Comment by andsoitis
6 days ago
Better to hear from him directly than filtered, so worth watching the interview with the NYT's Ross Douthat, in which Thiel frames what he means by the Antichrist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV7YgnPUxcU
Without spoiling too much, it is related to civilizational stagnation, and that our lack of progress risks catastrophic outcomes.
> lack of progress risks catastrophic outcomes.
Well in case of fighting climate change, he is right, Id say?
Ross Douthat is author of ''The Decadent Society: How We Became the Victims of Our Own Success'', which, when read along with ''Amusing Ourselves To Death'' by Neil Postman, might put a lump in your throat in the face of today's rampantly compulsive tech broligarchs and their enshittification of society.
Palantir turning into a movie villain caricature on the internet through breathless journalism is a great example of "Amusing Ourselves To Death". Journalists turned it into a great story that sounds straight out of a thriller TV show. But trying to spin unchecked growth in government power, a lack of accountability, and mindless consumerism as some sort of side effect of the new cabal of tech-bro elites rather than a persistent drumbeat that existed well before that is an unhelpful distraction that only makes people feel helpless.
Nobody sells books by saying that our issues are a result of general neglect by society as a whole, only movie villains push numbers.
Consider that the current vice president has agreed with Curtis Yarvin saying things like we need to get over our dictator phobia and replace the government. I don't think that can be hand-waved as business as usual. The next phase in the persistent drumbeat, maybe, but it's a big step.
You should probably come out of your comphy cave.
Centralization of power isn’t a narrative it’s an accelerating reality.
I am having a hard time thinking of a mode of power that isn’t far more centralized today than it was just 2, 4, 6, 8, … years ago.
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I would agree with you if it weren't proven fact that Thiel is a kingmaker - he created the current JD Vance turning him from being Anti-Trump ("I believe he is a bad man") to vice president with a Girardian mission in just 8 years. He is a demagogue and dangerous.
unchecked growth in government power
Like what we saw in Minneapolis, amirite?
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I watched this some time ago. Is it just me, or is Ross' permanent and verbose interruptions of Thiel's thoughts grating? If you want an interview where you really get to listen to Thiel's thoughts fully expressed, I can recommend his interview with Jordan Peterson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=918qslcfwfY.
Bonus content: witchcraft is a lost art and we have become feminised.