The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy by Gil Durán 

The Nerd Reich book cover

Author Gil Durán 

Many thanks to Avid Reader Press, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for allowing me to read Gil Durán’s urgent, shocking, and timely book The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy. I recently heard about this book from Charles Pierce in one of his columns. While Pierce didn’t do a deep dive into the book, I really appreciate his incisive critiques of the current political atmosphere. Durán’s book aligns with Pierce’s views that often call out the inhumanity, physical and institutional violence, and grift wafting its stink from the White House. However, Durán examines how the rise of Silicon Valley has converged with the MAGA extremism that has ideologically captured the current GOP, allowing a moneyed contingent of disaffected misanthropes to accelerate the end of democracy in favor of something far more sinister and self-serving, in the worst-case scenario. However, the tech titans featured in this book are often portrayed as disruptive innovators and forward-thinking geniuses whose contributions to technology and calls for limited regulation are beneficial and necessary for growth and development. Yet, Durán unearths the dark reality of their goal of disruption is not for the greater good of all, but rather to hasten the collapse of traditional nation-states, which would allow those with the means to create their own city-states or nations, as documented in Davidson and Rees-Mogg’s The Sovereign Individual, a strange and apocalyptic book from the late 90s that claims that the end of nation-states is near with the decline of industrial economies giving way to information economies. This shift will allow a rich elite class to create their own enclaves in order to protect their wealth. As Durán documents, much of the predictions from Davidson and Rees-Mogg never came true, yet the book and others by the authors became a kind of libertarian text, along with Lord of the Rings. As strange as it is to think that a synthesis of new-age apocalyptic thinking with sci-fi-fantasy has significantly influenced the most powerful sector in the most powerful economy, this is the reality that has is continually foisted upon the public as Silicon Valley continues to eat up areas of government, politics, media, and entertainment that reaches most of the US population. Durán’s research and reporting not only documents the invasive reach of these elite geniuses, but he also explores the influences that have helped to shape and disrupt much of the traditional information outlets and infrastructure in American society over the last 25 years. I appreciated his overview of Davidson and Rees-Mogg, as well as the odd Curtis Yarvin, whose writings I was not aware of until the 2024 election was over. As Durán documents, Yarvin and Thiel helped to influence and current vice president JD Vance, and bankroll his post-Yale law school employment, which Durán documents his mediocre and rather non-existent accomplishments. What was both interesting and rather terrifying is the way that Thiel’s reach and money enabled him to engineer Vance from a bland ivy-league law school grad to a viable GOP candidate, who claimed Trump was “America’s Hitler”, and eventually to join Trump’s ticket. While Durán doesn’t get into the analytics of Vance’s transition from Trump critic to fanboy, he does show how Vance’s language and views shifted to more MAGAfied language and twitter takes during his Ohio senate campaign, which was incredibly expensive and bankrolled largely by Thiel.

In addition to examining the influences and politics of Silicon Valley, what was most reveling in Durán’s book was the profiles of the Silicon Valley broligarchy.  While I’ve heard of Peter Thiel, largely because of the Gawker trial, and Musk, I wasn’t as familiar with some of the other names like Balaji Srinivasan, Joe Lonsdale, and Marc Andreessen, and how their venture capital companies fund disruptive technologies and companies that largely lead to what Cory Doctorow calls “enshittification.” I’ve become acquainted with other members of the broligarchy through their roles in Trump’s second administration, like David Sacks, who has been a special advisor on topics like crypto and AI. Durán’s reporting and analysis helps to illuminate the convergence of these two seemingly disparate groups who share a disdain for most of humanity, government, and general empathy. In many ways, their views of engineering a world where free thinking is replaced by efficiency and algorithms was initially documented in Franklin Foer’s Word Without Mind, but Durán takes these ideas further to demonstrate how big tech’s insistence on disruption is tied to the esoteric and fantastical libertarian fever dreams of The Sovereign Individual and a disdain and resentment towards people. While Elon Musk’s transition from tech titan to sloppy solipsist has been writ large for all to witness, other misanthropic trolls like Balaji Srinivasan come off as pretty nihilistic and nasty in Durán’s book.

