Seems like any time posts about Thiel and a few other billionaires gain traction it flies off the front page quickly.
Peter Thiel's Apocalyptic Worldview Is a Dangerous Fantasy
151–160 of 281 posts
Re: Peter Thiel's Apocalyptic Worldview Is a Dangerous Fantasy
#152Maybe slightly off topic to the article, but I don't really care what Peter Thiel has to say. I do think we need to collectively think about how to not give these people a microphone. It's one thing to have concentrated wealth. It's a very different thing to have concentrated wealth and people's attention. I think that's a much more interesting discussion :).
On the other hand, nothing is quite as liberating as finding out that being batshit insane doesn't automatically disqualify you from tremendous economic success.
> finding out that being batshit insane doesn't automatically disqualify you from tremendous economic success
Nothing really disqualifies you from tremendous economic success because inheritance exists.
Re: Peter Thiel's Apocalyptic Worldview Is a Dangerous Fantasy
#153Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's not been long dead. There's a communist who's just been elected to Mayer of New York.
He’s a socialist. Painting all socialism as “evil communism” is reductive and dishonest.
Mamdani has said that (1) they'll open government-run stores, and (2) the government will seize buildings from bad landlords.
My family is from a communist country and I can assure you, that is communistic.
Re: Peter Thiel's Apocalyptic Worldview Is a Dangerous Fantasy
#154Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes we can actually. I think it has something to do with Silicon Valley's obsession with money. To SV-people, billionaires are like gods. They are worshipped and invited to all the events worth going to (meetups, hackathons, etc.). Everyone wants to be like them. And it seems to me to be a geographical problem too. In NYC, billionaires are like supervillains. Nobody particularly likes them (outside of select finance…
> In NYC, billionaires are like supervillains. This is absurd to the point of being cartoonish. No one treats billionaires like supervillains. How many billionaires are in supermax prisons right now in New York? > Nobody particularly likes them This is not relevant, regardless of whether it’s true. A ton of people hate Thiel and Trump. Disliking a billionaire doesn’t take away their power.
> This is absurd to the point of being cartoonish. No one treats billionaires like supervillains. How many billionaires are in supermax prisons right now in New York?
"Supervillains" are comic book entities who are rarely in prison
Re: Peter Thiel's Apocalyptic Worldview Is a Dangerous Fantasy
#155Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes we can actually. I think it has something to do with Silicon Valley's obsession with money. To SV-people, billionaires are like gods. They are worshipped and invited to all the events worth going to (meetups, hackathons, etc.). Everyone wants to be like them. And it seems to me to be a geographical problem too. In NYC, billionaires are like supervillains. Nobody particularly likes them (outside of select finance…
> In NYC, billionaires are like supervillains. This is absurd to the point of being cartoonish. No one treats billionaires like supervillains. How many billionaires are in supermax prisons right now in New York? > Nobody particularly likes them This is not relevant, regardless of whether it’s true. A ton of people hate Thiel and Trump. Disliking a billionaire doesn’t take away their power.
In cartoons, supervillains are rarely in prison either, even though that's where they belong.
Re: Peter Thiel's Apocalyptic Worldview Is a Dangerous Fantasy
#156To me this piece just looks like someone who hates wealth and willfully misunderstands metaphors.
I recommend to read the source:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/10/peter-thiel-...
Re: Peter Thiel's Apocalyptic Worldview Is a Dangerous Fantasy
#157Earlier quoted context omitted.
> “collectively figure out how to take away the microphone” Taking away the microphone is not censorship. We're not talking about taking away Thiel's right to speech, we're talking about taking away undue amplification of Thiel's speech. You are allowed to stand on a soapbox and shout your politics. But if you amplify your speech on that soapbox you're given a little bit of slack because of "free speech" but then are…
The soapbox-vs-megaphone analogy falls apart fast. Name me one serious, intellectually honest critic of Thiel—say, Malcolm Harris, Evgeny Morozov, Shoshana Zuboff, Mariana Mazzucato, or even random Substackers with 100k+ followers who’s struggling to be heard because Thiel bought all the megaphones. They all have huge platforms, book deals, TED-level reach, or blue-check amplification. The “undue amplification” crowd…
Thiel owns Vance. That's the undue level of influenece that should be illegal via anti-corruption laws.
Re: Peter Thiel's Apocalyptic Worldview Is a Dangerous Fantasy
#158Left wing magazine discovers metaphor; confuses it for Nazism
Do you mean cause Thiel says he based the core of his beliefs on Schmitts teachings, a fervent nazi? Don't get the connection otherwise.
Re: Peter Thiel's Apocalyptic Worldview Is a Dangerous Fantasy
#159I would have never believed it 10 years ago. I actually think there is a high probability the world will be ended, not by war or natural disaster, but by an honest to god trillionaire super villain. The ultra wealthy are an actual existential threat to humanity. No one can be trusted with that much money and power.
I fact I think exactly the opposite observing how the nations are ruling their people.
Vague whataboutisms aside, at least governments can be changed more easily than waiting for a single individual to die off or be hanged/guillotined.
Re: Peter Thiel's Apocalyptic Worldview Is a Dangerous Fantasy
#160Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is the article's second sentence: "Thiel’s lurid, apocalyptic view of world politics may be ludicrous or even deranged, but his wealth and power mean that we can’t afford to ignore it."
Yes we can actually. I think it has something to do with Silicon Valley's obsession with money. To SV-people, billionaires are like gods. They are worshipped and invited to all the events worth going to (meetups, hackathons, etc.). Everyone wants to be like them. And it seems to me to be a geographical problem too. In NYC, billionaires are like supervillains. Nobody particularly likes them (outside of select finance…
> In NYC, billionaires are like supervillains. Nobody particularly likes them (outside of select finance bros), and people openly express disdain for them and their greed.
I think you may be confusing 'power' or 'impact' with wealth in this take.
Paul Graham wrote about this in a blog post [1].
In NYC, being rich is cool, even if you just inherited it all. Having lived 12 years in NYC, I agree wholeheartedly. It's what everyone aspires to have; the Tribeca loft and the Patek watch.
In SF, PG wrote that nobody cares that you inherited a bunch of wealth unless they're a real estate agent. I think this is true — flashy wealth isn't impressive in SV/SF. Impact and power and the scope of what you've built and created is what's impressive, for better or worse. (I just moved to SF for this reason).