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The author does not understand the term libertarian. Certainly Silicon Valley is chasing utopian dreams, but not necessarily libertarians. Thiel is a libertaria
by d--b 10y ago
The author does not understand the term libertarian. Certainly Silicon Valley is chasing utopian dreams, but not necessarily libertarians. Thiel is a libertarian, but it's not obvious that Musk is. Musk doesn't seem to have a big opinion about fat or lean government (for instance). And some very prominent people in the Valley (starting with y combinator guys), are very far from libertarianism.
70s technology-inspired utopias are really interesting though.
Buckminster Fuller and Superstudio have been very influencial too
- magicmu 10y agoThis was my thought as well, but for somewhat different reasons. I think Musk does fit this modern definition of libertarian -- a lack of faith in government progress is a necessary logical foundation for attempting to pioneer space travel privately. I definitely agree, though, that many YC guys don't seem to be libertarian at all. It's also definitely worth noting that this modern definition of "libertarian" is so divorced from it's original anti-capitalist meaning that it's almost a different word. Leary's vision was "libertarian" in the sense that it was wholly at odds with capitalism as it currently exists, and put the onus of human progress on people instead of government. It was not "libertarian" in the sense of advocating for exploitative private companies like those we see in the Valley.