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GMAIL 10 26

The Collapse Of A Billionaire Tech Cult

Taylor Lorenz

Oct 14

Some of Silicon Valley’s wealthiest tech elites have a radical new dream to abandon modern democracy completely and build their own sovereign nation. A millionaire VC named Balaji Srinivasan is the leader of this new movement and he calls it the "Network State".

In this episode of my podcast, I speak with freelance journalist Sam Venis about his firsthand reporting at Balaji's Network School. We discuss what really went down at Balaji’s experimental new government pop up set up inside Forest City, a massive, abandoned ghost city in Malaysia. From aggressive NDAs and toxic black mold to clashes with local governments and authoritarian power trips, Sam breaks down his firsthand investigation into tech’s most bizarre and dangerous exit strategy.

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CHAPTER 3 EXIT Balaji Srinivasan and the Network State

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a lightly repackaged version of Yarvin’s “patchwork” idea for replacing democracies with corporate-controlled governments. All of this had deep roots in decades of extreme libertarian and accelerationist thinking, and other tech figures had already begun to float similar trial balloons. In May 2013, Google cofounder Larry Page suggested carving out part of the world as a zone where tech companies could operate without regulations. “There are many exciting things you could do that are illegal or not allowed by regulation… but maybe we can set aside part of the world,” he said during a question-and-answer session at a Google conference. (In a 2009 TED Talk, Stanford economist Paul Romer suggested the creation of “charter cities”—experimental urban zones in developing countries—as a way to stimulate economic growth and alleviate poverty. Critics called it “colonialism” and Yarvin called Romer a “plagiarist.”) Just a few days before Srinivasan’s speech, Marc Andreessen had predicted an explosion of new countries in the twenty-first century.

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TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2017 - Day 3 flickr photo by TechCrunch shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license

I remember a time not that long ago when tech was regarded as a gateway to a better, more equitable future. And those tech titans were lauded as heroes… geniuses who would help us usher in this better, cleaner, more prosperous era.

Yeah, that didn't happen. Instead we have a new generation of robber barons who have decided they are smarter than everyone else; they are certain that, because they have a successful tech company, they are generational geniuses who have killer ideas in every area.

Among the most dangerous credos I've heard is from Balaji Srinivasan, who is profiled in *The New Republic*:

Balaji, a 43-year-old Long Island native who goes by his first name, has a solid Valley pedigree: He earned multiple degrees from Stanford University, founded multiple startups, became a partner at Andreessen-Horowitz and then served as chief technology officer at Coinbase.

So far pretty normal. Then things… take a turn:

He is also the leader of a cultish and increasingly strident neo-reactionary tech political movement that sees American democracy as an enemy.

He's so smart he has a better idea than democracy! Did Jefferson or Madison or Adams ever invest in Bitcoin? No! Idiots all! Did Ben Franklin ever start a cloud based service? No! The moron hung a key on his kite and went into a lightning storm.

Let's see where Genius Balaji hopes to take us:

Balaji then revealed his shocking ideas for a tech-governed city where citizens loyal to tech companies would form a new political tribe clad in gray t-shirts. "And if you see another Gray on the street … you do the nod," he said…. "You're a fellow Gray."

Hmm. I guess Gray is the new Brown. Let's see what else Genius Balaji is pitching:

Everyone would be welcome at the Gray Pride march—everyone, that is, except the Blues. Srinivasan defines the Blue political tribe as the liberal voters he implies are responsible for the city's problems. Blues will be banned from the Gray-controlled zones, said Balaji, unlike Republicans ("Reds").

"Reds should be welcomed there, and people should wear their tribal colors…" said Srinivasan… "No Blues should be welcomed there."

I urge you to read the whole thing — the section on co-opting the police into paramilitary storm troopers is particularly terrifying.

One question: did this guy not play *Bioshock*?

Previously:Venture capitalist suggested getting far-right audiences to harass vulnerable journalists

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Conspiracies about outside forces funding and orchestrating the university protests at Columbia and NYU have taken hold online, primarily on X.

Davis calls Trump criminal trial “lawfare” and threatens “the most severe legal, political and financial consequences come January 20, 2025.”

A federal judge denied an appeal by former Rowan County clerk Kim Davis. Davis made national headlines when she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples while acting as Rowan County clerk in 2015.

To fully grasp the current situation in San Francisco, where venture capitalists are trying to take control of City Hall, you must listen to Balaji Srinivasan. Before you do, steel yourself for what’s to come: A normal person could easily mistake his rambling train wrecks of thought for a crackpot’s ravings, but influential Silicon Valley billionaires regard him as a genius.