r/Futurology Feb 04 '25

Politics The Billionaire Blueprint to Dismantle Democracy and Build a Digital Nation

I recently came across this video which discusses how the tech leaders may be using the new US administration to achieve their own agenda.

In recent years, a fascinating and somewhat unsettling trend has emerged among Silicon Valley’s tech elite: a push to rethink traditional governance. High-profile figures and venture capitalists are exploring concepts like network states, crypto-driven societies, and even privately governed cities.

Prominent names such as Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, and Balaji Srinivasan are leading this charge. Many in this group believe that America is in decline and that the solution isn’t reform but a complete reimagining of society.

Balaji Srinivasan, a former Coinbase CTO and Andreessen Horowitz partner, has been one of the biggest advocates for this idea. He popularized the concept of "network states"—decentralized virtual communities that aim to acquire physical land and eventually function as independent nations. In his book The Network State, Srinivasan outlines a blueprint for running these communities like corporations.

Interestingly, this vision isn’t entirely new. Curtis Yarvin (also known as Mencius Moldbug) first introduced the idea of “Patchwork,” a system where small, corporate-run sovereign territories replace traditional governments. These "patches" would prioritize efficiency over public opinion and maintain control through technologies like biometric surveillance. Although Yarvin's ideas are often described as dystopian, they’ve had a significant influence on thinkers like Peter Thiel.

One of the most developed attempts to create a network state is Praxis, a project backed by Thiel and other major investors. Praxis envisions a global corporate governance model where crypto serves as the primary currency. Similar experiments include Prospera in Honduras and Afropolitan in Africa.

These initiatives are often pitched as promoting freedom and innovation, but critics warn that they risk becoming corporate dictatorships. The heavy use of surveillance technologies, exclusionary policies, and a focus on controlling physical land raise concerns about the true motives behind these projects.

Figures like JD Vance, who openly discusses Yarvin's ideas and has ties to Thiel, further suggest a coordinated effort to reshape governance in America and beyond.

Trump has also floated the idea of "Freedom Cities" on federal land, framed as hubs of imagination and progress. Given his connections to figures like Thiel, there’s a notable overlap between this proposal and Silicon Valley’s vision for privately governed cities.

Silicon Valley’s influence on governance is expanding, and ideas once considered fringe are gaining traction. Some see this as a bold response to outdated systems, and others view it as a dangerous shift toward authoritarian corporate rule.

What are your thoughts on this ? Are we seeing the complete overhaul of the American political system ? And if yes, will "they" win ?

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37

u/coachlife Feb 04 '25 edited Feb 04 '25

Watch this video

The tech bros want to destroy the current US so they can rebuild it in their image.

Curtis Yarvin, a controversial political theorist, holds several radical ideas about the United States:

  1. Democracy has failed and should be replaced with a monarchy-like system led by a CEO-dictator.
  2. American institutions, including mainstream media and academia, are controlled by progressive groupthink and should be dismantled.
  3. The government bureaucracy needs a significant overhaul.
  4. The U.S. is governed by what he calls "the Cathedral," a collaboration between media, political elites, and special interests that needs to be overthrown.
  5. The country should be transformed into a patchwork of techno-monarchies run by authoritarian CEOs.
  6. An effective and efficient government, modeled after private companies like Apple, would better serve people's lives.
  7. The current democratic system is fragile and unable to address unpopular policies.
  8. Society needs a "hard reset" or "rebooting" rather than gradual political reforms.
  9. He advocates for "neo-cameralism," where the government is run like a corporation with shareholders electing an executive with total power.
  10. Yarvin supports authoritarianism on right-libertarian grounds, arguing that strong governments with clear hierarchies remain minimal and focused.

These ideas have gained traction among some influential figures in Silicon Valley and the incoming Trump administration

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u/Genoss01 Feb 04 '25

Raising concerns about their potential impact on American democracy, lol

They mean to end it

13

u/RucITYpUti Feb 04 '25

strong governments with clear hierarchies remain minimal and focused.

Since fucking when?

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u/AdmirableSelection81 Feb 04 '25

He takes his ideas from Singapore, probably the best run government in the world. So since quite a long time.

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u/Legulult Feb 04 '25

Singapore is a tiny island with close to 60x less the population with a completely different demographic makeup from the US. There are environmental, policy and cultural issues that are specifically a factor to the US that Singapore does not have to be affected by.

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u/AdmirableSelection81 Feb 04 '25

The problem Demographic in the united states is imbecile liberals who keep causing chaos with stupid bullshit like 'defund the police', incentivizing homelessness https://old.reddit.com/r/nyc/comments/1igyv88/waste_of_the_day_nyc_homeless_shelters_paid/max08qh/ , making education worse by lowering standards, wasting money to fund lesbian interpretive dance classes in afghanistan, etc.

If we didn't have liberals, we could be more like singapore.

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u/Legulult Feb 04 '25

I won't deny that 'defund the police' was a really stupid idea but many of the policies were not put into place or defund policies were outright undone.

https://old.reddit.com/r/nyc/comments/1igyv88/waste_of_the_day_nyc_homeless_shelters_paid/max08qh/

From a few google searches it looks like the Core Services Group that ran the shelter had their contracts terminated and the CEO is in a lawsuit with the state of New York. Is your argument that their shouldn't be funding going to nonprofit homeless shelters? Are you directing me to the comments made about art school? Just having a college educated degree opens the door for many professions that aren't just art.

wasting money to fund lesbian interpretive dance classes in afghanistan

I literally can't find this anywhere. Can you actually find a source for this claim?

