Mike Brock: DOGE is not about efficiency. It is about erasure. Democracy is being deleted in slow motion, replaced by proprietary technology and AI models. It is a coup, executed not with guns, but with backend migrations and database wipes.
Another good piece (shorter!) from the same author, emphasis mine:
From Madison's Vision to Musk's Dystopiawww.notesfromthecircus.com
How Libertarian Naivety Paves the Way for Reactionary Control
The blood now staining our hands isn't just from failing to defend democracy"it's from betraying the sophisticated understanding of power that Madison built into our constitutional system itself. We've allowed the very fusion of private and public power that he sought to prevent, creating a new form of tyranny that wears the mask of efficiency and innovation.
This betrayal has given rise to strange bedfellows, alliances that might seem contradictory at first glance. The apparent contradictions can be confusing: How do Christian nationalists and gay atheist tech billionaires end up on the same side? Why are some reactionaries pushing ethnic nationalism while others advocate for immigration? What binds together Catholic integralists, Silicon Valley oligarchs, and MAGA populists?
The answer lies in their shared rejection of Madison's vision. Despite their surface-level differences, these groups are united by a common desire to concentrate power outside of democratic institutions. They may disagree on the specifics of how that power should be wielded, but they agree on dismantling the systems that disperse and balance it.
Tech billionaires see an opportunity to reshape society through private control of crucial infrastructure. Christian nationalists envision a return to religious authority unconstrained by secular checks. MAGA populists dream of a strongman leader unencumbered by institutional restraints. What unites them is not a coherent ideology, but a shared antipathy towards the democratic dispersion of power that Madison designed. . . .
Their thought-leaders provide theoretical justification, the tech oligarchs provide infrastructure and resources, and the populists provide the political energy needed to dismantle democratic institutions.
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