It’s been referred to in many different ways – some glib, some packing a remarkably worrying punch. “The Dark Enlightenment”, “The Neo-Reactionary Movement” and “The Nerd Reich” are a mere handful of monikers applied to a concerning reality of 21st century life; that of an elite web of ultrawealthy and ultrapowerful tech billionaires, each possessing a never-before-seen influence on western political discourse.
Individuals like Elon Musk, Marc Andreessen and Peter Thiel – amongst others including Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos – are using political influence gained via wealthy tech companies to push the USA away from democracy, and further down alleyways resembling monarchistic kingmaking against a backdrop of unrestrained capitalism.
While this isn’t just happening in the USA, American democracy has long been a relatively fragile beast, albeit one with unrivalled global influence and power. The age of Donald Trump has lit a rocket beneath the embracing of these tech moguls by the most powerful people on the planet, and from deep within the corridors of power.
The age of the philanthropic, socially-conscious UHNW is under threat and sentiment against the wealthier classes has scarcely been more fractured. It isn’t hard to see why. The coalition between the extreme far right and the leaders of all-encompassing tech platforms has created a snowball effect; an emboldening of what might once have been seen as eccentricity or out-of-touch thinking within the realm of the super-rich. These ultra-wealthy stewards of multinational corporations are no longer sitting in the shadows or pursuing discretion, anonymity and legacy as their forebears once did. They’re seeking to tear down the way countries work, alter the establishment in their favour, and rebuild governments from the ground up.
The dark side of meritocracy
There’s nothing fundamentally wrong with meritocracy, or indeed with its crystallisation into what became known as the ‘American Dream’. This American Dream teaches that – within the USA, or countries aligned with its values – anybody can succeed, no matter where in life they began. With hard work, all things are possible; it’s a belief structure drummed into young adults before they even find their political alignments.
The problem arises from other core aspects of US values: the glorification of success and the fetishisation of free speech. These twin exaggerations lead people to idolise UHNW individuals like Musk and Bezos, who have unquestionably ‘made it’ financially, and also relish in speaking without filter or regard to the impact of their words. When people like this begin to push an ultra-conservative agenda, or even flirt with extremist politics, critical thinking among both their wealth bracket peers and the public becomes a vital resource.
After all, the outrage towards many of Musk’s actions is more than justified. It often seems like he’s mocking not only the public, but also his fellow members of the UHNW and his newfound position of power; the salute given at the end of Trump’s inauguration speech (supposedly a reference to the ‘Spartan’ salute from the movie 300) was delivered with full awareness of how it would be received in today’s political climate. One must only come to the conclusion that he simply doesn’t care.
There’s a real danger in this. Musk is widely listed as the richest individual in the world, possessing a wealth far greater than most monarchs and other rulers. However, monarchs and moguls alike generally learned over time that their wealth and power brought responsibilities and a need for discretion, quietude and a unique sense of humility. By delivering such gestures and allowing his reckless inner monologue to speak to the world via his X platform, Musk is making such behaviour seem acceptable to the millions who follow and admire him. Likewise, by openly supporting far-right movements and fringe extremist groups in Europe, Musk is causing the paradigm to shift… and whole countries are shifting with him, following his lead without paying attention to the details, the subtext, or the hard-learned lessons of history.
Is the USA becoming an oligarchy?
Elon Musk and his peers exemplify the reality that billionaire influence isn’t always just about wealth, but about shaping ideologies and potentially influencing democratic elections. Musk, especially with his increasing alignment to the far right, is influencing the world around him.
There’s an undeniable tech angle to this: if Musk gained his wealth through fashion (as with Bernard Arnault of LVMH’s $140 billion fortune) or textiles (as with Warren Buffett’s equally vast legacy), it’s likely the story would be radically different. However, Arnault and Buffett aside, most lists of the top ten wealthiest individuals on Earth are made up entirely of tech company founders and CEOs. These are people who don’t merely own companies – they own and control the platforms that shape mass communication, news and public discourse. They wield an unfathomable amount of power, and have more sway in the shaping of the political landscape than our elected officials do.
Is this the making of an oligarchy? Several high-profile critics believe it is. When billionaires – and especially tech billionaires like Musk and Zuckerberg – hold an unprecedented amount of power over politics, communications and the economy, they have the ability to shape them as they see fit. When those same people possess both economic dominance and the ability to censor or promote the information they want to be hidden or seen, democracy grows exponentially weaker. The fact that this can be exercised under the pretence of ‘free speech’ might make it uniquely American in approach, but it’s something that has a clear knock-on effect for the world as a whole.
The future of political discourse is in the hands of tech billionaires with their own agendas, where does that leave everybody else?