If we didn't have liberals, we could be more like singapore.

Singapore has a form of universal healthcare and a public housing system which would be both considered liberal policies what do you even mean?

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u/AdmirableSelection81 Feb 04 '25

Can you actually find a source for this claim?

I was making a joke based on some of the insane bullshit that DOGE has found USAID sending money oversees for:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Gi-CptyXUAAwbjX?format=jpg&name=medium

My joke was tame compared to what Doge found.

From a few google searches it looks like the Core Services Group that ran the shelter had their contracts terminated and the CEO is in a lawsuit with the state of New York. Is your argument that their shouldn't be funding going to nonprofit homeless shelters? Are you directing me to the comments made about art school? Just having a college educated degree opens the door for many professions that aren't just art.

They aren't the only homeless NGO and i'm opposed to NGO's in totality.

Singapore has a form of universal healthcare and a public housing system which would be both considered liberal policies what do you even mean?

I'm actually against private ownership of land and Singapore's healthcare has a heavy free market component to it, however, there is no way in hell i would let the US government (city/state/fed) be involved as it would absolutely be guaranteed to fail/be corrupt. You can only have these types of programs with a strongman technocratic leader, like Singapore has. Most of the billionaires you are complaining about get their inspiration from Curtis Yarvin, and Curtis Yarvin got his inspiration from Singapore.

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u/Legulult Feb 04 '25

Hey man, how about you start linking actual sources if you want to have a discussion? Screenshots of what someone said are not acceptable. Most funding out there is appropriated by Congress through laws they pass, so how about doing a little research before repeating what someone else says?

Looking at the screenshot though your telling me "Yeah the issue is with the 70k play for US/Irish relations" but not the billions that Trump made from his memecoin? You know 94% of trump and Melania coins were bought by 40 people? This is just out in the open corruption. What about the 200 billion Elon added to his networth for only spending 250 million? Look how laughable all the money is in comparison.

I'm actually against private ownership of land

Arguing for libertarian beliefs while being against personal ownership—what’s the ultimate end goal of life? Work more to generate profits for the company? Once you're used up and no longer valuable, just left to rot in a closet-sized apartment? Meanwhile, your favorite technocrat is lounging on their billion-dollar yacht off their own private Hawaiian island.

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u/AdmirableSelection81 Feb 04 '25

Ok well here's the link:

https://www.whitehouse.gov/uncategorized/2025/02/at-usaid-waste-and-abuse-runs-deep/

Arguing for libertarian beliefs while being against personal ownership—what’s the ultimate end goal of life?

Many libertarians are against private ownership of land based on principle. It's called geo-libetarianism/georgism, basically the prinicple is you can only own things you created, but land was not created by anyone and people who monopolize land can basically enslave others just by being alive.

Looking at the screenshot though your telling me "Yeah the issue is with the 70k play for US/Irish relations" but not the billions that Trump made from his memecoin? You know 94% of trump and Melania coins were bought by 40 people? This is just out in the open corruption. What about the 200 billion Elon added to his networth for only spending 250 million? Look how laughable all the money is in comparison.

Sorry but what does Trump coin have anything to do with anything? If people want to waste their money on memecoins, that's a voluntary transaction. My taxes going to bullshit is forced upon me, i had 0 say. The people who lost a ton of money on Hawk Tuah coin deserved to lose it and it should be legal for those types of transactions to exist.

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u/Legulult Feb 04 '25

Did you even read what I said or linked? Trump coin was pumped up by 40 people for billions of dollars and then Trump sells his coins to make billions? It's bribery/corruption in plainsight. "Give me x amount of money and I'll do whatever you want. Buy my coin".

Hawk Tuah coin I agree is natural selection at it's finest.

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u/toomuchhellokitty Feb 04 '25

I love that he wants a system thats proven to both not be sustainable, but is regularly over thrown throughout history.

Their castles might be high tech, but their little individual feifdoms will be dominated by outside forces, by either other feifdoms, or like.... other countries. The October 7 attacks proved that a bunch of hum drum idiots can break through some of the best surveylance and military technology in the world.

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u/TotakekeSlider Feb 04 '25

An effective and efficient government, modeled after private companies like Apple, would better serve people's lives.

Ah yes, all those famous examples of corporations and checks notes absolute authority rulers serving the people's best interests. It's seriously like we're trying to go back 500 years. Do these people know what eventually happened to all those governments?

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u/ylangbango123 Feb 04 '25

The Congress and Supreme Court and Military should watch this. Musk et al are disrespecting them. Instead of making changes through the normal channels like lobbying Congress etc they are just doing what they want -- the nonelected immigrants who are making sci fi a reality. This is how small they think of the Constitution, and Democratic Processes. Seriously, do the Congress not have the confidence in their power.

They should be calling Musk and that Tech Bros to testify in Congress as to their intention and what they are doing right now.

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u/yanicka_hachez Feb 05 '25

They are in a cult and unless you are a billionaire, you are cannon fodder