Vance’s rise reflects the power of moneyed tech leaders who unapologetically assert principles of techno-libertarianism, or the idea that technology firms should be free from most government intervention - In selecting Vance, Trump has successfully courted support from some of the biggest money there is. But the new fault lines in Silicon Valley politics have become harder to predict.
Vance is the one to watch. Vance will go all out to help advance Musk's and Peter Thiel, and others, agenda
During his rapid rise, he has emerged as an ardent and effective defender of Trump, putting an intellectual gloss on the former president's raw MAGA populism. But Vance may never have been in serious consideration for the No. 2 spot on the ticket had he not won elective office in a major Rust Belt state in the first place.
And big donors, particularly from the tech sector, provided the rocket fuel he needed to advance in electoral politics. Vance's most prominent benefactor over the years is Peter Thiel, the iconoclastic tech pioneer and investor.
it's the relationship with Thiel that has been the most consequential for Vance. Their personal and financial ties formed long before Vance formally entered politics.
Thiel's philosophy has been described as "techno-libertarian," but critics say it veers toward authoritarianism, and even fascism (he wrote in an article in a libertarian journal in 2009, "I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible").
https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-silicon-valley/what-is-it-about-peter-thiel
"But another way to achieve libertarian goals is simply to build a more libertarian community or institution “from scratch,” as it were. Although it may sound utopian, individuals and groups have actually done this, as, for example, in the American Revolution"
The Education of a Libertarian
Peter Thiel • April 13, 2009 •
https://www.cato-unbound.org/2009/04/13/peter-thiel/education-libertarian/
Had to read that again 😆
libertarian journal in 2009
'There are at least two ways to try to achieve libertarian goals. One is to try to influence current public policy. This is the usual focus of the Cato Institute. Such work involves patiently educating and convincing voters, elected officials, judges, and regulators as we go. It’s time-consuming and incremental, and, honestly, not as successful as we might like"
https://www.cato-unbound.org/issues/april-2009/scratch-libertarian-institutions-communities/