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Bezos, Musk, Ellison & The Rightward Lurch of Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley has always been declaratively liberal, particularly during the high times of the Obama era. But the political tenor has been quietly moving rightward for years, punctuated of late by the declarations of three of its heaviest heavies.

Musk and Trump
Photo: Matt McClain/Getty Images
Theodore Schleifer
May 24, 2022

I’m not sure it’s ever been true that Silicon Valley, as Mark Zuckerberg put it during his umpteenth address before Congress, is “a very left-leaning place.” It is a seductive narrative for Republicans like Jim Jordan, and it is certainly a useful feint for people like Zuckerberg, himself. But it doesn’t pass the smell test. Silicon Valley may be somewhat culturally liberal, but its economic value system is as unmistakably conservative as Wall Street or Houston.