Technofascism

This piece came in swinging: it argues that some of tech’s richest and loudest figures, especially Peter Thiel, aren’t just chasing money or gadgets — they’re backing a worldview that treats democracy like slow, annoying software. The article links Thiel to anti-democratic thinkers, monopoly-style business ideas, and a broader elite tech belief system sometimes called TESCREAL — basically a cluster of futuristic philosophies about saving humanity that critics say can become an excuse to ignore regular people right now.

But the real fireworks were in the comments. Some readers basically shrugged and said, welcome to capitalism, babe. One person called the whole thing a “yawn,” arguing this marriage of wealth and political power is ancient history, not some shocking new Silicon Valley twist. Another said tech is just an amplifier: business and democracy have been side-eyeing each other forever, and tech simply makes the tension louder.

Then came the classic internet knife-fight over details. One commenter flat-out snapped, “Way to not understand what Thiel meant,” defending the infamous “competition is for losers” line and accusing the article of missing the point. Another pushed back on linking Hindu nationalism to this tech ideology, saying that movement is far older and bigger than Bay Area billionaire brainworms. So yes, the article tried to expose a terrifying political trend — and the crowd responded with a mix of grim agreement, nitpicking, eye-rolling, and ‘actually…’ energy. The vibe? Half constitutional crisis, half comment-section cage match.