Peter Thiel Is a Flawed Messenger with a Crucial Message for Tech

> The size and scale of technology companies now surpasses that of most of the industrial, energy, and finance companies that dominated the American economy during the 20th century. The Valley’s close-knit groups of funders, founders, CEOs and listed companies seem to think they can remain both insular and dominant without either government or social backlash. That was always far-fetched, and is now utterly absurd. It’s one thing for renegades to re-invent the operating system for society. But once those renegades become the rulers, the rest of society will—and should—demand a greater say in how these technologies and services shape our lives and consume our time, energy, and money.

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> In his unartful way, then, Thiel is warning that the Valley’s tech elites are arrogantly unprepared for what’s coming. The government is eyeing them for the same reason robbers target banks: that’s where the money is. Tech will have an opportunity to shape the likely regulation, but only if it acts, rather than reacts, and offers real solutions that take the concerns of both government and citizens more seriously.

I can't say I disagree. People can form their conceptions of the world in one set of circumstances and often continue to hold onto them even when those circumstances change drastically. SV is not longer the scrappy underdog and I'm glad it's starting to get the scrutiny it needs.

Is this news to anyone at Google or Facebook or Apple? I wager that those three companies combined spend a large sum of money in all the world’s capitols in order to influence regulations.