I remember years ago learning about the Russian oligarchs, the fabulously wealthy crowd allowed to basically do whatever they want as long as they support Vladimir Putin. A few years later we started hearing about American oligarchs, but at the time I thought the label was more metaphorical than literal. After all, we had laws and so forth…
Well, that was then and this now.
Not only is a group of American tech multi-billionaires now plundering the U.S. economy, but they are doing so for more than economic purposes. More sinister is what they are really after: not just economic, but societal change. They’re committed to using their vast economic resources to essentially rewrite the American contract. They find democracy itself inconvenient to their long term economic goals, which is why they support Trump’s agenda to basically destroy American democracy and turn it into something else. It should be replaced, in their view, by a corporate authoritarianism that takes a sledgehammer to our Constitutional, rules-based order.
Of the people, by the people, for the people? Oh, silly you. How quaint that you believe in all that.
If you ever wonder who exactly this gang is comprised of - what they’re doing and what their goals are - then you’ll be interested in Jacob Silverman’s book, GILDED RAGE: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley. It’s a fascinating and easy read, though at one point I honestly stopped for a moment and thought I might get sick. Certain books are essential reading for those seeking to understand what the hell is going on these days. I would consider this book one of them and I admire Silverman for writing it.
At times like this, reading a book can be a revolutionary act. We should always remember that information is power.
Silverman is an independent journalist living in New York. He is the co-author of the New York Times best seller Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud, and the author of Terms of Service: Social Media and the Price of Constant Connection. Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley is his latest book.
More about Gilded Rage: https://linktr.ee/gildedrage
