A man who operates not in the limelight of electoral politics but in the shadowy corridors where technology, power, and ideology converge.

Dutch Version
https://vriendenplek.nl/read-blog/3790 

Peter Thiel is not a politician, but his influence far exceeds that of most lawmakers. He is the architect of a techno-political revolution, a libertarian-turned-authoritarian oracle who sees the nation as a laboratory for his most audacious experiments.

His influence stretches far beyond the boardrooms of his enterprises, reaching deep into the machinery of politics, the surveillance state, and the cultural fabric of America itself. Few figures embody the collision of technology, power, and ideology as fully as Thiel, and fewer still wield such influence with so little public scrutiny.

His maneuverings have played a central role in shaping not just the Trump administration but also the ideological direction of the modern GOP and the technologies that underpin today’s surveillance apparatus.

.

Thiel’s story begins with his rise as a tech entrepreneur. After co-founding PayPal, he built a sprawling network of influential allies, the so-called “PayPal Mafia,” which included figures like Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman, and Max Levchin.

While many of his contemporaries used their wealth to focus on consumer-facing tech, Thiel charted a different course, one rooted in the nexus of technology, governance, and national security. His creation of Palantir Technologies—a data-mining behemoth designed to service intelligence agencies and law enforcement—was a harbinger of what was to come.

Palantir would grow into the cornerstone of the U.S. surveillance state, enabling the predictive policing, mass data collection, and pre-crime methodologies that have come to define 21st-century governance.

By the mid-2000s, Palantir had already become a darling of the CIA, thanks to investments from In-Q-Tel, the agency’s venture capital arm. Thiel positioned the company as a private-sector solution to the government’s ambitions for comprehensive surveillance—a project that had faced public backlash when operated directly under DARPA’s now-defunded "Total Information Awareness" program.

Palantir effectively privatized these capabilities, operating with fewer constraints and limited oversight. It became a tool for everything from counterterrorism to domestic surveillance, offering governments and private entities the means to monitor, predict, and control behavior at an unprecedented scale.

Yet Thiel’s ambitions extended far beyond technology. His foray into politics revealed a strategic mind intent on reshaping the ideological foundations of power. In 2016, Thiel became one of Donald Trump’s most significant backers, defying Silicon Valley’s overwhelming support for Hillary Clinton.

He donated millions to Trump’s campaign and secured himself a role on Trump’s transition team, where he leveraged his influence to place allies in key positions within the Pentagon and other agencies. The Trump administration, in turn, became a financial windfall for Thiel and his companies.

Palantir, long struggling to secure government contracts under previous administrations, saw its fortunes reversed, with the Trump administration awarding it massive defense and intelligence contracts.

.

But Thiel’s influence was not limited to policy or procurement. His role as an ideological kingmaker grew in the years following Trump’s election. Through his funding of venture capital firms and political candidates, Thiel cultivated a new class of conservative disruptors—individuals who fused anti-establishment rhetoric with pro-corporate policies.

Chief among them was J.D. Vance, the author of Hillbilly Elegy turned politician, whose Senate campaign in Ohio Thiel bankrolled with $15 million—the largest single donation to a Senate candidate in U.S. history.

Vance’s transformation from a Trump critic to a MAGA standard-bearer was orchestrated largely by Thiel. After bringing Vance into his fold during his time at Yale Law School and later employing him at Mithril Capital, Thiel paved Vance’s path into politics, connecting him with key figures in Trump’s orbit, including Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson.

Notably, Vance co-founded a propaganda outfit called the Rockbridge Network, funded by Peter Thiel and Rebekah Mercer, which serves as a key node in Thiel’s ideological project. Rockbridge Network spun off a venture capital firm called 1789 Capital, whose first major investment was a $15 million infusion into Tucker Carlson’s burgeoning media ventures.

This financial relationship not only cemented Carlson’s role as a megaphone for Thiel-aligned messaging but also extended Thiel’s ideological reach into the media landscape. Carlson’s media presence, amplified by platforms like Rumble—another venture heavily backed by Thiel—ensures that Thiel’s worldview remains a dominant force in shaping conservative discourse.

Thiel’s ambitions in the media sphere are emblematic of his broader strategy to create a parallel conservative ecosystem, countering traditional outlets with platforms and personalities that reflect his ideological vision. Rumble’s prominence as an alternative to mainstream platforms like YouTube showcases Thiel’s ability to weaponize capital to shape public opinion and consolidate conservative narratives.

Thiel personally accompanied Vance to Mar-a-Lago, where the former president gave his blessing to Vance’s Senate bid. Vance’s rise is emblematic of Thiel’s broader strategy: using his resources to groom loyal protégés who can advance his vision for a technocratic, oligarchic future disguised as populism.

The result is a Republican Party that increasingly mirrors Thiel’s personal philosophy: a fusion of technocratic libertarianism, cultural conservatism, and a distrust of traditional governance. Figures like Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson, both collaborators in Thiel’s broader project, further amplify this vision, reinforcing Thiel’s role as the intellectual and financial architect of the GOP’s future.

.

Thiel’s influence over the broader GOP, however, extends far beyond individual candidates like Vance. Through his strategic investments, ideological grooming, and partnerships with key figures in the tech and media worlds, Thiel has reshaped the Republican Party from the ground up. His financial contributions have created a ripple effect, signaling to party operatives and candidates that a new brand of conservatism—populist in rhetoric, technocratic in execution—is the future.

