The return of the techno-libertarians

Silicon Valley billionaires are selling a dream of unfettered markets—but the reality is not so certain.

- Rana Foroohar

Donald Trump's victory represents many world-changing things. One is the marriage of techno-determinism and libertarianism. In the world of this new administration, the line between Mr. Milton Friedman and tech billionaires such as Mr. Elon Musk, Mr. Peter Thiel, Mr. Marc Andreessen, and Mr. Mark Zuckerberg blurs into a philosophy that aims to end all constraints on markets.

Trump's band of "techno-libertarian volunteers," as Mr. Musk rather disingenuously put it, given Tesla and SpaceX get more federal funding than National Public Radio, believe that they should be left alone to get on with dismantling the apparatus of the state in service to efficiency-building and profit-making. The latter goal has already been achieved, at least for the Silicon Valley crowd—artificial intelligence, crypto, and any business attached to Mr. Musk have soared in value since the election.

But the US is by no means the only place in which digital overlords exert undue influence. Last week, Mr. Musk announced that UK MPs "will be summoned to the United States of America to explain their censorship and threats to American citizens." This followed a call by Labour MP Chi Onwurah, chair of the Commons' science and technology select committee (and a telecoms engineer), to have Mr. Musk give evidence about the spreading of misinformation prior to the UK riots last August.