The Nixon Seminar with Peter Thiel
I&#x27;ve done two quick passes over this transcript, and a theme stands out to me: Thiel and company repeatedly claim that there is no meaningful difference between the Chinese military and individual Chinese nationals who work for American companies, because China is essentially a fusion state where the government dictates the flow of capital. In this account, America is supposed to be distinct: there is a clear division between capital and state, and the US government (overwhelmingly) does not interfere with capital interests. I don&#x27;t think this is particularly accurate (in either direction), but that&#x27;s the claim that I see staked out.<p>But then there&#x27;s a turn-on-a-dime: Silicon Valley should be held to account by the US government, and should be made by state authority to advance <i>specific</i> domestic and foreign policies. Thiel and company are explicit about the policies they&#x27;d like to see the state advance by strongarming private capital: strategic investment in Taiwanese technological interests, not banning hateful content, &amp;c.<p>So my question: what gives? The latter is <i>very explicitly</i> a &quot;fusion&quot; (i.e., Chinese) approach to state and capital; isn&#x27;t that <i>exactly</i> what the Thiel and paleoconservative types are claiming to be against? Is there some inner logic to this that I&#x27;m not perceiving, or is this all just Kissinger-style realpolitik?