The End of Reality

How Four Billionaires are Selling a Fantasy Future of the Metaverse, Mars, and Crypto

De: Jonathan Taplin

Narrado por: Jason Culp

A brilliant takedown and exposé of the great con job of the twenty-first century—the metaverse, crypto, space travel, transhumanism—being sold by four billionaires (Peter Thiel, Mark Zuckerberg, Marc Andreesen, Elon Musk), leading to the degeneration and bankruptcy of our society.

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. Each scheme—the metaverse, cryptocurrency, space travel, and transhumanism—is an existential threat in moral, political, and economic terms.

In The End of Reality¸ Jonathan Taplin provides perceptive insight into the personal backgrounds and cultural power of these billionaires—Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Marc Andreesen (“The Four”) —and shows how their tech monopolies have brought middle-class wage stagnation, the hollowing out of many American towns, a radical increase in income inequality, and unbounded public acrimony. Meanwhile, the enormous amount of taxpayer money to be funneled into the dystopian ventures of "The Four," the benefits of which will accrue to billionaires, exacerbate these disturbing trends.

The End of Reality is both scathing critique and reform agenda that replaces the warped worldview of "The Four" with a vision of regenerative economics that seeks to build a sustainable society with healthy growth and full employment.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A wake-up call as to what happens when a society elevates people who don’t have the public’s best interests in mind. Jonathan Taplin has a gift for storytelling that turns the bitter pill (reality check) into a fascinating read.” —Scott Galloway, NYU Stern professor of marketing and bestselling author of Adrift

“Tech culture has to improve for the sake of humanity, and that’s not going to happen without critiques like The End of Reality. Please take the time to read this carefully, especially if you are sure it must be wrong.”—Jaron Lanier, author of Who Owns the Future?

“Reading Taplin’s invigorating The End of Reality is akin to attending a huge outdoor feast. There is so much nourishment in his book, so much provocative thinking, so much vivid writing, so much thought that went into the book’s vast menu, that by the final page the reader is left in awe. Taplin is a delightful iconoclast and a daring thinker.”

—Ken Auletta, author of Hollywood Ending

“Once again, Taplin has cut to the core of a heartless techno-oligarchy. If names like Musk, Thiel, and Zuckerberg only cause you distress, Taplin’s careful exposé will move you to outrage, though with hope the hyper-barons can be curbed.”—Sean Wilentz, George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of American History, Princeton University

“I’ve followed technology, and politics, for decades. But I found a tremendous amount of new information and insight in The End of Reality. Anyone interested in where culture is headed, and how democracy can survive, will want to read this book.”—James Fallows, national correspondent, Atlantic

“Taplin takes us to the inner sanctum of the plutocratic insurgency: where libertarian billionaires, resentful that they are not universally acclaimed as heroes, are spinning a ‘populist’ technophantasmagoria designed first and foremost to distract the rest of us from the vast anti-democratic power and privilege they have amassed for themselves.”—Nils Gilman, senior vice president, the Berggruen Institute

“The End of Reality is incredibly timely and powerful. The technologists pushing us into a world dominated by AI need to abandon their Ayn Rand mindset of ‘who’s going to stop me’ and consider the power of the new, regenerative economics tool set Taplin proposes.”—John Seely Brown, former director, Xerox PARC

The reality I just learned has my head spinning.

Love the story, love the narration and the knowledge I gained is priceless. I am very much looking forward to the sequel.

I should have read it sooner

This book does a lot to explain the world that we are living in in America in 2024. It provides the motivation of why these guys work so hard to get Donald Trump reelected and what they are set to gain in his second administration.

A sobering look at the modem political landscape

This piece explores the realities of politics dominated by venture capitalist tech billionaires who care only for extending their own lives and spheres of influence. Through looking at the actions of these individuals, we can see how the political ecosystem has been rebuilt to suit their own personal desires, and has become divorced from society as a whole.

Logical and engaging

I wish i had read this when it came out . I was on a fantasy kick . Which I kinda feel a little called out for now. 😁 great book . Addresses what the title suggests without being unreasonably alarmist. Written well so it wasn’t to repetitive but circled back to reiterate points when necessary. Offered doable solutions . Hopefully the next book isn’t titled “how we lost our nation”

End of Reality

Exceptional and terrific. Book ends with Move Fast and Break Things. Maybe a 3rd coming soon for a trilogy?

Essential & timely!

An vital overview of our current crisis and how to change our trajectory from the path of technocratic nihilism to a world in which we all thrive.

Realizing

Good read. I wish I have read sooner. It a good reality check. A must read.

A must read....

I have no idea why this book has so few reviewers, it's absolutely eye-opening how big money controls the world today and will completely dominate in the future if there is not a course correction

Insightful

Taplin’s insightful description of Musk, Thiel, Zuckerberg & Andreessen and their technologies demystifies their projects’ value to society. I’ll never again see them the same way.

Oustanding

Taplin’s interesting background along with his strong research made the book fascinating and worthwhile. The power and corruption of the technocrats needs to be understood and pushed back.