Two dominant figures tend to make the biggest waves in messages concerning the United States: President Donald Trump, returned to office, and tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has set about dismantling government structures. The impression often given is that these characters act completely out of control — unpredictably and irrationally. But it's possible we're only at the beginning of a process that will ultimately have a much broader impact than just in the U.S.

I'm referring to ongoing discussions in the media about who might be behind these developments and what the goals of this wrecking-ball behavior might be. Various underlying influences have been suggested. Russian interference has been mentioned, but I'll leave that aside. Nor will I delve into possible reasons for Trump's friendliness toward Russia.

When it comes to Musk, it's worth recalling his infamous arm gesture resembling a Nazi salute. Was it a conscious use of a fascist symbol or just a random motion? We don't know. What is known is that Musk was, during his childhood in South Africa, deeply fascinated by his grandfather Joshua Haldeman. Back in the 1930s, while living in Canada, Haldeman was involved in the Technocracy Incorporated movement, which was later banned by the Canadian government due to its opposition to Canada's participation in World War II against the Nazis.

In 1951, Musk's grandfather emigrated to South Africa, believing that the apartheid regime there was much better than Canadian democracy. In Haldeman's view, South Africa represented a white Christian civilization resisting an international conspiracy of Jewish bankers and the nonwhite masses under their control. While this admiration for apartheid and Nazi ideology may have influenced young Elon Musk, the more intriguing aspect is his grandfather's connection to the technocrats.

That movement had plans to create a technocratic state across America. The blueprint included not only the United States but also Canada, Greenland, Caribbean nations and parts of Central America. That might sound somewhat familiar — at least in part. Recall Trump's past rhetoric about absorbing some of those countries into the U.S., whether voluntarily or, if necessary, by force.

And that brings us to the present day. In my previous talks, Curtis Yarvin has come up — a current leading thinker behind the so-called "Dark Enlightenment," who has followers among Silicon Valley's tech oligarchs. This tech elite believes that the current American empire is on the verge of collapse. Their goal is not to prevent that collapse, but to accelerate it, all while building secure zones for themselves and their assets. In these zones, they alone would make the rules.

Their first objective is to dismantle existing state structures and put an end to democracy. Much like the earlier members of the technocracy movement, today's technocrats believe that experts — preferably engineers — should run the state, not elected politicians.

Most of these tech oligarchs belong to the so-called "PayPal Mafia" — individuals who made their fortunes by working at PayPal and later selling it off.

The most visible of them is Elon Musk, who now has the means to start taking over the functions of the state. Starlink for internet control. The former Twitter, now X, for information and financial control. xAI, Musk's artificial intelligence company, for decision-making systems. Tesla and SpaceX for physical infrastructure.

But perhaps the more important figure behind the scenes is Peter Thiel, who operates more quietly through his company Palantir and a network of allies, building the surveillance and control infrastructure needed for this envisioned new world order. Thiel's influence stretches from national security to financial systems.

According to several analysts, this new order wouldn't look like a traditional state, but rather like a corporation. There would be no citizens, only consumers and shareholders. No need for a constitution — corporate rules would suffice. Rights would be replaced by services, purchasable through creating value for the system.

While Musk makes the noise, Thiel acts more politically. At some point, he realized he needed a body to take the necessary steps in politics. He chose JD Vance, whom he knew from the tech business and whose company he had funded. Thiel invested $15 million and turned the unknown Vance into a senator. The next step was to move that creature up the ladder.

Thiel, who never believed in democracy, went about things his own way. Vance's selection as Trump's running mate was decided at a private tech billionaire lunch with Trump. So what, then, is Trump's role? A useful one. He draws attention with his extravagant behavior. He tears down existing structures, serving as the public face people point fingers at. Meanwhile, Thiel has embedded several of his own people in Trump's inner circle to keep things on track. The real operators remain in the shadows.

At some point, though, Vance takes over officially — making all the decisions handed down by Thiel and company.

You might say, "But doesn't he have to win the next election first?" Yes. But Thiel's Palantir technology is already integrated into many parts of governance. It allows for the orchestration of social influence, the suppression of dissenting voices and the amplification of narratives favorable to those in power.

Public opinion can be manipulated through media campaigns run by artificial intelligence. Dissent is silenced with censorship and algorithms. As political scientist Rein Taagepera said in an interview with Sirp, he no longer believes that fair elections are possible in the United States.

Democracy, individual freedoms and the free market economy in the U.S. may be nearing their end — and that's no April Fool's joke. The only hope may be that the system of checks and balances still holds. Or that the Trump-Musk tandem blows itself up before democracy is completely dismantled.

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