Mongoose: Is Peter Thiel Dangerous? – Public Intelligence Blog

0Shares

Is there more we need to know about this brilliant, wealthy, and perhaps very powerful man?

Why has the über-elitist Silicon Valley investor joined forces with the über-plebeian Donald Trump? The answer may be scarier than you think.

Extracts and Link to Full Article Below the Fold

The fullest expression of Thiel’s dark worldview, however, is far less known. It appeared in an obscure essay he contributed to a collection of academic pieces published in 2007 titled Politics and Apocalypse. It provides a rare look at Thiel thinking out loud when he believes the rest of us aren’t listening. And what he says—given his unique position as a core adviser to the most unpredictable and volatile leader this nation has ever known—is more than a little disturbing.

. . .

In a highly unusual move, Thiel not only funded this conference but also contributed his own paper. His essay, “The Straussian Moment,” which would go on to be published in Politics and Apocalypse, begins by arguing that the 9/11 attacks “called into question” the political and military framework of the past two centuries, as well as of the modern age. Indeed, some cherished aspects of modern life, like an absolute commitment to civil rights, simply became useless:

. . .

To explore these “strange new thoughts,” Thiel turns to German legal scholar Carl Schmitt—a brilliant thinker who was also a Nazi and the Third Reich’s preeminent legal theorist. For Thiel, Schmitt is an inspiring throwback to a pre-Enlightenment age who exalts struggle and insists that the discovery of enemies is the foundation of politics. Thiel writes that Schmitt would respond to bin Laden by calling for “a new crusade as a way to discover the meaning and purpose of our lives.” But the West is too weak and confused to embrace this heroic clash of civilizations.

. . .

In other words, playing dirty has been essential to the nation’s success. Thiel argues that this subversive insight provides the middle ground between ineffectual modern liberalism and the state of permanent war.

. . .

Thiel’s contempt for the modern world, his fascination with authoritarian thinkers, his casual dismissal of international norms and representative democracy, his obsession with secrecy, and his elitism ooze from every page, and they do not seem like ideal beliefs for a potential overseer of U.S. intelligence.

Read full article.

Phi Beta Iota: Palantir is shit. PayPal is the best thing Thiel ever built, he knows nothing of holistic analytics, true cost economics, all source and especially human multilingual collection, or the opportunity cost of neglecting open source everything engineering alternatives to the failed Western economic paradigm that is 50% waste and 90% profit. He is an opportunist — among the best — he is not a global game changer.

See Especially:

See Also:

Palantir @ Phi Beta Iota