The Unstable Foundation of Marc Andreessen’s Techno-Optimism

In this episode of New Ideal Live, Ben Bayer and Don Watkins discuss Marc Andreessen’s recent defense of “techno-optimism“ in his essay “The Techno-Optimist Manifesto,” and explain why his manifesto lacks the moral foundation required to successfully defend technological progress.

Among the topics covered:

• Andreessen’s commendable advocacy of technological progress;
• The philosophical foundation of technological progress;
• How Andreessen’s defense of technological progress rests upon altruism;
• Why successfully advocating for technological progress requires defending self-interest;
• How Andreessen’s view of competition undercuts his defense of capitalism.

Mentioned in this podcast and relevant to the discussion are Ayn Rand’s “America’s Persecuted Minority,” Yaron Brook and Don Watkin’s book, “Free Market Revolution,” the New Ideal Live episode with Tal Tsfany, Elan Journo, and Jason Crawford, “What Marc Andreessen Gets Right and What He Misses in His Article “It’s Time to Build,” and the New Ideal Live episode with Ben Bayer, Mike Mazza, and Chad Mills, “Threats to Regulate Artificial Intelligence”.

This podcast was recorded on November 2, 2023. Listen to the discussion below. Listen and subscribe from your mobile device on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. Watch archived podcasts here.

Podcast audio: