The Nerd Reich”: Author Gil Durán on Big Tech Fascism, Peter Thiel, JD Vance & the War on Democracy

https://www.democracynow.org/2026/8/17/gil_duran_nerd_reich

A new book by longtime Bay Area journalist Gil Durán investigates “tech fascism” and its mounting influence on U.S. politics. The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy follows the rise of Vice President JD Vance, the former venture capitalist whose “outsider” campaign for Senate was bankrolled by the billionaire co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, Peter Thiel. Durán traces the ideological lineage of the current Trump administration back from Vance to Thiel and the far-right-wing monarchist Curtis Yarvin, whose “right-libertarian” political theory has long made the rounds among Silicon Valley elite. “These guys were never libertarians,” says Durán. “Now that they are the government, we see their true face: They’re fascists, and they’re authoritarians.”

154 points · 9 comments · view on lemmy.world

9 Comments

grue@lemmy.world · 20 pts · 22d (6 replies)

Robber-baron assholes aren't "nerds" just because the industry their business operates in is computer tech.

Zaktor@sopuli.xyz · 16 pts · 22d (2 replies)

I hate that people treat them like they're awkward smart guys who are good with computers and don't like suits. They're just cosplayers with a checkbook riding on the work of actual nerds.

CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 22d (1 reply)

Yes, this. As an actual "tech bro", I'm annoyed that these assholes tend to have MBAs or at least MBA-brain, and are just basically the same set of people that slide in out of corporate boardroom chairs and VC firms, etc....these guys are not "nerds". They might have programmed or done something in IT, at one point. That is not their role now.

Zaktor@sopuli.xyz · 6 pts · 22d

And those that did something tech related almost always did nothing impressive. The Google founders are about the only tech bros that actually did something worthy of being called a techie.

rockerface@lemmy.cafe · 6 pts · 22d

On behalf of all fellow nerds, I would like to disown those ghouls

AlteredEgo@lemmy.ml · 2 pts · 21d

They are not robber barons or neoliberals:

The initial founding vision was that we were going to use technology to change the whole world and basically overturn the monetary system of the world… the basic idea was that we could never win an election on getting certain things because we were in such a small minority… But maybe you could actually unilaterally change the world—without having to constantly convince people and beg people and plead with people who were never going to agree with you—through technological means… technology is this incredible alternative to politics.

—Peter Thiel, 2010

compostgoblin@piefed.blahaj.zone · 1 pts · 16d

Sure, it’s not totally accurate, but it does get the point across and make for a very compelling title

CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world · 9 pts · 22d

Curtis Yarvin is a piece of shit and so are the authors of things like Unhumans and The Sovereign Individual.

800XL@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 20d

My Ra, Jizz Dribble Vance is such a douche.