The West is on the precipice of succumbing to an authoritarian take over. From Donald Trump winning the United States Presidential election, to the far-right closer to clinching power in France, from the Reform Party’s astonishing rise to prominence in the UK where their popularity has grown tremendously since being founded, to Pierre Poilievre’s dominant lead in the polls over Justin Trudeau in next year’s Canadian Election.

Donald Trump’s 2024 Win

Trump’s electoral success can be attributed in part to the support of technofascists who have used their influence and resources to advance their fiscal interests. These interests include deregulation of industries and lowering tax rates for corporations and the wealthy.

Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel, has played a pivotal role in aligning Big Tech with Trump’s (and by extension the Republican party’s) agenda. Thiel famously hired JD Vance, now the U.S. Vice President, at his investment firm and donated $15 million to Vance’s Ohio Senate campaign in 2022. Similarly, Elon Musk has been a significant and very vocal ally of Trump, using his vast platform to amplify Trump’s message. Musk reactivated Trump’s Twitter account – alongside many well known racist and fascists – and manipulated the platform’s algorithms to promote far-right talking points and support Trump’s presidential campaign. Musk’s presence at Trump’s campaign events has been so frequent that even Trump has ‘joked’ about Musk overstaying his welcome.

Elon Musk’s influence extends beyond social media. He intervened to undermine a Senate bill aimed at raising the U.S. government’s debt ceiling, nearly causing a government shutdown. Musk has been so aggressive deploying his influence and wealth that the left and even resentful components of the MAGA movement have coined the term “President Musk” – in reference to how Trump seems to merely be a figurehead with respect to Musk, and also to wound Trump’s ego to goad him into ousting Musk from his circle.

Thiel and Musk are not alone. Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Meta, was previously critical of Trump and the alt-right agenda but has now also attended Trump events and adjusted his platform’s policies to exclude anti-LGBT sentiments from hate speech regulations. This re-alignment is important in understanding how the tech sector’s most powerful figures have become complicit in advancing far-right agendas.

Global Fascism

At this point, it may seem like the United States is an anomaly with regards to the far right and the role of the tech sector in this – that’s not the case. Fascist movements are gaining popularity all over Europe and even in Asia. For example, Elon Musk recently tossed around the idea of donating £80m to the far right Reform party in the UK. He has also actively advocated for the AfD in Germany. Le Pen has seen an increase in popularity in France and the far right Meloni cabinet in Italy won their national election in 2022. China has been promoting far right cultural talking points, likely in an effort to rally their future population to the CCP once their population dip causes financial strain on their country. As inequality drives towards a breaking point, liberal economics dies.

The cause

It is common for liberals to assume that the issue here is with some ‘bad eggs’, and that if their influence were just removed then this increased impact of  far-right culture would just disappear. Unfortunately, this is not the case, for it is the system of capital itself and the power it buys in a capitalist economy that promotes the greediest, most self-serving individuals to rise to the apex of power and influence and use it to serve their own purposes: if it weren’t Musk, it would be someone else.

The general public is rightfully frustrated with liberal politicians too. Liberal politicians are in-bed with capital just like right wing parties and thus won’t challenge capital meaningfully either, despite the decline of the common person’s material conditions. This frustration leads to votes for radical populists out of both desperation and outrage at the system. As a hopeful addendum, this doesn’t just seem to be right-wing populists, as the left-wing independent United States senator Bernie Sanders is immensely popular even with republican voters.

Conclusion

Arguably, the pressing question is why technocrats like Musk, Thiel, and others continue to amass wealth and power when they already possess vast resources. Greed and the lust for power seems to be boundless. For these individuals, wealth is not merely a means to an end but an end in itself, and power becomes an addiction that fuels their ambitions.

Fortunately, there are solutions. The working class vastly outnumbers the ultra-wealthy class and authoritarian politicians, making collective action through protests and trade unions a powerful tool for securing economic justice and protecting those targeted by reactionary forces. The socialisation of key industries—particularly the tech sector, including the gaming industry, which is in dire need of reform— is a key demand in the interests of the vast majority. A significantly higher wealth tax to fund social programs and revive the crumbling welfare state, would be instrumental in improving the lives of ordinary people.