'The Nerd Reich' tracks the 'unmasking of Silicon Valley's true politics' (Tonya Mosley, Fresh Air podcast)

Journalist Gil Durán argues that a small circle of Silicon Valley billionaires and venture capitalists have concluded that democracy is in their way — and that they should be governing in its place.

"My book is about a cult of Silicon Valley billionaires who believe that in the 21st century, technology will make democracy obsolete. And it goes back a few decades. In 1997, if you want to know the full root of it, there was a book that came out called The Sovereign Individual that predicted that in the 21st century, technology would result in the end of democracy and nation states like the United States. Specifically, the book said that two technologies - one, something called cybercurrency, which we would today consider crypto, and another called advanced automation, which is basically AI - would collapse the economy and thereby the government itself and would lead to the rise of a new cognitive elite, these sovereign individuals, wealthy individuals who, by making the right investments and the right moves, would be able to profit from the destruction of the United States and other democratic nation states."   

Interview: 

https://www.npr.org/2026/08/10/nx-s1-5925350/the-nerd-reich-tracks-the-unmasking-of-silicon-valleys-true-politics