Why can't our tech billionaires learn anything new?

Abstraction: Critique of Andreessen's techno-optimist manifesto as recycled 1990s Californian ideology

Key points:

• Dave Karpf argues Marc Andreessen's 2023 "techno-optimist manifesto" is a rehash of 1990s Californian Ideology (Rossetto, Kelly, Brand) — libertarian tech utopianism that has failed to deliver on its promises
• Andreessen's "accelerationist vs. deceleration" framing is a false dichotomy; technology is not a single dial but a direction shaped by institutions, incentives, and public investment
• Silicon Valley was built on public largesse (Space Race, tax policy, California emissions trading); Andreessen's "free market" narrative is a "childlike fantasy"
• The 1990s techno-optimists promised markets would reduce inequality and solve environmental problems — outcomes have been the opposite (largest wealth gap since 1920s, climate crisis)
• Andreessen approvingly quotes accelerationist/neo-reactionary philosopher Nick Land; the manifesto also echoes the 1909 Futurist Manifesto, later co-authored by Marinetti in the Fascist Manifesto
• Karpf advocates technological pragmatism: asking how technologies actually work, who benefits, and how direction can be influenced — not just pace

Connections: Marc Andreessen · Andreessen Horowitz · Technology Policy · AI Governance · Techno Optimism

Source: https://davekarpf.substack.com/p/why-cant-our-tech-billionaires-learn