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I am addressing "mainstream left" and honestly, the main point of contention is that we should debate about Peter Thiel, but calling him evil is wrong and extre

I am addressing "mainstream left" and honestly, the main point of contention is that we should debate about Peter Thiel, but calling him evil is wrong and extremely misinformed.

chx 4y ago
It is neither wrong nor is it misinformed. Do you remember why Thiel invested in Confinity which became PayPal? Because he thought a digital wallet could lead to “the erosion of the nation-state”. If it's not self evident to you why that's a bad thing perhaps read https://eand.co/how-america-collapsed-and-became-a-fourth-world-country-db9829323a9a https://eand.co/how-america-collapsed-and-became-a-fourth-wo... Max Chafkin argues that Thiel “has been responsible for creating the ideology that has come to define Silicon Valley: that technological progress should be pursued relentlessly—with little, if any, regard for potential costs or dangers to society.” continued with “Palantir, his second company, popularized the concept of data mining after 9/11 and paved the way for what critics of the technology call surveillance capitalism”. And of course there was gawker. No, what gawker did was not right but Thiel's reaction was not right either. That's some straight up vigilante BS.
- wahnfrieden 4y ago
  It's fine to want the erosion of the nation-state, but Thiel specifically wants to replace it with a monarch, not a free society
  - chx 4y ago
    > It's fine to want the erosion of the nation-state, this is crazy talk. Sorry.
  - blast 4y ago
    He does? Where has he said that?
    - wahnfrieden 4y ago
      > As far back as 2004, Thiel lamented that “America’s constitutional machinery” prevents “any single ambitious person from reconstructing the old Republic.” etc
      - blast 4y ago
        That's not an example of what you claimed. As far as I know the 'monarchy' dude is Yarvin. I'd be surprised if Thiel had publicly committed himself to anything so sophomoric, and it would be interesting to see an actual example.
    - chx 4y ago
      He is smarter than saying those words but read https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/07/blake-masters-peter-thiel-donald-trump-arizona-senate-mark-kelly/ https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/07/blake-masters-p...
- systemvoltage 4y ago
  I disagree with Max Chafkin, I've watched probably every single Thiel interview (there is a Spotify podcast of collection of his interviews) and I do not share whoever this Max Chafkin guy is. If you want a proper critique of Thiel, proper as in properly sourced/researched, not opinions of what someone has made up in their mind: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04/inside-the-new-right-where-peter-thiel-is-placing-his-biggest-bets https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04/inside-the-new-right...

I am addressing "mainstream left" and honestly, the main point of contention is that we should debate about Peter Thiel, but calling him evil is wrong and extremely misinformed.

chx 4y ago

It is neither wrong nor is it misinformed. Do you remember why Thiel invested in Confinity which became PayPal? Because he thought a digital wallet could lead to “the erosion of the nation-state”. If it's not self evident to you why that's a bad thing perhaps read https://eand.co/how-america-collapsed-and-became-a-fourth-world-country-db9829323a9a https://eand.co/how-america-collapsed-and-became-a-fourth-wo... Max Chafkin argues that Thiel “has been responsible for creating the ideology that has come to define Silicon Valley: that technological progress should be pursued relentlessly—with little, if any, regard for potential costs or dangers to society.” continued with “Palantir, his second company, popularized the concept of data mining after 9/11 and paved the way for what critics of the technology call surveillance capitalism”. And of course there was gawker. No, what gawker did was not right but Thiel's reaction was not right either. That's some straight up vigilante BS.

wahnfrieden 4y ago
It's fine to want the erosion of the nation-state, but Thiel specifically wants to replace it with a monarch, not a free society
- chx 4y ago
  > It's fine to want the erosion of the nation-state, this is crazy talk. Sorry.
- blast 4y ago
  He does? Where has he said that?
  - wahnfrieden 4y ago
    > As far back as 2004, Thiel lamented that “America’s constitutional machinery” prevents “any single ambitious person from reconstructing the old Republic.” etc
    - blast 4y ago
      That's not an example of what you claimed. As far as I know the 'monarchy' dude is Yarvin. I'd be surprised if Thiel had publicly committed himself to anything so sophomoric, and it would be interesting to see an actual example.
  - chx 4y ago
    He is smarter than saying those words but read https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/07/blake-masters-peter-thiel-donald-trump-arizona-senate-mark-kelly/ https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/07/blake-masters-p...
systemvoltage 4y ago
I disagree with Max Chafkin, I've watched probably every single Thiel interview (there is a Spotify podcast of collection of his interviews) and I do not share whoever this Max Chafkin guy is. If you want a proper critique of Thiel, proper as in properly sourced/researched, not opinions of what someone has made up in their mind: https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04/inside-the-new-right-where-peter-thiel-is-placing-his-biggest-bets https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/04/inside-the-new-right...