[zapw]

This was strange and disappointing thing to read. Why such a conspiratorial tone ("we are being lied to", "we have enemies", etc.)?

Since this is written by Marc Andreessen, I did a search for "crypto" and "web 3", but no results came up. Isn't that strange coming from someone who was so prominent in promoting and advocating for a crypto-based future? I guess that one didn't pan out…

"Our enemy is the ivory tower" is a bit rich coming from a billionaire who lives in one of the most exclusive California communities (and vociferously opposes any development in that community, despite loudly proselytizing to others that "it's time to build").

Looking at the "Patron Saints", after skipping the meme-posting pseudonymous Twitter accounts, I am pretty sure university professor is the most common profession. The ivory tower is the enemy indeed. And it does seem distasteful to use the names of dead scientists and intellectuals like John Von Neumann and Richard Feynman to burnish the image of this polemic.

[chx]

The Patron Saints section is where the truth is laid bare because it contains Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. He was quite in the business of writing Manifestos. Check which one he co-authored in 1919.

[jpadkins]

I never read (or studied in class) the fascist manifesto, your comment inspired me to look it up. The Wikipedia summary is a hoot: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascist_Manifesto

Politically, the Manifesto calls for: * Universal suffrage with a lowered voting age to 18 years, and voting and electoral office eligibility for all ages 25 and up; * Proportional representation on a regional basis; * Voting for women; * Representation at government level of newly created national councils by economic sector; * The abolition of the Italian Senate (at the time, the Senate, as the upper house of parliament, was by process elected by the wealthier citizens, but were in reality direct appointments by the king. It has been described as a sort of extended council of the crown); * The formation of a national council of experts for labor, for industry, for transportation, for the public health, for communications, etc. Selections to be made of professionals or of tradesmen with legislative powers, and elected directly to a general commission with ministerial powers.

In labor and social policy, the Manifesto calls for: * The quick enactment of a law of the state that sanctions an eight-hour workday for all workers; * A minimum wage; * The participation of workers' representatives in the functions of industry commissions; * To show the same confidence in the labor unions (that prove to be technically and morally worthy) as is given to industry executives or public servants; * Reorganization of the railways and the public transport sector; * Revision of the draft law on invalidity insurance; * Reduction of the retirement age from 65 to 55.

In military affairs, the Manifesto advocates:

Creation of a short-service national militia with specifically defensive responsibilities; Armaments factories are to be nationalized; A peaceful but competitive foreign policy.

In finance, the Manifesto advocates:

* A strong extraordinary tax on capital of a progressive nature, which takes the form of true partial expropriation of all wealth; * The seizure of all the possessions of the religious congregations and the abolition of all the bishoprics, which constitute an enormous liability on the Nation and on the privileges of the poor; * Revision of all contracts for military provisions; * The revision of all military contracts and the seizure of 85 percent of the profits therein.

[chx]

After Wikipedia has been caught to be influenced by the Polish, Hungarian and Croatian far right -- and you bet there are more -- I would be very slow to trust a summary of that manifest from it. It's one of those topics where a little omission here and there can make quite a difference and you don't even need to insert a lie into Wikipedia. Not that's hard, just put down an obscure book as a source, no one checks whether your quote is in it.

[wanderingbit]

Your comment primed me for some wikipedia shenanigans, but when I looked up and translated the 1919 original, it’s more or less exactly the same as the Wikipedia summary.

http://web.tiscalinet.it/regno76/testi/manifesti/Il%20manife...

Thanks for prodding me to go down that rabbit hole.

Seems like Marinetti didn’t foresee how horrible the “industry councils” would be.

The nationalized military industrial complex could or could not be a good idea.

[davidgerard]

> Why such a conspiratorial tone

Marc has been meeting up with neoreactionaries, this is a normal viewpoint in SV VC circles. See how his article recommends the co-author of the Fascist Manifesto.