Silicon Valley is pivoting away from Trump
As the dominant economic and social force of our time, a handful of Silicon Valley-based companies shape our politics more than we’d like to admit.
As the dominant economic and social force of our time, a handful of Silicon Valley-based companies shape our politics more than we’d like to admit. These tech oligarchs are not ideological, but instead are motivated by what Lord Palmerston referred to as “permanent interests”. Controlling state power, or constraining it from undesirable intrusions, often requires flexible politics.
After all, today’s tech billionaires lead what are effectively global nation-states. Last summer, Nvidia became the world’s first $4 trillion company, making it more valuable than 97% of the world’s economies and all of the world’s military spending. By September last year, the combined profits of the 10 most profitable tech companies were so vast that, if treated as a country, they would rank as the world’s third-largest economy, ahead of Japan.
Pursuit of Happiness
The Rise of Latino America
In The Rise of Latino America, Hernandez & Kotkin argue that Latinos, who are projected to become America’s largest ethnic group, are a dynamic force shaping the nation’s demographic, economic, and cultural future. Far from being a marginalized group defined by oppression, Latinos are integral to America’s story. They drive economic growth, cultural evolution, and workforce vitality. Challenges, however, including poverty, educational disparities, and restrictive policies, threaten their upward mobility. Policymakers who wish to harness Latino potential to ensure national prosperity and resilience should adopt policies that prioritize affordability, safety, and economic opportunity over ideological constraints.
Is America Good Enough for Wendell Berry?
Genuine traditions and stories can prevent their inheritors from recklessly chasing the future simply because it’s the next thing.
Rediscovering History as the Story of Liberty
History can be a way to center ourselves today and renew the institutions and beliefs that are central to that history and its legacy.
James Q. Wilson and the Crisis of Our Time
"When we profess to believe in deterrence and to value justice, but refuse to spend the energy and money required to produce either, we are sending a clear signal that we think that safe streets, unlike all other great public goods, can be had on the cheap."
