Is Silicon Valley Actually Libertarian?

Lauren Goode: It sounds like you’re a little bit aligned with the successful tech entrepreneurs who were surveyed by the junior college in Palo Alto in terms of being a liberaltarian.

Michael Calore: No, I go further left than that, I would say.

Zoë Schiffer: He sounds like maybe he’s Yang Gang.

Lauren Goode: Oh, the Yang Gang. I interviewed Andrew Yang once.

Michael Calore: Andrew Yang, he was one of the first big vocal proponents of universal basic income in the political sphere, wasn’t he?

Lauren Goode: Yes, he was indeed.

Michael Calore: Well, I don’t know anything else about him, so I can’t say whether or not I’m actually Yang Gang.

Lauren Goode: Mike’s going to start another third party just for UBI.

Michael Calore: Oh, boy. There’s no government like no government, I always say.

Lauren Goode: Do you say that?

Michael Calore: OK, Lauren, I’m going to kick it back to you. Where do you think this is headed in the future?

Lauren Goode: I am really struggling to say where this is all headed politically because I am so confused by what is happening in politics right now and still trying to sort it out. I do think that there are going to be more factions of self-proclaimed libertarianism and people co-opting some ideals from the left and the right. But I do think the original word is losing its meaning.

Michael Calore: Agreed. I like this new word, liberaltarian.

Lauren Goode: Yeah, but once again, it’s from 2020 and things change fast.

Michael Calore: Zoe, what about you?

Zoë Schiffer: I think we’re going to see more privatization than before. Right now, we have people like Elon Musk, who is supposedly going to be coleading with Vivek Ramaswamy the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and they want to get rid of the Department of Education. So I’m guessing we’re going to see private-sector solutions to the things that government used to solve.

Lauren Goode: And on our next episode of Uncanny Valley, we’re going to unpack all of the very successful companies who have been led by two CEOs at the same time.