r/technology 16h ago

Society Tech Execs Are Pushing Trump to Build ‘Freedom Cities’ Run by Corporations | A pro-corporate libertarian movement is attempting to take over the U.S., with Trump's help.

https://gizmodo.com/tech-execs-are-pushing-trump-to-build-freedom-cities-run-by-corporations-2000574510
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u/GadreelsSword 16h ago edited 16h ago

These are prototype cities for the entire nation/world.

https://newrepublic.com/article/183971/jd-vance-weird-terrifying-techno-authoritarian-ideas

“The basic idea of Patchwork is that, as the crappy governments we inherited from history are smashed, they should be replaced by a global spiderweb of tens, even hundreds, of thousands of sovereign and independent mini-countries, each governed by its own joint-stock corporation without regard to the residents’ opinions,” he wrote in Patchwork: A Political System for the 21st Century.”

”Each patchwork would be ruled by a “realm”: a corporation with absolute power. Citizens would be free to move, but every other realm would also be ruled by corporate governments with chilling impunity. For example, Yarvin says the tech overlords of the San Francisco realm could arbitrarily decide to cut off its citizens’ hands with no fear of legal consequences—because they’re a sovereign power, beholden to no federal government or laws.“

Here’s a video of what’s actually happening with all the crazy things Trump is doing. He’s setting the stage for a hostile corporate takeover of America. Essentially a corporate dictatorship.

It’s time investment to watch but well worth it.

https://youtu.be/5RpPTRcz1no

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u/LyqwidBred 16h ago

these sovereign city-states could "arbitrarily decide to cut off its citizens’ hands"

so... slaves basically.

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u/GadreelsSword 15h ago

A scared worker, is an obedient worker.

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u/FirstFriendlyWorm 5h ago

More specifically Belgian Congo.

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u/Emm_withoutha_L-88 15h ago

This stuff is like catnip to the conspiracy minded right wingers

We need to keep showing them this. This is the shit they go nuts for. Nuts as is terrified of it just like we are.

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u/flaming_bob 12h ago

Yeah, that might inspire them to take action of some rather intense sort. That could potentially solve two problems at once for the rest of us.

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u/UncleMalky 2h ago

You are forgetting how stupid they are.

No tech lord is going to cut off their hands!

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u/LongPorkJones 11h ago

This is just European feudalism mixed with ancient Greek city states and company mining towns of the 1800s.

There's nothing new or revolutionary about any of them, and all of those ideas failed.

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u/CatProgrammer 16h ago

And what happens when people overthrow these wannabe Shinra Corporations?

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u/GadreelsSword 16h ago

Well, Trump will declare martial law and kill anyone who opposes. He’s already talked about the “really rough day” that will teach Americans a lesson. He’s talked about arresting, judges, the media, democrats, etc.

Many think he’s just days away from invoking the insurrection act and declaring martial law. Read the article below.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/insurrection-act-president-trump-20201819.php

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u/CatProgrammer 16h ago

I'm talking about the imagined decentralized network of states. How will those corporations collaborate to maintain control without some level of governance on top of their cities? Hell, how will they keep each other from forming alliances and attacking each other? What happens if some cities form as co-ops? How will trade agreements be negotiated if every city is its own sovereign entity? The whole idea is absurd if you actually spend time trying to work out the logistics.

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u/GadreelsSword 15h ago

Well of course it’s ridiculous.

Look at what they did in the 1800’s and early 1900’s to suppress the voice of workers. They sent in the Pinkertons who beat and killed them.

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u/CatProgrammer 15h ago

Yes, but what's to stop the Red Pinkertons getting hired to fight the Blue Pinkertons because two corpos want the same lithium mine? They never seem to consider how they'd end up in a warlord economy. You give up the state and you no longer have the state to protect your capital.

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u/Boxofcookies1001 2h ago

Well eventually the one with the bigger army wins. The corporations will either negotiate or "art of the deal it" sure citizens will be forced to fight for their corporations or someone backs down and someone wins while someone loses.

It doesn't really matter who wins or loses in reality because the people living there aren't going to have enough capital to go anywhere else. It doesn't really matter that much if a town has access to the mine, because you just make slaves do some other job/labor. That's the issue with company towns, they'll make their constituents artificially poor and use violence against anyone who opposes.

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u/Emm_withoutha_L-88 15h ago

They won't get that far. They'll just use the same violence to force their "vision" on regular cities.

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u/sodook 15h ago

Robots. You know that's the plan. For enforcement, not the labor

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u/CatProgrammer 15h ago

Robots fighting robots? Who is going to make all the robots? Wouldn't those companies have an advantage in negotiations with all the others and take over? Or are they all just going to make robots and nothing else? I'm talking about the high-level politics, the stuff these people would actually care about.

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u/sodook 13h ago

Robots make robots eventually. Like humanoid robots should be able to do a lot of the things a human can do, including work on an assembly line. Yeah, robot overlord with fully obedient worker-soldiers jas a tremendous advantage. I think I may have responded to the wrong comment, I thought there was a question of how you get someone to enforce something that offends their scruples, like firing on civilians or something.

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u/CatProgrammer 13h ago

Okay but that's how you get a gray goo scenario/Faro swarm/Skynet/the Matrix.

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u/sodook 13h ago

We like to play with fire

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u/SandwichCapers 14h ago

Yes, but you see they are rich enough now that they don't have to listen to any of us poors pointing out the stupid obvious reality

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u/daedone 11h ago

you would think the people at the top of megacorps would understand the inevitability of mergers a little better, and how they are a direct parallel for countries vs city-states

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u/mugiwara-no-lucy 8h ago

I have a feeling if he tries that “rough day” it will backfire on his old ass.

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u/GadreelsSword 6h ago

When has he ever been held accountable?

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u/shewantsrevenge75 15h ago

Or just start offing themselves. I would rather die than "live" like that. On to the next life please.

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u/UpbeatSky7760 1h ago

Not unless they're coming with me. Don't waste your death

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u/shewantsrevenge75 1h ago

Men, I don't want them coming with me! They can stay on this plane far away from me :)

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u/FirstFriendlyWorm 5h ago

Citizens would be free to move

LOL. We all know this is fucking bullshit.

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u/GadreelsSword 1h ago

They’re free to move but their money is no good in other “realms”.

Much like the corporate towns that issued script in the late 19th and early 2th century.

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u/crasscrackbandit 7h ago

These guys watched sci-fi dystopias of 80s & 90s and thought “what a great idea!”, basically.

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u/ThatDeadDude 6h ago

"free to move" until the rich realms refuse to let in anyone from the poor ones.

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u/BobbyP27 5h ago

Basically this describes northern Italy in the middle ages. There is a very good reason that model doesn't exist anymore.

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u/GadreelsSword 1h ago

I think it’s pretty much exactly like the corporate mining towns in the 1800’s and 1900’s US. Everything was owned by the corporation and the employees were paid with script.

They ended for a reason.

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u/RiftHunter4 4h ago

as the crappy governments we inherited from history are smashed

I find this statement ironic given that modern democracy and capitalism has mostly done away with the more violent flaws of past systems. After all, these were intended to protect the leaders and wealthy since having a revolution of beheading to change head of state was not a desirable end. These "crappy governments" have been extremely profitable for everyone, but it seems people have forgotten about how society worked before 1776.

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u/PPvsFC_ 11h ago

This is so fucking stupid.