What a weird and stupid thing to write. First is the not very subtle juxtaposition of progressive politics and pessimism which is weird, but the pretending that capitalism isn't deeply politically...
Silicon Valley does not have a political ideology right now. There’s a long-standing strain of libertarianism and optimism, which is gradually being canceled by more powerful strains of progressivism and pessimism.
What a weird and stupid thing to write. First is the not very subtle juxtaposition of progressive politics and pessimism which is weird, but the pretending that capitalism isn't deeply politically ideological is just dumb.
When this piece isn't puffy 'politics as persona' it's throwing out some brow furrowing stuff, like mentioning a Andrew Sullivan endorsement or painting a picture of engineers "in a lab working on stuff" when defending the behaviour of Facebook, Google, Amazon. A lab?! It's ridiculous to hold these "innovators" responsible? Eugh.
To be charitable, it seems like the writer is saying that Silicon Valley doesn't have a consistent ideology? There are strong pro- and anti- capitalist elements. Also the last bit is something...
To be charitable, it seems like the writer is saying that Silicon Valley doesn't have a consistent ideology? There are strong pro- and anti- capitalist elements.
Also the last bit is something Yang said, rather than a claim made by the writer.
I'd say that's completely false. Can we name a single prominent software labour union, a single prominent anti-capitalist silicon valley intellectual (maybe Stallman, but he's a weird case), a...
There are strong pro- and anti- capitalist elements.
I'd say that's completely false. Can we name a single prominent software labour union, a single prominent anti-capitalist silicon valley intellectual (maybe Stallman, but he's a weird case), a single prominent workers co-op building software?
There's plenty of Silicon Valley software employees in favour of a strong social safety net but I'd say that is as far as it goes, and that's not anti-capitalist. Capitalist ideology dominates SV.
It seems like are there are many people on social media sites saying capitalism sucks and we do have actual numbers that Bernie Sanders is quite popular? I would expect many tech workers have...
It seems like are there are many people on social media sites saying capitalism sucks and we do have actual numbers that Bernie Sanders is quite popular? I would expect many tech workers have similar opinions to what you'd find among college students and other young people in San Francisco. But yeah, they're probably not in a position of power and maybe the vague socialism of many Sanders supporters doesn't count as anti-capitalist?
It seems safer to say there are a lot of progressives and a lot of libertarians, though, and this leads to substantial disagreement? There is plenty of news about worker activism at Google, for example.
Yes that first part is very important to recognise, and the second part is a good point too. If we see Sanders take the Presidency what happens to his "vaguely socialist" tech worker support base...
But yeah, they're probably not in a position of power and maybe the vague socialism of many Sanders supporters doesn't count as anti-capitalist?
Yes that first part is very important to recognise, and the second part is a good point too. If we see Sanders take the Presidency what happens to his "vaguely socialist" tech worker support base when he starts jacking up their taxes and hindering the profitability of their employers (which lowers value of their RSUs)?
It seems safer to say there are a lot of progressives and a lot of libertarians, though, and this leads to substantial disagreement?
Those are the most visible camps because they're in the news and on Twitter. "Progressive" is a murky term though. A lot of people labelled it are socially progressive but still pro-capitalist and anti high taxes, which is basically "socially progressive until it hurts my wallet, so homeless people and public health crises are fine".
Yeah, I don't know. I don't see progressives in San Francisco as being all that anti-tax, even if they are making quite a lot of money. There doesn't seem to be much resistance to spending more on...
Yeah, I don't know. I don't see progressives in San Francisco as being all that anti-tax, even if they are making quite a lot of money. There doesn't seem to be much resistance to spending more on homeless people, other than a few prominent names?
I don't know many of them personally, but I guess we can say that we'll see. If there's tax hikes that will meaningfully impact the purchasing plans of high-income San Fran tech worker, think 10s...
I don't know many of them personally, but I guess we can say that we'll see. If there's tax hikes that will meaningfully impact the purchasing plans of high-income San Fran tech worker, think 10s of thousands in extra taxes, we might seem them go sour.
But it's also possible that there is a strong vein of social democracy in San Fran tech workforce. That'd be great. Still not anti-capitalist though.
What a weird and stupid thing to write. First is the not very subtle juxtaposition of progressive politics and pessimism which is weird, but the pretending that capitalism isn't deeply politically ideological is just dumb.
When this piece isn't puffy 'politics as persona' it's throwing out some brow furrowing stuff, like mentioning a Andrew Sullivan endorsement or painting a picture of engineers "in a lab working on stuff" when defending the behaviour of Facebook, Google, Amazon. A lab?! It's ridiculous to hold these "innovators" responsible? Eugh.
To be charitable, it seems like the writer is saying that Silicon Valley doesn't have a consistent ideology? There are strong pro- and anti- capitalist elements.
Also the last bit is something Yang said, rather than a claim made by the writer.
I'd say that's completely false. Can we name a single prominent software labour union, a single prominent anti-capitalist silicon valley intellectual (maybe Stallman, but he's a weird case), a single prominent workers co-op building software?
There's plenty of Silicon Valley software employees in favour of a strong social safety net but I'd say that is as far as it goes, and that's not anti-capitalist. Capitalist ideology dominates SV.
It seems like are there are many people on social media sites saying capitalism sucks and we do have actual numbers that Bernie Sanders is quite popular? I would expect many tech workers have similar opinions to what you'd find among college students and other young people in San Francisco. But yeah, they're probably not in a position of power and maybe the vague socialism of many Sanders supporters doesn't count as anti-capitalist?
It seems safer to say there are a lot of progressives and a lot of libertarians, though, and this leads to substantial disagreement? There is plenty of news about worker activism at Google, for example.
Yes that first part is very important to recognise, and the second part is a good point too. If we see Sanders take the Presidency what happens to his "vaguely socialist" tech worker support base when he starts jacking up their taxes and hindering the profitability of their employers (which lowers value of their RSUs)?
Those are the most visible camps because they're in the news and on Twitter. "Progressive" is a murky term though. A lot of people labelled it are socially progressive but still pro-capitalist and anti high taxes, which is basically "socially progressive until it hurts my wallet, so homeless people and public health crises are fine".
Yeah, I don't know. I don't see progressives in San Francisco as being all that anti-tax, even if they are making quite a lot of money. There doesn't seem to be much resistance to spending more on homeless people, other than a few prominent names?
I don't know many of them personally, but I guess we can say that we'll see. If there's tax hikes that will meaningfully impact the purchasing plans of high-income San Fran tech worker, think 10s of thousands in extra taxes, we might seem them go sour.
But it's also possible that there is a strong vein of social democracy in San Fran tech workforce. That'd be great. Still not anti-capitalist though.