Tech bros are facing the end of the 'technipolar moment'

US tech industry's political influence is weak despite its support for Trump.

- Adrian Wooldridge

For intellectuals of a certain bent, no game is more absorbing than discovering the "real" power behind the throne. Who is pulling the strings? What class interests does the regime serve? Who is "really" in charge? Such questions inspire learned disquisitions as well as conspiracy theories.

So far, the favourite target when it comes to the Trump administration is the tech industry. Mr Ian Bremmer, the head of the Eurasia Group, a political consultancy, talks about the "technipolar moment" and the "frightening fusion of tech power and state power". Mr Steve Bannon, US President Donald Trump's former adviser, laments the influence of "technofeudal globalists bent on turning Americans into digital serfs".

The opening session of an Aspen Institute Italia conference on the future of capitalism in Milan on May 16 (at which I spoke) addressed the subject of "Techno Capitalism: America's New Gilded Age".

The appeal of this argument is easy to see. The US tech industry exercises an extraordinary influence over the US economy: The "Magnificent Seven" account for roughly one-third of the value of the S&P 500. Tech bros contributed generously to both Mr Trump's re-election campaign and his inauguration ceremony. Mr Elon Musk earned the reputation of "co-president" as he strolled around the Oval Office with his son on his shoulders.

But the closer we look at the "technipolar moment", the more it turns into a mirage. Arguably, the most striking thing about the American tech industry, given its extraordinary economic dominance, is its relative lack of political influence.

It looks as if Mr Musk has been expelled from President Trump's inner circle despite spending almost US$300 million (S$385 million) to help re-elect him. His spell in the sun was both brief and unsuccessful. Doge (the Department of Government Efficiency) was sound and fury, signifying very little.