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From: piqd - your piqs of the day <dailydigest@piqd.com>
Date: Thu, Sep 21, 2017 at 7:00 AM
Subject: If Silicon Valley Was In Europe, It Would Probably Vote Liberals And Democrats
To: Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004@gmail.com>


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piqer:
Magda Skrzypek
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Silicon Valley is getting increasingly more mixed up in politics. On one hand, some of the tech giants have become increasingly vocal about their anti-Trump views, for example, taking a stance against his rollback of DACA and condemning his order on Muslim immigration. On the other hand, we have other members of the U.S. tech industry, including a PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, planting themselves in Trump’s corner.

This political awakening, topped up with the industry’s growing economic power, positions Silicon Valley as a significant player on the political scene. But if technologists’ become a political force, what sort of policies will they push? As The New York Times points out, a new study by political scientists at Stanford University might offer some indication.

“Technologists could help push lawmakers, especially Democrats, further to the left on many social and economic issues. But they may also undermine the influence of some of the Democrats’ most stalwart supporters, including labor unions. And they may strive to push Democrats away from regulation on business,” writes The New York Times.

A detailed survey of more than 600 respondents showed that tech entrepreneurs favour greater wealth redistribution, universal health care, open immigration, free trade, gay rights and gun control. However, there is something that puts them at odds with Democrats and edges them closer to most Republicans, mainly their support for less government regulation, especially of the labour.

“The tech elite’s mix of views is unique (..). It is genuinely difficult to think of any politician who aligns with that mix,” writes the New York Times.

What seems so groundbreaking in the U.S. two-party system, is rather unremarkable in Europe, where centrist parties espouse both neoliberal economics and progressive stances on socio-political issues. Given their new electorate in San Francisco Bay Area, maybe European Liberals and Democrats should consider possible expansion overseas.

 
Source: Farhad Manjoo | nytimes.com on 09/07/2017 | Image: Doug Chayka | Language: EN
 
Silicon Valley's Politics: Liberal, With One Big Exception
 
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