Steve Bannon on Elon Musk and the Battle for Trump’s Ear
Ross Douthat sits down with Steve Bannon to discuss the many right-wing factions vying for dominance in the Trump administration. He gives very little push-back on Bannon’s euphemistic ‘populist nationalism’ where he is given free-reign.
His hot-take is that the tech oligarchs, the titans of capital, are ‘left wing’, is hilarious if it wasn’t so dire. Douthat sits and lets Bannon paint his narrative as being a great outsider.
As an insight to where the USA is it’s worth watching just to see liberal America rollover…
Bannon vs the Broligarchs is riveting viewing and very revealing. Bannon could be right about the tech oligarchs and their feudalism business model. But is opposing them just tech-Luddism? We’ve seen that kind of thing before when industrialisation was gaining ground and know that it leads to nostalgic oblivion. Bannon does not seem to have the inside track with the Orange Cockwomble in the same way he did in Trump 1.0 because he’s not now seen as a “winner” – whereas the tech bros are. Added to which they are obscenely wealthy which attracts Trump like shit attracts flies. My inner historian is reminded of what Hitler, once securely in power, did to Ernst Röhm and the SA stormtroopers in summer 1934.
Remind me (and readers) what Hitler did to Ernst Röhm Andrew?
Bannon’s characterisation of Musk & Co as ‘left’ is absurd. They are hypercapitalists and in some cases fascists. That Bannon does not recognise this, and that the interviewer lets him away with this is revealing, and appalling.
It was the “Night of the Long Knives” extermination of the whole faction starting with the SA’s leadership.
Thanks
Opposing the techno-feudalists is not techno-Luddism. Thiel & Bezos dream of making themselves immortal, like characters in a pulp sci-fi nove. Opposing these people is a rational act.
I didn’t say it was, agree with you absolutely
You didn’t , Andrew asking the question trigged a WTAF moment . If anyone is in any doubt of Thiel & Co’s amorality, just look at his response to being questioned about Palantir’s activities in Israel.
Yes, I saw that.
Palantir tech is helping Israel develop “Lavender” and “Where’s Daddy” AI
For anyone interested this is about Thiel’s connections to the Lavender systems we covered here:
https://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2024/04/05/lavender-the-first-ai-genocide-device/
I concur about Thiel & Co’s agenda and its danger. I asked the rhetorical question to see what people thought. “Luddism” is a blunt instrument that has its own reactionary historical baggage. We should take the best of the tech for progressive purposes and isolate the oligarchs who, as you say, have adolescent male fantasies about eternal life on Mars with the rest of us back on earth as subsistence tech serfs. The trouble is the tech bros are the owners and politicians are in awe of them.
Step one Andrew, is to find politicians willing to pick up Teddy Roosevelt’s big anti-trust stick and beat the Techbros with it. These guys are way more dangerous than the late 19thC trusts. Breaking them up would also lead to better tech.
Yes, TR’s “big stick” approach could work. He had some other less appealing imperialistic/racist characterises that were part and parcel of his age, but he certainly took on the Trusts/monopolies of his day and bested them. The Democrats need to find their TR (he was a Republican of course). People will respond to that sort of socially progressive “disruption” if they can see benefits that they can relate to personally. Lesson for left of centre parties generally there.
There is. Been dipping in and out of a Tech Conference today, a ‘founder’ was arguing that new entrants should pay for the privilege of gaining work experience, in case you are wondering how far the techno-serf bit of techno-feudalism is spreading.