What was even more surprising to learn beyond the misanthropy and nihilism of big tech’s desire for destruction was their co-opting and perversion of religion. While Thiel’s recent pivot to apocalyptic preaching has received some credit, Durán cites other instances of a kind of syncretic tech-addled Christianity that evangelizes that the first shall be first. Big tech has developed their own sermon in the valley where the message is blessed are the selfish, for they shall purchase the land. Durán explores not only this pivot to a distorted view of Christianity, but also big tech’s attempts to build their own cities and enclaves, often under the premise of zones of economic opportunity, designated lands that avoid certain regulations and restrictions in order to speed up economic development. While Durán details failed attempts by big tech to purchase massive land packages and develop new cities, he also notes other instances of experiments abroad, such as a Próspera in Roatán, a small island off the coast of Honduras. I was stunned to learn about this, as I visited Roatán a few years ago, but I do remember a tour guide pointing out the private air strips. Próspera was championed by then president Juan Orlando Hernández, a convicted drug trafficker who was recently pardoned by President Trump. Durán documents the incredible reach of big tech and its entanglements with the second Trump administration to not only upend democratic institutions and enrich the president, but also to continue to facilitate these kinds of experimental cities that will ultimately benefit the broligarchy and most likely deepen inequality, especially in developing nations like Honduras. Durán notes that Trump’s proposal for “Freedom Cities”, a vague and nebulous plan to erect new cities on undeveloped federal ground, aligns with these sovereign cities like Próspera and other attempts big tech has engaged in to develop their own exclusive enclaves. In fact, Durán details Balaji Srinivasan’s Network State, which calls for a tech takeover of the city, dividing it between the Gray tribe (tech) and Blue tribe (democrats), where the Grays are able to buy out police and other enforcement through providing food and shelter. Although light on details, Trump’s “Freedom Cities” suggests that investors would develop new cities on federal land (rather than redevelop existing cities and properties), allowing a kind of exit and potential for a feudalism and autonomy that Durán claims big tech desires. Although Trump’s plan hasn’t really materialized, Durán draws the connections between big tech and Trump to identify the ways in which both have sought to disrupt and dismantle traditional nation-states and democracy to usher in an age of fight and feudalism. Durán further untangles the sordid entanglements of big tech and Trump through the latter’s pivot to crypto, which is another marker of big tech’s attempts to disrupt traditional economies. Durán’s explanation of how crypto and bitcoin have evolved over the years to emerge as the president’s favorite scam is clear. He explores the ways that early online payment processors like paypal, where Musk and Thiel made their mark in tech, likely developed as a means to provide an alternative to traditional currency, another element that was discussed in The Sovereign Individual that would likely hasten the demise of democracy and nation states. Although crypto was touted as a means for decentralization and possibly avoidance of financial regulations and taxes, the president has recognized its power as a means to make money from his followers, and Durán’s reporting explores the intersection of big tech, crypto cons like FTX, and the president’s increasing wealth and deregulation and pardoning that has benefitted and awarded crypto-criminals who have gone on to become major contributors to Trump’s World Liberty Financial. It’s a shocking network that, according to Durán’s reporting, has largely been facilitated by the libertarian fever dreams started in chat rooms and group texts, that eventually morphed into the Network State Conferences and other gatherings to promote the ideas from The Sovereign Individual.

Although big tech has taken considerable action to accelerate the end of the nation-state, Durán’s book ends with some important reminders and assurances that the end is not guaranteed. He reminds readers about the strength in numbers and how rejection of the pessimism and nihilism of big tech and the broligarchy can prevent their final solution for American society. He cites instances of failed Network States in California and other regions to show how towns and communities can band together to reject this kind of takeover, while also offering some additional practical advice for individuals and groups to be cautious and concerned about the overreach of big tech in our lives. While this book is both eye-opening and disheartening at times, it’s also an important reminder to recognize the tradeoffs we sometimes make when we welcome in efficiency and convenience that technology and social media provide. Durán’s The Nerd Reich is an important and urgent book to read to not only learn about the intersection of big tech and politics, but also their nihilistic and misanthropic views of society, and their goals of creating a kind of tech-feudalism that would arise after the collapse of democracy. It’s a shocking revelation, but also important to learn more about as big tech continues to insert its reach into our lives. Highly recommended!

The Role of Manipulation in our Lives

 Manipulation: What It Is, Why It's Bad, What To Do About It by Cass R. Sunstein

Manipulation book cover

Author and scholar Cass R. Sunstein

Many thanks to Cambridge University Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of esteemed Harvard scholar and writer Cass R. Sunstein’s new and timely book Manipulation: What It Is, Why It’s Bad, What To Do About It. Sunstein, who has worked examined legal and behavioral issues in other books, examines all of the ways that we encounter manipulation in our daily lives. I found the book to be fascinating since manipulative means often attract our emotions, or our system 1 level of responding, which don’t allow much time for reflection or consideration about the implications or ramifications of any responses. According to Sunstein, this is the primary goal of manipulators and why manipulation is problematic in most cases. According to Sunstein, manipulation does not consider our agency or reflective ability. It merely assumes that we are likely to emotionally respond without any thought or consideration to consequences. Furthermore, many manipulators use deceitful or bad faith tactics that also trigger our System 1 responses, and don’t allow for much research or further learning about the topic. As a result, manipulators tend to have a dim view of those they seek to manipulate, assuming they will not seek out additional information or challenge their claims. Sunstein uses many examples in various fields including work, advertising, technology, and politics, among others. I found these examples to be revealing and compelling.

