At the time of Galileo, it was generally accepted that the Earth was the centre of the universe (geocentrism), and this was also supported by the Church. Galileo's observations (e.g. with an improved telescope) confirmed Copernicus' heliocentric theory that the planets move around the Sun. Therefore, and because of these views, Galileo was brought before an Inquisition court, to which he had to recant his claims under threat of torture and death. I know of no evidence that the statement And yet it spins! was actually uttered, but I do know that it has been a symbol for centuries that truth and scientific knowledge will eventually prevail, even if they are suppressed at the time.
Leaving aside the theological terminology, at least part of Donald Trump's foreign policy agenda is emerging among some tech oligarchs today: skepticism about international organizations, the idea of fighting dark forces that aim to harm America, and the belief that it is the job of a strong man to untie the knot and solve problems. Even after the election, the Czech Republic and its people may forget the hope that a strong man will emerge. In a society in which perfidy has taken root, a couple of proverbs apply: vanity of vanities and to whom there is no help, there is no help. Donald Trump's first supporters and J.D. Vance
Peter Andreas Thiel (1967) is an American entrepreneur of German origin, investor, philanthropist, political activist and co-founder of PayPal, Clarium Capital, Palantir Technologies and Founders Fund. In addition to the above, he is one of Trump's earliest supporters. In one of Thiel's recent presentations at Yale University, he describes Vance as one of the most important experiences of his student years. It's no wonder, then, that J.D. Vance is considered his protégé. Thiel opened his eyes to the important values in life and, among other things, paid fifteen million dollars into Vance's campaign coffers. This accelerated his career: from critic to Trump supporter, Vance went on to become a senator from Ohio and eventually vice president.
Back in 2022, Vance said it was time to replace the American ruling class, to rip it out like a tumor. In doing so, he followed the paths that Thiel had laid out in his mind: America must free itself from the burdens that prevent the country from returning to its former greatness. With new heads. And, if necessary, without regard for democratic rules. For Thiel sees democracy as a weak form of government: too slow, too cumbersome. And above all, it is incompatible with freedom as he understands it: If everyone has a say, it inevitably leads to over-regulation, which hinders entrepreneurship. Not only Brussels, but the Czech bureaucracy is an example of this view.
A world led by entrepreneurs
Men who make decisions, take risks and don't let the law slow them down. This is reminiscent of Trump's understanding of politics as the art of the deal. But Thiel goes much further. In his contempt for democracy, he follows one of his intellectual guiding stars: the Weimar Republic-era Leo Strauss. The philosopher-despiser of the Enlightenment considered democratic liberalism a political sin, which is why he is extremely popular with Silicon Valley gurus. Thiel studied philosophy at elite Stanford University, where French cultural anthropologist René Girard taught for a long time.
Thiel absorbed his thinking. It understands reason not as the central motive of human action, but as desire. But not an independent, but a mimetic desire that is directed toward objects desired by others. We desire them because others desire them, Girard says. We don't want to be unique, but to imitate others and mimic their desires. This inevitably leads to conflict. They determine the course of the world. And in the worst cases, they end fatally. In 2007, Thiel published an important essay, The Straussian Moment, in which he outlines the main features of the new world order after 9/11 and commits the US and Europe to the fight against Islam. The West can only win if it is aware that this is a fight-to be or not to be.
When Thiel was awarded the Frank Schirrmacher Prize in 2021, he concluded his speech with an admonition: new ideas are dangerous. But we will need them for our salvation. We should also remember that the motto of the Antichrist is peace and security. And today we must fear the Antichrist rather than Armageddon. I want to believe that at least a part of the current, not only Czech, political elite understands this warning and hint for future negotiations on Europe. Why do I want to believe? For Thiel, the Antichrist is a force that makes people believe that everything will be all right, thus masking the seriousness of the situation. I have been writing about masking the seriousness of the situation in the world and at home for several years, free of charge and in vain. The current election campaign proves that the candidates have learned nothing from history.
