A Conversation with Peter Thiel
March 26, 2012 | Source: The American Interest
Peter Thiel (credit: Singularity Institute)
Some comments by entrepreneur Peter Thiel, interviewed by author Francis Fukuyama:
- I think there’s a close link between technological deceleration and increasing cynicism and pessimism about politics and economics.
- We should debate whether it should be decentralized or centralized, but what the United States has today is an extremely big government, a quasi-socialist government, but without a five-year plan, with no plan whatsoever.
- If there is going to be a government role in getting innovation started, people have to believe philosophically that it’s possible to plan. That’s not the world we’re living in. A letter from Einstein to the White House would get lost in the mail room today. Nobody would think that any single person would have that kind of expertise.
- It’s much harder to get a new drug through the FDA process. It takes a billion dollars. I don’t even know if you could get the polio vaccine approved today.
- I’m deeply skeptical about any sort of rationalization of death.
- When I taught at Stanford Law School last year, I asked students what they planned to do with their lives. Most were headed to big law firms but didn’t expect to become partners and didn’t know the next step after that. They didn’t have long-term plans about what they wanted to achieve in their lives. I think the educational system has become a major factor stopping people from thinking about the future.
Comments (12)
by Your Mobile Site
@gaoptimize
http://top-10-list.org/2010/10/01/top-10-technology-oriented-countries/
Ujelly, bro?
by Septimus
There is some serious ignorance on this board. Where to begin? Firstly, we are living in a Republic, not a democracy. Pick up a history book occasionally. It’ll do you good. Secondly, the amount of lobbying money in politics is a logical result of the vast new powers given our government by Progressives over the past 100 years. Shrink government’s power and the ROI diminishing dramatically. Don’t complain about the monster you folks have begged for. We’ve gone from having a government of the people to being a people of the government. And lastly, religion has zero to do with the deceleration of technological progress in the US. Our media are hostile to science and technology. Our institutions are staffed by scores of lawyers who’s sole task is to make millions from slowing progress. We used to be a can-do people. Now we’re a I’ll sue people.
Thiel is no libertarian. He appears to be a dyed in the wool statist. A real libertarian would never EVER suggest an import tariff as a solution.
by Dennis
Well said. Now how do i vote for you?
by Gary
One could argue that there has been some technological progress, especially in computer performance, but that its not finding its way into applications that boost industrial production; rather, it ends up in video games, social media and sophisticated cellphones that allow teenage girls to text each other with mindless dribble. All of which are of questionable value. I think the problem is that the organic response of advanced economies to globalization should be to innovate and apply new technologies. But that requires ceo’s and business managers who understand technology and mathematics, which is just not happening. So the underlying problem is that the wrong people occupy the executive suites of America. Meritocracy anyone?
/gary
by melajara
Instead of voting a bill legalizing UNLIMITED and ANONYMOUS funding from big corps to U.S. presidential candidates, exactly the reverse should have been done.
This is not a democracy anymore but just an hypocrite plutocracy.
This system is only entitled to let mediocre people emerge. Look at the Republican candidates: such a waste! So crystal clear that all the lot are just puppets to the lobbies pressing for them with huge money.
Disgusting!
by Zingo
Regarding the lack of long term thinking the press, the big finance and the politicians are all focussed on the next quarter. The stock exchange are on microsecond basis. Companies are soon to make financial statement on monthly basis. Projects planned to last more than 9 months are unthinkable in any company. Only the Chinese are long term thinking – way beyond the five year plans… To blame this short sightedness on the educational system is a joke. It’s major trend in the whole of the western world. Future shock is now. How can you young people plan for their career when everything is soo fast and everything change next year. However young people tend to be good at riding a wave and take risk. But to expect young people today be planning for a life long careers like their grandfathers is ignoring the acceleration of development tracked on this very website.
by Bob V
Who is really the worse guy, the corruptor or the corruptee? Is your beef against government or big corporations such as Big Pharma? By the way, a letter from Einstein doesn’t work because Einstein didn’t have an army of well-paid lobbyists. I’ve been on both sides; want to talk about it?
by DeBee Corley
Gee.
When the government gets to the point of making everything illegal, everybody will be a criminal.
Fortunately, government workers are too lazy to do much about it.
by Aezel
Progress is only decelerating in the U.S. where we are paralyzed by ancient superstitious religions and narcissistic culture that promote an attitude toward life that being ignorant is as good as being educated.
The rest of the world is going full steam ahead with increasing research and development. The future belongs to Europe and Asia at this point.
by gaoptimize
Europe? What a joke! Their demographic death spiral is breathtaking in its plummeting trajectory. Unless you think Amed, Haji, and Mo, who you imported to do your laundry and drive your taxis are going to be in the leaders of your new leading edge SciTech projects.Funding for SciTech will be one of the casualties of European budget realities.
by Chrispium
“It’s much harder to get a new drug through the FDA process. It takes a billion dollars. I don’t even know if you could get the polio vaccine approved today.”
Big Pharma wants it to be this way, they have lobbied intensely for this end for years. The purpose is to prevent small startups from competing with the big ones and thus create a monopoly the big ones can tap at their leisure.
If there is a small startup that has a good idea then to get the product on the market it usually has to sell the idea to one of the big ones and the big ones get to keep their monopoly.
by Herb Bradshaw
How about a letter from the CEO o f Goldman-Sachs or JPMorgan-Chase to the White House? There seems to be clear communication between government and special interests whose “innovation” is avaricious and not productive, even of second order.