OTNS: Is Praxis a bunch of fascists dressed as libertarians?
Jan 7, 2024
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Ali Breland, a journalist at Mother Jones who has written on crypto and politics, discusses his experience at a Praxis sponsored party in NYC, interviews with ex-employees about the founder's fascist sympathies, and how they target 'cool kids'. They also explore applying for a citizenship and question Praxis' connections to far-right figures.
Praxis Society attempts to attract both left-leaning and far-right individuals to cultivate a specific scene in downtown New York.
There is a contradiction within Praxis Society's vision, as they promote free-market libertarian ideals while having far-right connections and influences.
Praxis Society's financial challenges and discrepancies between their grand promises and tangible realities raise doubts about their credibility.
Deep dives
Overview of the Praxis Society and its goals
The podcast episode delves into the Praxis Society, a startup that aims to create a libertarian utopia and network state. It explores how Praxis Society has attempted to cultivate a specific scene in downtown New York by engaging with left-leaning and far-right individuals. The podcast also highlights the rumors surrounding Praxis Society's plans to establish a city in the Mediterranean. It mentions the aspirations to create a laissez-faire, free-market environment and the controversies surrounding far-right connections and influences within the organization.
Party scene and engagement with cultural figures
The episode talks about an event hosted by Praxis Society, which aimed to attract cultural figures and establish connections. However, the party appeared sparsely populated and not well-received. It discusses how some individuals within the scene were critical of Praxis but reluctant to speak out publicly due to potential social reprimanding. The podcast touches upon the desire of Praxis Society to imitate the successes of places like San Francisco and attract cool kids to form an elite gentry, ultimately creating an alternative culture that aligns with their libertarian ideals.
Conflicting visions of a network state
The podcast examines the conflicting visions expressed by Praxis Society in terms of becoming a network state. While they present themselves as advocates of free-market libertarian ideals, there is a simultaneous presence of far-right tendencies and affiliations, with references to Fascist and Nazi literature. It highlights how these contradictory elements make it difficult for Praxis to articulate their vision and reconcile their desired free-market society with their own authoritative inclinations. The episode also alludes to the potential challenges faced by network states in achieving equity and addressing broader societal issues.
Challenges and uncertainties surrounding Praxis
The summary discusses the financial challenges faced by Praxis Society, with limited incoming funds and uncertainties about the viability of their plans. It questions the effectiveness of their strategies and parties as means of attracting and sustaining interest. Additionally, it points out the disconnection between the grand visions portrayed on the Praxis Society website and the tangible realities. The episode raises doubts about the credibility of the reported membership numbers and the feasibility of their promises, such as offering citizenship and tax advantages within selected host countries.
Critique and implications of Praxis Society
The podcast reflects on the broader implications of Praxis Society's mission and actions. It highlights the potential dangers of embracing a model that prioritizes the interests of a select elite, inevitably leading to increased inequality, class stratification, and limited resources for those outside the inner circle. It also suggests that Praxis Society serves as a manifestation of far-right tendencies within Silicon Valley, shedding light on the ideologies and motivations of powerful figures in the tech industry.
In this episode of OTNS, we spoke to Ali Breland, a journalist at Mother Jones who has written on crypto and politics, about his recent publication about the links between Praxis and far right figures. We spoke about his experience of going to a Praxis sponsored party in NYC, his interviews with ex-employees about the fascist sympathies of the founder Dryden Brown, and how they try to seduce " cool kids" to join them. We also try applying for a citizenship!
Check out a previous episode to learn more about our framework for out network state alternative, coordi-nations.
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Overthrowing the Network State (OTNS) is a series in collaboration with Blockchaingov where we critique The Network State by Balaji Srinivasan while also pulling out the salvageable parts and concepts in discussion with a variety of guests. You can find the first episode of OTNS where we give our initial criticisms and alternatives here.
Blockchaingov is a 5-year long, transdisciplinary research effort aimed at restoring trust in institutions at the community and global levels, by promoting better on chain and off chain distributed governance practices. Throughout the series, each discussion will include me and a member of Blockchaingov with either a new guest each episode or a discussion between us to tackle various topics from the book.
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