Thread by @gilduran76

Let's talk about Trump's "Freedom Cities."

The idea matches exactly with the goals of the Network State cult, which plans to create new tech-governed cities around the world

In fact, Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen are funding a entire company to build such cities...🧵

Trump's "freedom cities" are a nod to the dystopian "Network State" idea popular in certain tech circles.
This cultish movement seeks to create tech-controlled sovereign cities that would essentially act as miniature corporate countries.
More: thenerdreich.com/trumps-weird-f…

Fans of the Network State idea imagine creating privately-owned zones where they can escape taxes, laws and democracy. They plan to form their own cult societies based on different interests and themes. But instead of being "citizens," residents would be "customers."

There are two ways to create Network State territories. One is called Exit. This means creating entirely new cities on bare land. This is being done all over the world. There's a private city called Próspera in Honduras, which has become a nightmare. foreignpolicy.com/2024/01/24/hon…

Andreessen is also a funder of California Forever, a proposed tech utopia in northern California. That plan has been delayed by fierce community opposition. I wrote about it for the @newrepublic newrepublic.com/article/177733…

Here's another crucial piece that explains the idea and profiles Pronomos Capital, the Andreessen/Thiel backed company to create these projects:
"The New VC Idea That Surely Won’t Backfire: Colonies of Tech Bros" by @eshugerman in the Daily Beast

thedailybeast.com/pronomos-capit…

The other way to create a Network State is called Voice. This means using your power within the political system to take over existing governments via elections. Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan is trying this in San Francisco: newrepublic.com/article/178675…

The main people behind the Network State movement, like Balaji Srinivasan, have some very weird ideas. Srinivasan is the guy who wants techies to form a scary Gray Tribe and purge Democrats from San Francisco.
thenerdreich.com/balaji-sriniva…

Srinivasan is hardly alone. He's a mentor to Tan and an advisor to Pronomos Capital, the company funded by Andreessen and Thiel -- the company trying to build these private tech cities all around the world. pronomos.vc/portfolio

Srinivasan derives his ideas from Curtis Yarvin, J.D. Vance's political guru, who has also suggested turning cities into corporate dictatorships called "realms" or "patchworks." They are REALLY into this idea, folks. newrepublic.com/article/183971…

So you have Trump promising to use federal land to build these futuristic tech cities. And you have two of his main backers funding a company designed to do exactly that. At the very least, this sounds like an ethically gnarly real estate deal in the making...

Trump announced his plans for "freedom cities" last year. I haven't found one story that mentions any of the stuff I've mentioned above. Perhaps it's time to revisit the issue and give the fuller context?

Key questions: Who will live in these cities? How will they be governed? Who will profit from their creation? How did this strange and dystopian cult idea make its way into Trump's campaign platform?
What will Americans think?
Full post at The Nerd Reich! thenerdreich.com/trumps-weird-f…

So yeah, Kamala isn't part of the Network State cult. She isn't reading Nazi philosophers, scheming to topple the US dollar or daydreaming about corporate dictatorships. She's leaving that to the Weird Tech/MAGA mashup.
Subscribe (free!) for more⬇️

thenerdreich.com/trumps-weird-f…

A ray of hope: The California Forever project was stopped by massive resistance from the people of Solano County. Both Democrats and Republicans united in opposition. Regular voters DO NOT like this weird tech billionaire deeply Un-American shizz.
thenerdreich.com/solano-county-…