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Technolibertarianism

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Technolibertarianism, sometimes referred to as cyberlibertarianism, was a political ideology with roots in the Internet's early hacker cypherpunk culture in Silicon Valley in the early 1990s and in American libertarianism.[1][2][3]

The ideology focused on minimizing government regulation, censorship, or anything else in the way of a "free" World Wide Web. In this case, the word "free" is referring to the meaning of libre (no restrictions), not gratis (no cost). Cyber-libertarians embrace fluid, meritocratic hierarchies, which are believed to be best served by markets. The most widely known cyberlibertarian is Julian Assange.[4][5]

The term technolibertarian was popularized in critical discourse by technology writer Paulina Borsook in her 2000 book, Cyberselfish: A Critical Romp Through the Terribly Libertarian Culture of High Tech.[6][7][8][9] Others, like academic David Golumbia of Virginia Commonwealth University, explored the same topic in the context of cryptocurrency and right-wing politics.[10][11]

In his book The Nerd Reich (2026), journalist Gil Duran argues that technolibertarianism was replaced by tech fascism with the rise of Peter Thiel, who distanced himself from libertarianism in 2009. According to Duran, the presidencies of Donald Trump embraced authoritarianism with the help and support of Silicon Valley. "For decades," Duran writes, "Silicon Valley had promoted libertarian fairy tales about freedom from government power. In fact, seizing that power for itself was the true goal."[12]

Notable proponents

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See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Dahlberg, Lincoln (2016). "Cyberlibertarianism". The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology (2nd ed.). pp. 1–2. doi:10.1002/9781405165518.wbeos0720. ISBN 978-1-4051-2433-1.
  2. ↑ Dahlberg, Lincoln (2017). "Cyberlibertarianism". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.013.70. ISBN 978-0-19-022861-3.
  3. ↑ Dahlberg, Lincoln (2019). "Cyberlibertarianism". In Cloud, Dana L. (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Communication and Critical Cultural Studies. Oxford University Press. pp. 422–443.
  4. ↑ Jurgenson, N. (2014). . International Journal of Communication
  5. ↑ Tariq, O. The End of Digital Libertarianism? Archived 2018-01-17 at the Wayback Machine. London School of Economics
  6. ↑ Borsook, P. (2000). Cyberselfish: A Critical Romp Through the Terribly Libertarian Culture of High Tech. PublicAffairs. ISBN 1891620789.
  7. ↑ Borsook, P. (2001). Cyberselfish: Ravers, Guilders, Cyberpunks, And Other Silicon Valley Life-Forms. Yale Journal of Law and Technology, 3(1): 1–10.
  8. ↑ Jordan, Tim. Taylor, Paul. (2013). Hacktivism and Cyberwars: Rebels with a Cause? Routledge. ISBN 1134510756.
  9. ↑ Dahlberg, Lincoln (2009). "Libertarian Cyber-Utopianism and Global Digital Networks". Globalization and Utopia. pp. 176–189. doi:10.1057/9780230233607_12. ISBN 978-1-349-30142-3.
  10. ↑ Golumbia, David (2016). The Politics of Bitcoin: Software as Right-Wing Extremism. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 9781517901806.
  11. ↑ Golumbia, David (2024). Cyberlibertarianism: The Right-Wing Politics of Digital Technology. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 9781517918149.
  12. ↑ Duran, Gil (2026). The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley and the War on Democracy. Avid Reader Press. pp. 26–32. ISBN 978-1-668-22140-2. OCLC 1554722478.
  13. ↑ "Trump's techno-libertarian dream team goes to Washington". Vox. November 11, 2024.
  14. ↑ "'Techno libertarians': Why Elon Musk is supporting Donald Trump in the US election". Euronews. October 30, 2024.

Further reading

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