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Peter Thiel is not clueless but knows exactly what he is doing. Thiel opposes democracy [1] and Trump has done an extraordinary amount to damage it. Indeed, eve

Peter Thiel is not clueless but knows exactly what he is doing. Thiel opposes democracy [1] and Trump has done an extraordinary amount to damage it. Indeed, even knowing that defeat is all but certain, he concentrates even more on doing so. Spending 1.5 million to fund the a campaign denouncing all voting as rigged (amount other things [2]) is stunningly efficient at undermining it. [1] https://www.cato-unbound.org/2009/04/13/peter-thiel/education-libertarian https://www.cato-unbound.org/2009/04/13/peter-thiel/educatio... [2] eg sues critical news papers, threatens opponents with prison, encourages voter intimidation, encourages foreign powers to engage in cyber-warfare, blames "magazines" for terrorism

lhnz 10y ago
I think it's much more likely that rather than "opposing democracy" he is attempting to connect a pro-technology viewpoint to an anti-globalisation one, and wishes to position himself politically so that he can eventually leverage this. This is more believable to me since he has been giving talks on it for the last three or four years [0]. Liberal newspapers might want to convince you that this is all about hating democracy, women, and the free press but that doesn't really stand up to scrutiny. There seems to be a very small amount of dirt that has been dug up and turned from a mole hill into a mountain. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KlXhrRxxbA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KlXhrRxxbA
- whybroke 10y ago
  For that to be, Trump would have to win (or have post election influence) and Thiel would have to believe Trump's low education, semi-ludite supporters could be convinced the tech that displaced many of them is good. It's hard to image Thiel could possibly believe the latter but surely it's impossible that he believes the former. >...Liberal newspapers... Like the WSJ?
  - lhnz 10y ago
    Trump also has high education, non-luddite supporters or at the very least supporters that could be brought over to considering investing in a future America that makes itself 'Great' through government spending on infrastructure and science. It could be that Thiel believes he is speaking to these people (some of which might only be Trump supporters in 2016 because they always vote Republican). My central point is that he's been speaking about both economic and technological stagnation for many years and it is foolish to consider his actions now as completely distinct from this. I've no idea whether he believes Trump will win or not. I expect that he didn't require it. His donation allowed him to speak at the RNC, and this has no doubt increased his political reach massively. I was joking when I said liberal newspapers. They are not liberal at all.
    - whybroke 10y ago
      Strangely, you're now implying that he is trying to buy influence but figured the other party was harder to pay off. >..There seems to be a very small amount of dirt that has been dug up.. I am unfamiliar with that definition of "small". >...His donation allowed him to speak at the RNC... Is the arrow of time also a liberal media conspiracy?

lhnz 10y ago

I think it's much more likely that rather than "opposing democracy" he is attempting to connect a pro-technology viewpoint to an anti-globalisation one, and wishes to position himself politically so that he can eventually leverage this. This is more believable to me since he has been giving talks on it for the last three or four years [0]. Liberal newspapers might want to convince you that this is all about hating democracy, women, and the free press but that doesn't really stand up to scrutiny. There seems to be a very small amount of dirt that has been dug up and turned from a mole hill into a mountain. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KlXhrRxxbA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KlXhrRxxbA

whybroke 10y ago
For that to be, Trump would have to win (or have post election influence) and Thiel would have to believe Trump's low education, semi-ludite supporters could be convinced the tech that displaced many of them is good. It's hard to image Thiel could possibly believe the latter but surely it's impossible that he believes the former. >...Liberal newspapers... Like the WSJ?
- lhnz 10y ago
  Trump also has high education, non-luddite supporters or at the very least supporters that could be brought over to considering investing in a future America that makes itself 'Great' through government spending on infrastructure and science. It could be that Thiel believes he is speaking to these people (some of which might only be Trump supporters in 2016 because they always vote Republican). My central point is that he's been speaking about both economic and technological stagnation for many years and it is foolish to consider his actions now as completely distinct from this. I've no idea whether he believes Trump will win or not. I expect that he didn't require it. His donation allowed him to speak at the RNC, and this has no doubt increased his political reach massively. I was joking when I said liberal newspapers. They are not liberal at all.
  - whybroke 10y ago
    Strangely, you're now implying that he is trying to buy influence but figured the other party was harder to pay off. >..There seems to be a very small amount of dirt that has been dug up.. I am unfamiliar with that definition of "small". >...His donation allowed him to speak at the RNC... Is the arrow of time also a liberal media conspiracy?