During the 2022 midterms, Thiel’s unprecedented financial support for Senate campaigns in Ohio and Arizona underscored his ability to reshape races. Blake Masters, another protégé, echoed Thiel’s anti-establishment ideology, further signaling the broader transformation taking place within the GOP. Though Masters ultimately lost, the platform he championed—one centered on anti-globalism, skepticism of entrenched elites, and aggressive nationalism—was emblematic of the new GOP under Thiel’s influence.

.

Thiel’s strategic financial maneuvers also extend into reshaping legal institutions and public discourse. His funding of Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against Gawker—a pivotal case that resulted in the outlet’s bankruptcy—demonstrated his willingness to use the legal system to silence adversaries and set chilling precedents for media accountability.

This ideological shift, steered by Thiel and his allies, has also pushed the GOP away from Bush-era neoconservatism and toward a more isolationist yet militarized stance. Thiel-aligned candidates routinely criticize figures like Mitch McConnell for their hawkish foreign policy, signaling a generational and ideological divide within the party.

Thiel’s ventures, however, have consistently empowered the surveillance state while eroding individual freedoms. Palantir’s tools are now central to everything from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations to predictive policing initiatives. Its software was instrumental in mass deportations during Trump’s first term and has been adopted by foreign governments for domestic crackdowns.

.

Thiel’s investment in Clearview AI—a controversial facial recognition company that scraped billions of images from social media to build its database—further underscores his role in enabling intrusive surveillance technologies. Clearview has marketed itself as a tool to combat crime and terrorism, but its software has been widely criticized for its potential abuses, from stalking to state repression.

Thiel’s ties to the broader military-industrial complex deepen the scope of his influence. He has heavily invested in companies like Anduril, a defense contractor specializing in autonomous drones and AI-driven military technology.

Founded by another Thiel protégé, Palmer Luckey (The family that Matt Gaetz, the man selected to be the next Attorney General, married into), Anduril has become a significant player in the development of virtual border walls and autonomous warfare. These ventures align seamlessly with Thiel’s long-standing belief in the privatization of warfare and the erosion of traditional government accountability.

.

Thiel’s reach extends into the cultural sphere as well. His connection to Elon Musk, a fellow PayPal Mafia alum, represents a key partnership in the ongoing merger of technology and governance. Musk’s ventures, from SpaceX to Starlink, have not only revolutionized industries but also integrated deeply with national security interests.

Starlink’s satellite internet service, for example, has become a crucial tool in modern conflicts, including the war in Ukraine. Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, now rebranded as X, also ties back to Thiel’s ideological project. While Musk has marketed the platform as a bastion of free speech, its increasing reliance on identity verification and data collection mirrors the same surveillance ambitions Thiel has championed for decades.

.

With the 2024 election now decided and Trump on his way back to the Oval Office, Peter Thiel’s influence has entered a new and unprecedented phase. Having solidified his position as one of the most powerful figures behind the scenes, Thiel’s strategic backing of Trump’s reelection campaign and his successful grooming of J.D. Vance as vice president underscore the long-term vision he has been quietly advancing for years.

The second Trump administration, shaped directly by Thiel’s protégés and funded by his vast network, now promises to accelerate the trends established during Trump’s first term: expanded surveillance capabilities, the further privatization of government functions, and a systematic dismantling of traditional checks on power.

In this new era, Thiel’s fingerprints are all over the machinery of state, as the boundaries between public policy and corporate interests blur to an alarming degree. Where the first Trump presidency hinted at Thiel’s ambitions, the second may well serve as their fullest realization.

.

Yet, Thiel’s vision is not confined to the United States. His companies operate globally, exporting the tools of surveillance and control to governments around the world.

Palantir, for instance, has been deeply involved in Israel’s military operations, providing AI-driven targeting systems used in Gaza. Its technology has also been deployed in Ukraine, further entrenching its role in modern warfare.

Thiel’s rise offers a chilling glimpse into the future of power. He has mastered the art of operating in the shadows, leveraging his wealth and connections to shape policies and ideologies while avoiding the spotlight.

His influence on Trump, Vance, and the broader GOP represents just one facet of his power. More fundamentally, Thiel embodies the convergence of technology and governance, where billionaires operate as de facto sovereigns, unbound by democratic constraints.

The world Thiel is building - a world of omnipresent surveillance, algorithmic control, and privatized power - is already here. After all, Tulsi Gabbard, like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel himself, and a few others within and behind the Trump camp are WEF protégés, the so-called Young Global Leaders.

.

So, as the saying goes, 'left wing, right wing, they both belong to the same bird'.

Do we really believe the main moneymakers, the banking industry, the weapons industry, the pharmaceutical industry, i.e., the current militairy industrial complex; the technological industrial complex to be, and its main shareholders such as Vanguard, Blackrock, State Street, are going to let happen what the Trump rethoric promises?

Think again.

As history shows, those who actually tried met an untimely death, figuratively and not so figuratively.

Happy Thanksgiving


Nederlandstalige Versie
https://vriendenplek.nl/read-blog/3790 

- Biblio:
https://vriendenplek.nl/read-blog/666  
https://vriendenplek.nl/read-blog/1177  
https://vriendenplek.nl/read-blog/2310 
https://vriendenplek.nl/read-blog/3188 

- https://vriendenplek.nl/FeitofFictie