Washington’s Coming Techno-Monarchy

How the Silicon Valley Technocracy Plans to Rule

In a recent Substack post, “Has the rolling coup d'etat begun?”, I hypothesized that the best description of the philosophy underlying the chainsaw destruction of America’s institutions is likely Neo-Machiavellianism. I suggested that Neo-Machiavellianism comes in two brands, one for the president and one for DOGE.

I might be mistaken on the first count. Even though the 47th president adheres scrupulously to selected principles drawn from the 48 Laws of Power, more than likely there is no ideology inspiring his disruptive action. Occam’s razor might say that brute selfishness sculpted by megalomania provides a sufficient explanation. The current Oval Office Führer “has no ideology or convictions besides a desire to look like a winner. He is guided by nothing other than his own id,” is the assessment of Shikha Dalmia. writing for Unpopulist.

What about the second form of Neo-Machiavellianism? The second form is proffered philosophically by Curtis Yarvin and put into practice by Peter Thiel and Elon Musk. DOGE Muskateers make it clear they aim at replacing American democracy with a techno-monarchy.

“I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible,” wrote Peter Thiel in a 2009 essay, “The Education of a Libertarian.” Nation-states interfere with economic freedom. Even democracies. So, with PayPal and crypto-currency, wealthy digiteers can move money according to a pattern that eventually will escape the restrictions of government-issued currency and taxation.

The current chainsaw havoc, then, appears to be the first in a series of steps that will lead to a coup d’etat and the crowning of a CEO successor to the electoral process. Whether the techno-monarch will be the current US president or his replacement has not yet been divulged.

Recall that Peter Thiel personally paid for the advancement of JD Vance from relative obscurity to national prominence. Exactly what role the vice president will play in the coup remains to be revealed.

Mike Brock, writing for The UnPopulist, tabulates the steps toward the DOGE goal.

A shadow revolution is unfolding within the U.S. government. Inside Elon Musk’s DOGE, teams of young tech operatives are systematically dismantling democratic institutions and replacing them with proprietary artificial intelligence systems. Civil servants who raise legal objections are being removed. Government databases are being migrated to private servers. Decision-making power is being transferred from elected officials and career bureaucrats to algorithms controlled by a small network of Silicon Valley elites. In short, democracy is being deleted and replaced by AI models and proprietary technology—Musk's claims about transparent, open-source governance notwithstanding. It is a coup, executed not with guns but with backend migrations and database wipes.

If this is accurate, we might as well wave “good-bye” to the democracy we grew up with.

Conclusion

I’m not ready to wave “good-bye.” But, what’s a public theologian sitting in an obscure man cave to do?

Liberal and progressive Christians have long believed that good ideas and high moral ideals motivate, inspire, and transform. Intellectual persuasion has been the primary method for spreading a better way to think during the American Revolution, the abolitionist movement, women’s suffrage, and the civil rights movement. We’ve seen glorious moral advance in America’s history.

But how can consciousness raising compete with the techno-specialists taking charge of artificial intelligence, data control, means of exchange, and digital communication?

Substack Pt 3259. Washington’s Coming Techno-Monarchy

Washington’s Coming Techno-Monarchy

Plundering Social Security

DOGE fires the Holy Spirit

Persecuting Christians in America?

Do scapegoats purify America?

Stupidity Exceeded by Perfidy

Hate and Lies about Hate

Public Theology Resources

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For Substack, Ted Peters posts articles and notices in the field of Public Theology. He is a Lutheran pastor and emeritus professor at the Graduate Theological Union. His single volume systematic theology, God—The World’s Future, is now in the 3^rd edition. He has also authored God as Trinity plus Sin: Radical Evil in Soul and Society as well as Sin Boldly: Justifying Faith for Fragile and Broken Souls. In 2023 he published. The Voice of Public Theology, with ATF Press. This year he has published an edited volume, Promise and Peril of AI and IA: New Technology Meets Religion, Theology, and Ethics (ATF) and along with Arvin Gouw an edited collection, The CRISPR Revolution in Science, Religion, and Ethics (Bloomsbury 2025). See his website: TedsTimelyTake.com.

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