I appreciated Sunstein’s approach to this topic. It’s one that he’s spent time before working on, specifically with nudging and behavior, a topic he co-authored a book with Nobel winning economist Richard Thaler, and decision making and judgement, another topic he co-authored a book with another Nobel laureate, Daniel Kahneman. Sunstein brings a wealth of knowledge and experience with this topic, and aptly defines manipulation not only with examples and subtypes, but also by differentiating the topic from other forms of deceptive practice including lying and coercion. With coercion specifically, Sunstein argues that coercion is often thought of as more forceful than manipulation, but actually people have a choice with coercion. There is often a consequence to follow, and the severity of the consequence often informs people’s decisions to comply with the coercion. This is not the same case with manipulation, which seeks to appeal more to our emotions, or system 1 responses, rendering us unlikely to question or challenge the information. Thus, with manipulation, the approach is to remove choice and thinking, taking away our agency and dignity, and subjecting us to the desires of the manipulator. Nevertheless, Sunstein presents the challenges to regulating manipulation since it is a form of speech and outlawing it would, in turn, become not only difficult, but would also take away other freedoms of expression.

One of the points I found most fascinating was how often we encounter manipulation, but with a more positive, or as Sunstein mentions, a welfarist approach. Although Sunstein spends time exploring the ways that various approaches to manipulation occur and drain time and money from us, he also notes that frequently governments and public health campaigns apply manipulative methods to promote positive health or at least deter behaviors that are unhealthy. While advertising companies in the past have used manipulation to promote cigarettes and alcohol, often showing happy, healthy, and young people enjoying themselves, more recent attempts to deter smoking and excessive drinking have aimed to use manipulative practices to deter smoking. The examples of anti-smoking campaigns are particularly graphic but use manipulation for a good. Sunstein explains why these examples would make outlawing manipulation problematic.  The other interesting aspect of manipulation is the different types of manipulation, and how technology is factoring into making manipulation much easier today. One form of manipulation that Sunstein discusses is sludge, which is basically like onerous bureaucratic impediments that are a means to slow people down to limit them from accessing any resources. While reading this, I thought about the show Nathan For You, and one episode where Nathan develops a rebate plan to boost a gas station’s business. He makes the process of obtaining the rebate so difficult and time consuming that most of the applicants drop out. Nathan applies an approach that Sunstein explores as manipulative that many other businesses, organizations, and governments employ to deter access to resources and goods.  

 

Sunstein notes that FAFSA, the federal student aid program’s application was often viewed as a type of sludge, making it difficult for students to access aid, assuming that many would give up. Sunstein documents other examples of sludge in the world, and how it impacts our lives. Other examples are about ending free trials, and how challenging it can be to sometimes escape any kind of free trial without taking an incredible amount of time and effort. He cites examples of Serious XM radio, and how cancelling a subscription often involves talking to a live human, which can involve waiting for a lengthy time on the phone. I didn’t realize that the Biden administration actually enacted legislation to counter these kinds of practices, recognizing that sludge costs people time and money, and as a result, people need easier methods to cancel subscriptions and not be the targets of deceptive manipulation.

The most compelling cases, on the other hand, dealt with technology and how technology enables manipulators to employ new and more dangerous forms of manipulation. He cites examples of egregious  manipulation like the Trump campaign’s reelection scheme to opt donors into recurring payments, assuming that they would not read the fine print or check their accounts to see the money they lost. Maybe it’s not surprising, but it demonstrates how Sunstein’s idea that manipulators devalue their targets and don’t consider their agency and dignity. Sunstein also touches on deep fakes and how these forms of manipulated video (and audio) can be so compelling that they don’t allow us to access our System 2 processing, where we consider and reflect on the information we are taking in. This is especially important as younger children are encountering more and more video media, and are not always taught to question or consider what they encounter online. Furthermore, with the current administration employing these kinds of manipulative practices, it’s more important that people are made aware of them and develop tools and practices to counter and question the information that’s being spewed on a regular basis. Sunstein ends the book by examining AI, and noting how AI can be used for both manipulative practices, but also as a tool to learn more about options and choice engines. I’m glad to see that he doesn’t completely dismiss AI as manipulative, but recognizes that any kind of algorithm may have the potential to produce biased results that might target our system 1 responses. Nevertheless, he also notes that AI has the potential to quickly scan through information that would take most humans hours and hours, enabling them to save more time and focus to make better informed decisions, ultimately to prevent manipulation.

Although the book is important and fascinating, it is a little challenging to read, and I know that I will need to revisit the topics. Manipulation has ideas and examples that affect our lives in different respects from advertising and large purchases, to retirement planning and government policies. Although the book may not be for everyone, Sunstein present clear and relevant examples that highlight the various ways that manipulation is used to impact behavior. While not always bad, manipulation does entail practices that seek to bypass rational decision-making and have us react. Although this is sometimes necessary in promoting public health, we can also see how it is used for other ends. Thus, this is an important read with significant implications. This book has made me more conscious of the information and media I encounter, and how I can carefully consider it before responding or reacting.