Neither kindred nor young souls dare come to a series of lectures similar to Thiel's. Almost all of them are afraid or uninterested. This also applies to the so-called left. Thiel says: You must fight them. Because Thiel has the necessary resources, he will be giving a four-part lecture series this month in San Francisco on the Antichrist, the diabolical opponent of Jesus Christ in the New Testament, who is spreading seductive but false teachings to drag mankind down to destruction. The series is for a limited number of guests, by appointment and expressly off the record. Therefore, the Czech basin will be as silent as a footpath.
It may sound strange that a tech billionaire, co-founder of PayPal and spyware company Palantir, would engage in far-flung theological speculation. Why would a rational person, an entrepreneur and investor with degrees in philosophy and law, a Silicon Valley pioneer, engage in end-of-the-world issues? And what else? One may ask. But I will not write about that today, given the current situation in the Czech basin and the EU and the personal risks associated with it, even in old age.
Thiel speaks of a welfare dictatorship with omnipotent surveillance technology and specifically names the institutions he considers its forerunners: the UN, the WHO, the WTO and the EU. The fight against them is tough, Thiel admits. But not hopelessly, because there is help. In doing so, he is referring to the theological concept of catechon, a biblical term for something that must be removed before the man of sin can come. And also the lies that the Antichrist invites: an all-powerful world state that promises a future without war. What is offered is Enough! and others like it, if they survive
Thiel isn't the only member of the Silicon Valley elite who is acting contrary to the status quo. And he's not the only one who knows how to justify his thinking philosophically. I'm reminded of Palantir CEO Alexander Karp, who studied philosophy in Frankfurt (he received his PhD from Jürgen Habermas, whom I met several times), and blogger and software entrepreneur Curtis Yarvin. Under the influence of Habermas' student Hans-Hermann Hoppe, the latter turned into a radical critic of democracy. I suspect that Thiel has a lot of influence in the White House. I write about him because the solution lies in people overcoming their tendency to imitate. If everyone wants what everyone else wants, there is no innovation. It is a disease not only of the EU and the Czech Republic.
For Thiel, as for me, the author of the article, this is a problem of universities. They are institutions of conformity that prevent stubbornness and originality. I appreciate Thiel's original decision to give scholarships to students who drop out of college to support people who think against the mainstream. He sees himself as a contrarian who often asks the young people who approach him if there is a conviction they believe in - and that no one else shares. I've been preaching a similar message for decades: don't believe I'm right. But if you prove me wrong, I'll apologize and be happy to invite you for a drink....
Today, many of us see that, apart from the digital world, we are in a technological stagnation. We see that the promises of the technology gurus have not been fulfilled, nor have the hopes of universal prosperity and social justice. That is why an ossified and frightened international elite has sent us on the road to a battlefield for the distribution of everything possible, especially material. It is not only Thiel who believes that the race against the dark forces cannot be won without the courage to take greater risks. And victory cannot be achieved even by contemporary democratic means. Although Trump's attacks on the separation of powers are not dangerous, they are necessary. After all, it is about saving humanity. Or maybe not? When Thiel was recently asked in an interview by New York Times columnist Ross Douthat whether his goal is the survival of humanity, Thiel hesitated to answer, flinched a few times, stammered, and said only: There are many open questions.
Yes, there are many open questions. Even in the case of Charlie Kirk. He documents the polarization of society and the surprising explanations in the Bible. It speaks of an evil that has always been among us. The demon that shook its ugly head. In many posts, murder was portrayed as the work of a man possessed by a spirit. And interpreted as a sign that the Antichrist was coming. Vance honored the MAGA activist as a savior who was crucified and suffered death. To then call for a fight against the forces that threaten America. Such thinking combines end times visions with a critical philosophy and combines it with the expectation that technological advances will solve all the world's problems. Personally, I believe this is a myth and an illusion of knowledge.
