Thread by @jstnwill_civics

#ElonMusk isn't evil, BUT
👇A thread 🧵

His #libertarian ideology can be cartoonishly evil, bcs its amoral. That makes him a threat to #liberty, #prosperity & 250 years of American #democracy

#Twitter #ElonMuskTwitter #ElonMuskBuyTwitter #DemocracyUnderThreat
1/??

There are a few dots to connect, so stick with me...

1️⃣ #PeterThiel wants a #Monarchy
2️⃣ The #KochBrothers are creating an #Oligarchy
3️⃣ #Putin's Russia is the grand vision
4️⃣ #Libertarians are amoral
5️⃣ #Ideology is blindingly dangerous
/2

First, check out this remarkable @Techcrunch article called "Geeks for Monarchy".

Long before the 2016 election brought us a #Trump/#Putin/#Theil/#AltRight mashup of craziness, @klintron laid out this #antidemocracy ideology waaaaaay back in 2013.
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techcrunch.com/2013/11/22/gee…

@klintron wrote: "#Neoreactionaries believe that... #democracy has actually done more harm than good. They propose a return to old-fashioned gender roles, social order, and #MONARCHY. ... Many are former #libertarians who decided that #freedom and democracy were incompatible."
/4

And later adds... "And though #neoreactionaries aren’t exactly rampant in the tech industry, PayPal founder Peter Thiel has voiced similar ideas."

Recall that both #ElonMusk & #PeterThiel were co-founders of #PayPay with a shared #libertarian ideology.
/5

In his 2009 #CatoUnbound article, #PeterThiel writes:

"I stand against confiscatory taxes, #totalitarian collectives, & the ideology of the inevitability of the death of every individual. For all these reasons, I still call myself '#libertarian.'"
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cato-unbound.org/2009/04/13/pet…

And #Thiel confesses his authoritarian, anti-democracy views by saying: "But I must confess that over the last two decades, I have changed radically on the question of how to achieve these goals. Most importantly, I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible."
/7

2009-Thiel outlined his "Master of the Universe" plan to create an anti-social eutopia by inventing "some undiscovered country" citing his investments in #cyberspace, #outerspace, and #seasteading.
/8

In an addendum to this essay seemingly prompted by a sense of his rejecting women's suffrage, Theil wrote the most damning statement reflecting his own self-absorbed blindness.

"Voting is not under siege in America, but many other rights are."
/9

By 2016 it seems #Thiel learned the lesson that all Libertarian-billionaires eventually learn. Like the #KochBrothers in the 80s, Theil gave-up on giving-up on politics, and decided to seize control of the Republican party... joining the #KochBrothers in backing #DonaldTrump
/10

Reading @NancyMacLean5's remarkable book "Democracy In Chains" it's clear #Thiel & the #KochBrothers share a vision for an authoritarian oligarchy similar to #Putin's #Russia.

In the name of "liberty" of course.

👀👇 Watch her on @billmahar
/11

The problem is that people have to live together. Somehow we have to balance our diverse individual needs with our common needs.

Thankfully there is recent research that helps us understand how to better live together by understanding our moral differences.
/12

@JonHaidt gave a remarkable @TEDTalks on his research explaining how all people have 2 different personalities and define morality differently. #Liberals value openness, diversity & new experiences. #Conservatives value safe, familiar traditions.
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This is called Moral Foundations Theory and it shows how both #liberals and #conservatives agree that harm/care and fairness/reciprocity are "morality". But conservatives also view ingroup/loyalty, authority/respect, & purity/sanctity as "morality", while liberals do not.
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@JonHaidt's colleague @BizarroPolitix extends this research & the data shows something very important for us to understand right now.

Libertarians see nothing as moral.

It isn't immoral to harm someone or treat them unfairly. Power is everything.
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This cutthroat philosophy helps in climbing to the top in wealth, business, politics, or even religion. Many powerful people use #darwinian ideas to seize power. But it's rejected by most people because it's anti-social.

Morality helps us live with other people.
/16

This is the problem with modern antisocial, libertarian, billionaires like #Trump, #Thiel, #Putin & the #KochBrothers trying to be Masters of the Universe.

They don't relate to people, so their great wealth & power can't improve society. It's also why they hate #democracy.
/17

"libertarians viscerally opposed to centralized power made common cause w/ a brutally autocratic state apparatus in Moscow... & the instinctively authoritarian far-right... in the name of disruption of government & liberal norms in western democracies"
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theguardian.com/technology/201…

Recently #ElonMusk tweeted his refusal to block #Russian #propaganda from his #Starlink satellite internet service. We can debate the merits of this, but my issue is his saying he's an "free speech absolutist".

That's blind ideology displacing critical thinking.
/19

I wrote an essay on Ideology👇
"When a person’s ideology comes into conflict with a set of new facts, they feel emotional pain... & their pain leads them to make the choice to ignore the uncomfortable facts, and embrace the more comfortable fantasy."
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anchor.fm/the-civx-segme…

The final part of my audio essay beings... 👇
"Democracy protects our individual liberty by bringing citizens into the decision-making process that would otherwise be dominated by a few powerful & often wealthy people."
/19
anchor.fm/the-civx-segme…

"Democracy also empowers us to be active citizens. But that requires us to commit to solving problems together by

✅ thinking critically
✅ making information decisions
✅ And being open to changing our mind based on the evidence"
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anchor.fm/the-civx-segme…

"This means that we must demand that the candidates we vote for, the causes we support, the groups we join, & the policies embrace these same core values. If we surrender to ideological addiction, we risk undermining the nature of democracy itself."
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anchor.fm/the-civx-segme…

#ElonMusk is a remarkable visionary. He seems brilliant, thoughtful, and well-intentioned. He's unlike how I think of #Trump, #PeterThiel, or the #KochBrothers.

But his libertarian ideology is a threat to our society because it's inherently anti-social authoritarianism.
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And all this sucks because #libertarian ideas are really important. We are our best as a society when we take them in balance with #liberal ideas and #conservative ideas. #CivilDiscourse and #democracy help us balance that.
/23

We're living through the rise of a global authoritarian movement led by Thiel, Putin, & Trump. The idea that a billionaire libertarian is going to save #Democracy by buying Twitter is a dangerous fantasy.

Only we do that... together
/End

https://twitter.com/NatDemocracyDay/status/1514658596180533267