Depending on who you are, you may find it hilarious, fascinating, insufferable, or horrifying that one of the world’s most powerful men is obsessing over a figure from sermons and horror movies. But the ideas and influences behind these talks are key to understanding how Thiel sees his own massive role in the world—in politics, technology, and the fate of the species. And to really grasp Thiel’s katechon-and-Antichrist schtick, you need to go back to the first major lecture of his doomsday road show—which took place on an unusually hot day in Paris in 2023. No video cameras recorded the event, and no reporters wrote about it, but I’ve been able to reconstruct it by talking to people who were there.

  • dumples@midwest.social
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    4 hours ago

    There is nothing more dangerous than a powerful man who belive he is doing the will of his god.

  • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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    6 hours ago

    Peter Thiel is a really weird guy. It’s too bad that money is a force multiplier for such weird people. Otherwise, freaks like this could just be ignored by the rest of us. Without money, he’d be forced to stand out on the sidewalk with a sign yelling crazy shit. Or the more modern equivalent - posting memes borrowed from other conservative cranks on Facebook until normal people just block him.

    This guy is obsessed with the book The Sovereign Individual, too. I mean, the worldview of the authors of that book - it really has to be read to be believed…they really do cast the capitalists as the victims. The victims of labor activism.

    And then there is Thiel’s thing with Curtis Yarvin…the fact that he’s also a believer in xtian eschatology and what seems to be rather typical Birch Society bullshit (fear of a “one world government”)…almost seems like rather basic bitch stuff. Hell, Hollywood has been pitching that kind of thing for how long? The Omen, The Seventh Sign, The Prince of Darkness, etc…you’d think all that money would buy something rather more interesting when it comes to philosophy.

    Also, it’s really weird that article brings up Night of the Long Knives and nothing about Thiel being gay. Are people still afraid of him over that Gawker thing? I mean, that was some real “free speech maximalism” right there…

    • masterofn001@lemmy.ca
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      59 minutes ago

      Don’t forget that thiel likely had his gay lover killed because of being gay (and probably the Epstein stuff)

      And when you get to the part when you find out that they’re all fans or friends with Alexander Dugin - Putin’s philosopher and absolute psychopath, things get even more fun.

      Warning: this is a nutjob extreme rw site that is host to writings by dugin (and others). Enter at the expense of your hope for humanity.

      https://arktos.com/2025/03/18/an-even-deeper-state-and-the-dark-enlightenment/

      https://arktos.com/2024/09/19/lacan-and-psychedelic-trumpism/

      Figures like Peter Thiel, Curtis Yarvin (Mencius Moldbug), and the brilliant French philosopher René Girard (who wrote on sacred violence) are atypical for classic right-wing Republicans. They cannot be used to illustrate the Imaginary (which the progressives supposedly aim to dismantle in the name of the Symbolic). In Vance, the Democrats’ psychoanalytic strategy fails, as Vance himself embodies the atypical right-wing Symbolic pole. It is even possible that he understands this and is familiar with Lacan. Thus, choosing Vance as vice president is a key move in Trump’s campaign. Once again, the magic of chaos — represented by the Borromean rings and their connection to dreamlike psychedelia — comes into play, but this time more systematically.

      Like wtf ? People actually listen and worship this guy.

    • fort_burp@feddit.nl
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      3 hours ago

      It just gets creepier and creepier as you read on, especially considering it was written in 2019.

      The Antichrist will form an alliance with the ruler of Israel and will desire to occupy the coastal area.

  • xyzzy@lemmy.today
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    6 hours ago

    This is one of the most interesting articles I’ve read in a while. If I can summarize:

    Peter Thiel (through his company Palantir and his protégé, JD Vance) is actively working to construct a police state centered on scapegoating marginalized people in order to reinforce American cultural unity in order to stave off the end of the world. This is based heavily on the ideas of a Nazi philosopher, Carl Schmitt, who misinterpreted and misapplied the thinking of a French-American philosopher, René Girard, who said scapegoating has become less and less effective in producing cultural unity since the time of Jesus (who personified the scapegoat and revealed its immorality). Schmitt later admitted he had backed the wrong horse (Hitler), and his actions had brought the world closer to a one-world government, which all agree is what will enable the Antichrist to bring about Armageddon.

    Thus, my interpretation, the natural conclusion is that Vance is scapegoating immigrants, trans people, etc. in some deranged plan to prevent the end of the world.

    • Basic Glitch@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      5 hours ago

      Thus, my interpretation, the natural conclusion is that Vance is scapegoating immigrants, trans people, etc. in some deranged plan to prevent the end of the world.

      Or so they can always claim

      Thiel is and has always been very careful to have his own scapegoat in place (in this case Vance or Alex Karp) so that he can always avoid the repercussions that follow the inevitable downfall his own actions have caused.

  • MushuChupacabra@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    The fact that people can have sincerely held beliefs that are fucking crazy, is a decisive arguement in favor of capping the maximum amount of wealth and power an individual can have.

    • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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      6 hours ago

      I like Bernie’s idea of taxing anything over 999 million at 100%. I’m sure billionaires could get by with only nine digits of wealth…

    • PattyMcB@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      And a reason to offer public mental health services that preclude such psychos from becoming so powerful