Describing the thesis of journalist and podcaster Gil Duran’s new book, “The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy,” makes it sound like a work of conspiracy theory.
Essentially, a small group of tech industry billionaires, inspired by theories from an obscure book published in the 1990s, have organized to undermine and ultimately exit democratic rule in the United States, either through societal collapse or by establishing their own “sovereign states,” after which they will control global affairs via their overwhelming wealth and access to advanced technology.
In 2026, this group has already made significant progress toward its goals through the rise of untraceable and unaccountable digital currency combined with significant political influence and outright power at the highest levels of government, including the vice president of the United States.
Unfortunately, and scarily, this is no conspiracy theory, and it didn’t take any kind of significant or secret investigative efforts on Duran’s behalf to uncover this movement. All he had to do was read the writings and statements of the key figures in the “nerd reich” and take them at their word as to their goals and dreams for a future freed from democratic accountability or checks on their power.
The central argument of “The Nerd Reich” is structured like links in a chain starting with its origins in tech billionaire Peter Thiel and his obsession with a 1997 book “The Sovereign Individual: How to Survive and Thrive During the Collapse of the Welfare State” by James Dale Davidson and William Rees-Mogg, which posits a future world run by “the talented few” who use their superior minds and access to powerful technology to amass the resources necessary to render government “obsolete.”
This is an essentially fascist view that Thiel has now embraced for decades and repeatedly expressed proudly and publicly, including declaring that the last era for meaningful democracy was the 1920s before women gained the franchise.
In the early 2000s, Thiel connected with a right-wing pseudonymous blogger, Mencius Moldbug, real name is Curtis Yarvin, who becomes a kind of court philosopher for Thiel’s burgeoning movement. Yarvin is a white supremacist who believes the U.S. would be better off with a regent-like dictator.
From there we are introduced to Balaji Srinivasan, another wealthy tech figure who spearheads the “network state” movement, which involves a deliberate secession of these wealthy tech elites into independent enclaves — possibly housed on large platforms in the open ocean (known as seasteading).
As dire as Duran’s marshalling of the evidence feels, I found myself feeling increasingly hopeful as I read on. Yes, these people are — to use a scientific term — whackos, and they are enormously rich and have too much influence on our political system, but as of this moment, we the people still maintain the power through our voices and our votes, and if we wish to reject such futures, it is in our capacity to do so.
We’ll see how things turn out soon enough.
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Book recommendations from the Biblioracle
John Warner tells you what to read based on the last five books you’ve read.
1. “American Gods” by Neil Gaiman
2. “The Return of the Soldier” by Rebecca West
3. “Glory” by NoViolet Bulawayo
4. “The House of the Spirits” by Isabel Allende
5. “Cloud Cuckoo Land” by Anthony Doerr
— Marcelo C., Grayslake
It’s a pretty gritty read, but I think Marcelo can handle it: “Chain-Gang All-Stars” by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah.
1. “Cathedrals” by Claudia Piñeiro
2. “I Seek a Kind Person: My Father, Seven Children and the Adverts that Helped Them Escape the Holocaust” by Julian Borger
3. “Theo of Golden” by Allen Levi
4. “Stone Yard Devotional” by Charlotte Wood
5. “Maggie: or a Man and a Woman Walk into a Bar” by Katie Yee
— Cyndy, Downers Grove
For Cyndy, I’m recommending Alan Hollinghurst’s sprawling love triangle novel, “The Stranger’s Child.”
1. “Murder at the Dinner Party (Cleopatra Fox Series #8)” by C.J. Archer
2. “The Five-Star Weekend” by Elin Hilderbrand
3. “Losers: Part 1” by Harley Laroux
4. “The Wedding People” by Alison Espach
5. “The Rose Code” by Kate Quinn
— Amy M., Kenosha, Wisconsin
Jess Walter’s “Beautiful Ruins” covers an amazing amount of territory in terms of years and emotional turmoil, and I think it’s a good match for Amy.
Get a reading from the Biblioracle
Send a list of the last five books you’ve read and your hometown to [email protected].
John Warner is the author of books including “More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI.” You can find him at biblioracle.com.
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