At a time when the crises of income inequality, climate, and democracy are compounding to create epic wealth disparity and the prospect of a second American civil war, four billionaires are hyping schemes that are designed to divert our attention away from issues that really matter.
In his latest book, The End of Reality¸ Jonathan Taplin provides insight into the personal backgrounds and cultural power of these billionaires – Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Marc Andreesen – and argues their tech monopolies have welcomed middle-class wage stagnation, the hollowing out of many American towns, a radical increase in income inequality.
Jonathan Taplin is a public intellectual, writer, film producer, and scholar. He is the director emeritus of the Annenberg Innovation Lab at the University of Southern California and professor at the USC Annenberg School. His career has included acting as tour manager for Bob Dylan and the Band, and producing major films such as Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets. His previous books include the instant classic, Move Fast and Break Things: How Facebook, Google and Amazon Cornered Culture and Undermined Democracy.
