As they demonstrated most vividly at Trump’s inauguration, the titans of tech have moved sharply to the right. Partly this was a matter of ideology–in particular, they thought their employees had too much power over their companies–and partly this was a defensive measure to keep Trump on their side. Whatever the motivation, they were successful; while you couldn’t fairly call today’s America a techno-aristocracy, Trump cut their taxes, treated them as national champions, and did everything he could to reduce their regulatory burdens. But the midterms are coming, and things are looking grim. What will they do now?
They are pouring money into congressional races. They are likely to lose more than they win. America will probably be in a state of constant constitutional crisis between 2027 and the 2028 election, with Trump behaving even more autocratically than before. Will tech work for compromise at that point, or will the tech barons throw their weight behind autocracy?
Many of the most prominent figures in tech have openly expressed doubts about liberal democracy for years. I don’t see much reason for optimism on this point.