The chaos of the Musk-Trump administration emphasizes the importance of a functioning government to the health and well-being of us all. Massive illegal funding cuts and firings of federal workers impact our daily lives, including the safety of our food and water. 

But this chaos isn’t random, as Gil Duran (former communications director for Kamala Harris and editor at the Sacramento Bee) explains. It’s part of a scheme that a small group of tech elites have been planning for years to gut our government and replace our democracy with an all-powerful leader aided by tech bro oligarchs. 

Now, this “Silicon Valley Playbook” has reached the highest halls of power, and Musk and Trump are following it to the letter.

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The Silicon Valley Playbook to Install a CEO-Dictator

This playbook originates with Curtis Yarvin, a software engineer and blogger. Yarvin has spent the last decade-plus calling for democracy to be replaced with a CEO-style dictator who would run the country like a corporation. 

Over that time, his ideas have gained ground among a number of Big Tech elite and right-wing figures like Silicon Valley darling, venture capitalist, and now-Vice President J.D. Vance. 

Yarvin laid out his plan as early as 2012, in a speech where he said, “If Americans want to change their government, they’re going to have to get over their dictator phobia.”

In that speech, Yarvin also outlined a strategy that he called “RAGE” — Retire All Government Employees. He proposed a “reboot” or remaking of the federal government by purging the federal workforce. RAGE would replace everyone loyal to democracy with minions loyal to a CEO dictator.

If this sounds familiar, that’s because Elon Musk is closely following this strategy with his “DOGE,” Department of Government Efficiency. In 2022, Yarvin refined his plan and outlined a so-called “butterfly revolution,” and the Musk-Trump administration has followed it to a T.

Musk and DOGE Follow the Blueprint for a CEO Takeover

Musk and Trump started with a Yarvin-prescribed takeover, in which a figurehead “chairman of the board” handpicks a CEO dictator to run the country without interference from Congress or the courts. That’s Donald Trump selecting Elon Musk, who has gutted federal agencies and withheld funds authorized by Congress and publicly questioned judges’ authority over Trump’s actions.

Next, they’ve followed Yarvin’s ideas for a government purge. We’ve seen this in their blanket buyout offer and haphazard layoffs. This is RAGE, plain and simple.

Then, Yarvin called for replacing these workers with people loyal to the CEO, not our democracy, to strip power from agencies, Courts, and Congress in a huge power grab. “The goal in the plan is very clear,” says Gil Duran. “Dismantle American government from the inside and convert it from democracy to autocracy.” 

Finally, Yarvin called for control of information through government, journalism, academia, and social media. This is also in motion — for example, the White House’s new press policies now privilege far-right outlets that Trump likes. 

By controlling the information, Musk and Trump can better shape public narratives and opinion. By portraying government as weak and bloated, they can get public buy-in for gutting it, selling it off to the highest bidder, and amassing more wealth and power for themselves. It’s how they stay in power.

Big Tech Sinks Its Teeth Into Our Politics

In recent years, Yarvin’s ideas have gone from fringe to influential among a cadre of powerful billionaires and extremists. He attracted the attention of PayPal-owner and Silicon Valley “kingmaker” Peter Thiel, who helped fund Yarvin’s company and made him his “house philosopher.” 

Thiel also took on now-Vice President J.D. Vance as his protegé and invested $15 million into his race for Senator. During this time, Vance is on-record name-dropping Yarvin and echoing many of his ideas on remaking government. Thiel also encouraged Trump to endorse Vance in his Senate race and later to make Vance Vice President. 

Recently, Yarvin attended an inaugural gala and told Politico that Vance is “perfect” for executing his plans. It’s clear that the “CEO-dictatorship” is baked into the Musk-Trump administration’s DNA.

Yarvin has also been popular with a segment of Big Tech elites. They believe individual geniuses (like them) will solve all the world’s problems if only they were unconstrained by pesky things like government regulations. 

By cozying up to the administration, fellow tech billionaires, including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, can bring this dream to life. DOGE embodies this worldview, and Musk is gleefully inflicting it on us all.

Now, under Yarvin’s guidance, Musk and Trump are working to turn the U.S. into a corporate dictatorship where elites gift themselves tax breaks and government contracts. Already, Musk has used his influence to enrich himself and garner greater government contracts for his Starlink company.

Defending Our Food, Water, and Democracy 

Elon Musk is attacking our democracy and government in partnership with Donald Trump, as Vance cheers them on. Their gleeful destruction of basic government functions threatens all we hold dear, including our food and water. 

They’ve halted vital programs for childcare and healthcare. They’ve paused projects to remove toxic lead and asbestos from communities. They’re laying off food safety staff and kneecapping the nation’s response to the bird flu pandemic.

Their cuts also imperil clean water programs and projects. A proposed 65% cut on funding for the Environmental Protection Agency will axe support for local projects that keep our water safe to drink and clean up toxic contamination. And their dangerous deregulation initiatives will allow profit-seeking polluters to run roughshod over our shared resources.

We can’t let this happen. Food & Water Watch is working with organizations and everyday people nationwide to stop the Musk-Trump agenda. We’re demanding that our leaders in Congress finally stand up to them and protect our democracy.

If Musk, Trump, and their right-wing Silicon Valley allies get their way, they’ll further concentrate power around themselves. And they’ll leave the rest of us with unsafe food and polluted water; sicker, poorer, and more powerless.

By joining together, we can protect our food, water, and government from would-be autocrats. We can fight this takeover and return power to the hands of the people, where it belongs.