Put in any historical or political context SV is in no way left. They're hardcore libertarian. Just look at their poster boys, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and a plethora of others are very oriented towards totalitarianism from the right. Just because they blow their brains out on lsd and ketamine and go on 2 week spiritual retreats doesn't make them leftists. They're billionares that only care about wealth and power, living in segregated communities from the common folk of the area - nothing lefty about that.
Musk main residence is a $50k house he rents in Boca Chica. Grimes wanted a bigger, nicer residence for her and their kids and that was one of the reasons she left him.
Elon Musk and Peter Thiel are two of the most hated people in tech, so this doesn't seem like a compelling example. Also I don't think Elon Musk and Peter Thiel qualify as "hardcore libertarian." Thiel was a Trump supporter (hardly libertarian at all, let alone hardcore) and Elon has supported Democrats and much government his entire life until the last few years. He's mainly only waded into "culture war" type stuff that I can think of. What sort of policies has Elon argued for that you think are "hardcore libertarian?"
He wanted to replace public transport with a system where you don't have to ride the public transport with the plebs, he want's to colonize mars with the best minds (equal most money for him), he built a tank for urban areas. He promotes free speech even if it incites hate, he likes ayn rand, he implies government programs calling for united solutions is either communism, orwell or basically hitler. He actively promotes the opinion of those that pay above others on X.
Thank you, truly, I appreciate the effort you put in to list those. It helps me understand more where you're coming from.
> He wanted to replace public transport with a system where you don't have to ride the public transport with the plebs
I don't think this is any more libertarian than kings and aristocrats of days past were. I know a bunch of people who ride public transit in New York and San Francisco who would readily agree with this, and they are definitely not libertarian. If anything it seems a lot more democratic since he wants it to be available to everyone
> he want's to colonize mars with the best minds (equal most money for him)
This doesn't seem particularly "libertarian" either, excepting maybe the aspect of it that is highly capitalistic. That point I would grant. But you could easily be socialist and still support the idea of colonizing something with the best minds.
> he built a tank for urban areas.
I admit I don't know anything about this one
> He promotes free speech even if it incites hate
This is a social libertarian position, although it's completely disconnected from economic libertarianism. I have a good friend who is a socialist (as in wants to outgrow capitalism such as marx advocated) who supports using the state to suppress capitalist activity/"exploitation", and he also is a free speech absolutist.
> he likes ayn rand
That's a reasonable point, although I think it's worth noting that there are plenty of hardcore libertarians who hate ayn rand.
> he implies government programs calling for united solutions is either communism, orwell or basically hitler.
Eh, lots of republicans including Trump do the same thing, and they're not libertarian. Certainly not "hardcore libertarian"
> He actively promotes the opinion of those that pay above others on X.
This could be a good one, although Google, Meta, Reddit, Youtube, and any other company that runs ads or has "sponsored content" is doing the same thing, so we would have to define all the big tech companies as "hardcore libertarian" to stay consistent.
Overall I definitely think this is a hard debate to have because "hardcore libertarian" can mean different things to different people, and there's a perpetual risk of "no true scotsman" fallacy. I've responded above with how I think most people would imagine libertarianism, but depending on when in history you use it, many anarcho-socialists used the label for themselves yet today "libertarian" is a party that supports free market economics and social liberty. But regardless the challenges inherent, I appreciate the exchange
>I don't think this is any more libertarian than kings and aristocrats of days past were.
So very libertarian.
>If anything it seems a lot more democratic since he wants it to be available to everyone
No, he want's a solution that minimizes contact to other people and let you live in your bubble. This minimizes exposure to others from the same city and is a commercial system, not a publicly created one. Democratization would be a cheap public transport where you don't get mugged, proven to work in every european and most asian cities.
> I admit I don't know anything about this one
The cybertruck. Again a vehicle to isolate you from everyday life being supposed bulletproof and all.
> lots of republicans including Trump do the same thing, and they're not libertarian
They are all "little government, individual choice" - of course they feed their masters, but the kochs and co want exactly this.
Appreciate the exchange too, thanks for factbased formulation of opinions.
