismantling what passes for our democratic rights, material enforcement of the party line, forced political indoctrination into an objectively fascist worldview, and active marginalization and suppression of anyone who doesnât agree with that fascist worldview."
Okay, now that we've examined Mark Robinson's state capture vision for a permanent Christian Nationalist regime in North Carolina, I'd like to go back to April of this year to take a look at what a Silicon Valley Tech Authoritarian vision for the same type of society, established with similar methodology, might look like.
If you're not familiar with the world of rich Tech Bro fascists, and the "philosophers" that drive their worldview, it's entirely possible that you've never heard of Balaji Srinivasan. Despite this however, fascist billionaire Tech muppets have heard of him, and in fact think he's a genius with a ton of brilliant ideas that will benefit them, at your expense. One of his most popular ideas (among Tech authoritarians at least) is the concept of a Network State, which is literally some CyberPunk 2020 corporate state bullshit described as "a plan for tech plutocrats to exit democracy and establish new sovereign territories." If you've caught wind of the well-funded campaign promoting "California Forever" to create a Tech baron controlled city in Solano County, you've already seen these freaks trying to make that concept a reality. Oh, and before I forget, I should mention that Balaji is also a proponent of a plan to take over the government of San Francisco and transform the city into a dystopian fascist colony ruled by reactionary Tech muppets just like him.
Let's take a closer look at Srinivasan's ideas with an eye towards understanding how his proposed takeover of San Francisco and the larger concept of Network States are just another fascist's variation on the State Capture concept we've been discussing here already:
The Tech Baron Seeking to Purge San Francisco of âBluesâ
"What Iâm really calling for is something like tech Zionism,â he said, after comparing his movement to those started by the biblical Abraham, Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith (founder of Mormonism), Theodor Herzl (âspiritual fatherâ of the state of Israel), and Lee Kuan Yew (former authoritarian ruler of Singapore). Balaji then revealed his shocking ideas for a tech-governed city where citizens loyal to tech companies would form a new political tribe clad in gray t-shirts. âAnd if you see another Gray on the street ⌠you do the nod,â he said, during a four-hour talk on the Moment of Zen podcast. âYouâre a fellow Gray.â
You should definitely read the whole article because I don't have enough room here to detail all the obviously fascist nonsense Balaji is talking about doing to San Francisco, but a brief rundown would include bribing police to enforce his vision of society, restricting access to portions of the city to loyalists, aligning with Republican insterests (who he calls the "Reds," isn't that clever?), and transforming liberals and folks he doesn't agree with into second class citizens (the "Blues.") This fascist muppet even details a whole top-down propaganda campaign to ensure the marginalization of his political enemies, including renaming streets, putting up statues to commemorate his enemies' failures, and screening propaganda films designed to marginalize his opposition and enforce the Tech Bro authoritarian worldview. Like many modern fascists, Srinivasan actively demonizes the media and agitates for the creation of rival news outlets designed to push his dystopian ideas and positions; a proposal that will seem quite familiar to anyone who studied the rise of the actual fucking Nazis in interwar Germany, for example.
Whether by establishing their own new cities, or taking over existing political structures, what Srinivasan and the billionaire tech fascists who adore him are talking about here is another form of the very same state capture style of wielding political power as the systems Mark Robinson and the GOP are installing in North Carolina. These dystopian plans are both blueprints for establishing a permanent "Pork Reich" in which the rights of everyday individuals, including their democratic rights, are wholly superseded by the whims of reactionary capitalists and powerful fascist blocs controlling these power structures at an institutional level. Both Robinson's and Srinivasan's plans bear all the hallmarks of a fascist regime, including dismantling what passes for our democratic rights, material enforcement of the party line, forced political indoctrination into an objectively fascist worldview, and active marginalization and suppression of anyone who doesn't agree with that fascist worldview.
There was a time in Pig Empire political life when plans like these would be recognized for the fascist batshittery that they are. Today however, with the support of powerful coalitions of Christian Nationalists and TechBro authoritarians, they are entirely too close to becoming a reality; and if these guys get their way, voting won't be enough to stop that.
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