Similarly with President Trump's so-called change of stance on Ukraine and the Kremlin and the interpretation of the Kremlin's apparently restrained response to the White House chief's recent statements. And this is understandable: Washington is not changing its position, only its tone. Compared to his predecessors and European politicians, Trump has said nothing new. The EU's rejection of Russian energy resources is impossible because of Trump's staunchest allies. For this reason, the promise to impose sanctions if Europe abandons Russian resources is a pressure on NATO allies, not the Kremlin. That includes supplying arms to Ukraine's armed forces - only if Europe pays up.
Trump practically told Zelensky that if he doesn't want peace, then his shameful illness will determine his fate. A return of the 1991 borders and more should be prepared by the triumphant Ukrainians in the rear. Almost without exception, the Western media rejoiced after Trump's speeches. Today they are beginning to understand what happened: The West would be sold on the United States' self-exclusion from the conflict. Washington is participating as an arms dealer to Europe, not as a supporter of Kiev. But that is not all. A prosecutor specially appointed by President Trump has accused James Coney of lying to a Senate committee in the fall of 2020. The former FBI director, of course, sees himself as the victim of a vindictive campaign by the president. In fact, a similar step should be taken in the EC and the CR, because lying to power has become an inseparable part of politics and fear-mongering among citizens, and thus a punishable security risk.
I want to believe that von der Leyen will also pay for her arrogance and lying. She corresponded with President Macron about the EU's Mercosur deal and, as with the Pfizer scandal, her correspondence has disappeared. Hungarian MEP Kinga Gal reported on the social network X that the European Ombudsman has launched an investigation.
Times are changing, and Ursula von der Leyen's impunity, based on her warm relations with US Democratic leaders, is coming to an end. Her position is elective, and her position at the head of the European Commission is not even guaranteed by a huge directorate, not least because the wind has changed direction in Washington. This may bring unpleasant audits of the actions of the so-called elites. Not to mention the scandals relating to her husband's corruption and the purchase of vaccines against COVID.
The officials in Brussels who have confirmed von der Leyen's special relationship with Trump and who are trying to show this relationship as decisive in the conflict in Ukraine belong to the category - to be evicted. Yesterday we saw a meeting between von der Leyen and Trump that we consider to be extremely positive, said EC spokesman Gill. I don't know who cares about Mr Gill's words.
It would be more beneficial for EU citizens to explain why former French ex-president Sarkozy was found guilty of criminal association with Gaddafi and that the Paris Criminal Court acquitted him of all other charges. This is probably so that it can continue to claim that democracy is working. Von der Leyen should not see such a light sentence. Why?
Because they do not rule out that the United States may blame the European Union if Ukraine is defeated or loses financial support, and the EU gets into further financial and political difficulties. Von der Leyen should learn from Sarkozy: If they want me to sleep in jail, I will sleep there. Or from Prime Minister Netanyahu. He flew to the UN General Assembly, flying around European countries that recognise the ICC arrest warrant issued against him. His plane refused to enter the airspace of France, Spain and Portugal.
The future of reforms in the Czech Republic
1) Ideological constraints: the room for manoeuvre for any reformers is extremely narrow. Any changes, to be sustainable, must be clothed in the rhetoric of a return to the nation's foundations and traditions and divorced from the EU and NATO's bluster about peace, prosperity and social justice.
2) Economic policy: the model of state capitalism in the Chinese or similar style can only be supported as a technical borrowing, not as a civilizational choice. The national interest of the Czechs and Slavs can only be sustained if there is at least limited sovereignty.
3) Without China, European cleantech startups will not survive. That's the conclusion of a group of European investors who toured China's green technology scene in July, according to a Bloomberg report. China dominates the cleantech industry, is a key country for international energy and climate policy and has announced new climate targets.
4) Target group: the main social base for the course towards conservatism is mainly women and the generation of people aged 40-55. Young(ish) people show great pragmatism, openness to external success stories, but they are not driven. Therefore, they present a complex challenge.
5) If the 1990s was a time of mockery of Chinese quality, nowadays China is presented by the Western community (USA, EU and Czech Republic) as an ideological and strategic enemy, while it is generally true that people, especially women, like everything that is new and happening.
There will be many new things, including questions, but few answers. Enough! No need for consent.
Jan Campbell
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