|
Silicon Valley secessionism
|
Silicon Valley secessionism refers to the idea that Silicon Valley in California should secede, either from California, or from the United States altogether. The concept has been advocated by a number of notable individuals, including prominent figures in Silicon Valley's technology industry, and is often associated with libertarian or neoreactionary political views. One of the first to advocate the idea was Balaji Srinavasan, a general partner in the Andreessen Horowitz venture capital firm, which specializes in technology companies. Srinavasan argued that Silicon Valley's advances in technology have disrupted numerous other industries elsewhere in the country, and predicted this would lead to an eventual backlash against the Valley, thus justifying secession as a preemptive measure. Srinivasan's remarks were received warmly by an audience at Y Combinator. Later, the Six Californias initiative, started by tech investor Tim Draper, sought to divide California into six states, one of which was Silicon Valley.
The movement is part of a broader trend of anti-government sentiment among Silicon Valley's investors and businessmen, at least two of whom (Chamath Palihapitiya and Marc Andreessen) have praised the 2013 United States government shutdown. Secessionists use the term "Paper Belt" as a pejorative term to describe the rest of the country, which they view as hopelessly outmoded. There have been others, such as Google CEO Larry Page and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, who have advocated seasteading or creating a new technologically-oriented state free of government regulation.
|
