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For me, when Musk suddenly went far-right, and I realized that Thiel et al. kind of all shared the same philosophy (described in the article as "Libertarianism

For me, when Musk suddenly went far-right, and I realized that Thiel et al. kind of all shared the same philosophy (described in the article as "Libertarianism for me. Feudalism for thee"), it made me suspect that at the top of Silicon Valley it's basically a country club where they discuss what sorts of dystopian utopias they are going to try to create.

porkbeer 3y ago
What makes musk 'far right' as opposed to his previously expressed values? Everyone says this, but it doesn't connect for me. His actions have been in the same vein since well before twitter or even tesla.
- cratermoon 3y ago
  > His actions have been in the same vein since well before twitter or even tesla. Yes, he's always been far right. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/21/elon-musk-liberal-twitter-plans-benevolent https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/21/elon-m...
- dgreensp 3y ago
  He gave generously to Obama's campaign. When he was advocating for universal basic income (2016?), and before that, he called himself a moderate, somewhere between the Democrats and the Republicans of the time (who hadn't themselves yet gone full-in on racism, sexism, etc). Now he inhabits a part of the political spectrum that was virtually unknown before the Tea Party.
Eumenes 3y ago
> it made me suspect that at the top of Silicon Valley it's basically a country club where they discuss what sorts of dystopian utopias they are going to try to create. this seems like any industry ... you don't think the execs/owners/board members in pharma, finance, non-profit, defense, etc - all have influence to shape their respective fields? this is hardly new
- dgreensp 3y ago
  I don't think it's relevant that other industries have their own kinds of evil—isn't that just whataboutism? Tech is trying to "disrupt" and remake our society in ways and to an extent that other sectors aren't.

porkbeer 3y ago

What makes musk 'far right' as opposed to his previously expressed values? Everyone says this, but it doesn't connect for me. His actions have been in the same vein since well before twitter or even tesla.

cratermoon 3y ago
> His actions have been in the same vein since well before twitter or even tesla. Yes, he's always been far right. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/21/elon-musk-liberal-twitter-plans-benevolent https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/21/elon-m...
dgreensp 3y ago
He gave generously to Obama's campaign. When he was advocating for universal basic income (2016?), and before that, he called himself a moderate, somewhere between the Democrats and the Republicans of the time (who hadn't themselves yet gone full-in on racism, sexism, etc). Now he inhabits a part of the political spectrum that was virtually unknown before the Tea Party.

Eumenes 3y ago

> it made me suspect that at the top of Silicon Valley it's basically a country club where they discuss what sorts of dystopian utopias they are going to try to create. this seems like any industry ... you don't think the execs/owners/board members in pharma, finance, non-profit, defense, etc - all have influence to shape their respective fields? this is hardly new

dgreensp 3y ago
I don't think it's relevant that other industries have their own kinds of evil—isn't that just whataboutism? Tech is trying to "disrupt" and remake our society in ways and to an extent that other sectors aren't.