Thiel thinks that America needs more demagogues to unite Americans in a manufactured hatred of the Chinese et al. So he's funding some of those demagogues right now.<p>In reality, many of America's problems are due to the unfettering of ruthless & selfish oligarchs -- like himself -- who don't have the foggiest sense of "collective social good". A paradox indeed. It's hard to not view his political activity as mere scapegoating while he continues to make billions in the most depraved of manners (e.g. Palantir).
You see this a lot with hedge fund guys too. They make a boatload of money doing a very specific thing (thiel : software :: griffin : securities trading) and think their ability in that thing gives them abilities in most other things.<p>Stepping back it’s fairly obvious the opposite is true. They got so good at that thing by focusing on it. Focusing on something, by definition, means not paying attention to other things. You see where this goes…
To comment on the podcast itself, I found it decently interesting but unsatisfying because the guest didn't go deeper into Thiel's thinking and ecosystem.<p>As someone who is interested enough in Thiel to buy a Rene Girard book, too much of this episode is 'intro' stuff.
He can say and do and present himself as this and that all he likes and everyone will run around hanging off his every word defending this and impugning that. He has money.<p>Money is power. Power is money.
Peter Thiel is a man who got lucky in the dotcom boom, expanded that fortune by merely having no shame and starting companies to spy on us for governments, laments that women get to vote, funded Trump, is now funding people to encourage war with China, bought land in New Zealand to escape to after America is ruined by himself. That HN is so fascinated by him is so disappointing. The man represents the worst of humanity in every way, we should be allied against people like him.
Thiel is one of the most vicious, petty hypocrites around.<p>Believes fiercely in free speech, but bankrolls an entire lawsuit to get revenge on a press publication that outs him.<p>Goes on and on about being a libertarian but his company, Palantir, is just about the worst abuser of privacy one can imagine, and then uses his connections with Trump to pardon Levandowski.<p>Espouses a distinctly anti-government, pro-corporate fantasy where the best in business are ostensibly the smartest and most viable leaders, yet whole-heartedly backs Trump, perhaps the least successful businessman one can name, even today and bankrolls the next wave of populist right-wing candidates who take the approach to the lowest possible denominators.<p>Screw him. I wouldn't take funding from any firm he's associated with.
I keep seeing Thiel called a libertarian. He may have been at one time but I get the sense he has converted to national conservatism or perhaps even more extreme views such as neoreaction. Those are not libertarian views at all.<p>If that were the case he would not be alone. There has been a mass conversion of libertarians to those sorts of views in the 20-teens. Many others converted to the far left. It feels as if libertarianism is dead.<p>I don’t really know. I’m just wondering if he still calls himself that.
I have a problem with calling him a libertarian, I would call him an opportunist in the same mould as shikreli who doesn’t seem to have any moral/ethical lines when trying to make money. That is what defines him more libertarianism.