
Mark Zuckerberg's Political Awakening - pdog
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-09-21/mark-zuckerberg-s-political-awakening
======
thedevil
Paul Graham claimed in 2004 that the winning candidate each presidential
election is actually the candidate with the charisma.

[http://www.paulgraham.com/charisma.html](http://www.paulgraham.com/charisma.html)

Since then, Obama beat McCain and Romney and Trump beat Clinton.

While it's hard on the ears to hear that Trump is charismatic, the reality is
that his social intelligence is off the charts. That's why Scott Adams
predicted early that he would win (as did I and I won some money betting on it
even while I voted against him).

I don't see president-level charisma in Zuckerberg, although I'm not sure
because i haven't watched him that much. I know at least one person who is
really fascinated by him so maybe it's worth a second look.

~~~
nabla9
I think PG is right.

Trump is dynamic and loves attention. He is energized by the audience. When
attacked in debate he goes offense.

His message has little coherence or intelligent content, but that's not the
point. It's not what he says. It's feeling he evokes: hate and anger. He was
constant center of attention from left and right. MSNBC might have been
supporting Clinton, but they could not avoid flying into the flame of Trump.
He was the center of the every media.

Populist politicians talk directly to the 'Id' and Trump is instinctively
doing that. He is "the Id". His campaign was like David Lynch movie. Messaging
directly into the unconsciousness.

~~~
zghst
He must've known that he would have been marginalized as a candidate if he
didn't continue to project brazenly offensive gaffes into the political arena.

------
moretai
He reminds me of a male Hilary. I think we've been reduced to(maybe we've
always been this) just quick reactions for Elections, and my immediate
reaction even from the start was I don't like this guy, even before I knew
about the "stupid fuckers are trusting me" and sweatgate. He just repulses me,
in the same way Hillary physically repulsed me on an evolutionary level. And I
think if America is filled with morons like me, he won't win.

~~~
moretai
Both Hil and Zuck are not genuine. That's not going to resonate, unless in the
next 3 years we swing to the opposite end from Trump's uncesnsored raw
bullshit and go full American Psycho Plasticity

~~~
te_chris
Well, they're genuine in one way: they're both classic, technocratic
neoliberals. Trump v. Zuck would be a disaster for one of the vain
billionaires, and probably not the old one.

I think this nails the Clinton-ish technocrat world-view:
[https://thebaffler.com/blessed-and-brightest/what-
happened](https://thebaffler.com/blessed-and-brightest/what-happened)

~~~
zghst
Fantastic article!

------
Chardok
"A study published earlier this year by the American Journal of Preventive
Medicine found that heavy social media users were, on average, more isolated
than their peers. Zuckerberg doesn’t see it that way, arguing that the best
way to a better society is more Facebook."

"Zuckerberg sometimes talks about the promise of brain implants, which he
believes will one day convey the entirety of one’s mental state to another
human being"

Perhaps I have been watching too much Star Trek, but he is sounding just like
the Borg.

~~~
smitty1110
Also seems like he's really taken with The Circle.

------
thatonechad
I welcome the onslaught of Zuckerburg in politics. He will get chewed up and
spit out as he openly advocates for illegal immigration amnesty, universal
basic income, and whatever else the socialist utopians envision. He will get
raked over the coals with these ideologies in the states he has to win
(Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, Florida). That is assuming the
Clinton Machine doesn't destroy him first. He's way out of his league here and
better stick to Facebook.

------
elevensies
Question for anyone who is knowledgeable about California elections: If Mark
wanted to run for governor 2018, when would he have to take an observable
action? (i.e. register as a candidate or similar.) At what point would we know
for sure? And would winning Governor block a presidential run in 2020? And
would losing it would indicate a candidate too weak to win POTUS 2020?

I think a key factor has to be whether Trump will survive through 2020. If
Trump is weak in 2020 that is the best time to run, because if a Democrat
beats Trump is 2020 and it isn't Mark, he'd have to wait until 2028, _and_
he'd be running for re-election after 8 years of a Dem executive. It will
partly depend on the who is the challenger in 2020 was well. I wonder if there
is a chance Hillary takes another shot?

~~~
dredmorbius
January 31, 2018, for the July 5 Primary ballot.

[http://www.fppc.ca.gov/content/dam/fppc/NS-
Documents/TAD/Fil...](http://www.fppc.ca.gov/content/dam/fppc/NS-
Documents/TAD/Filing%20Schedules/2018/2018%2001%206-5%20State%20Cand.pdf)

~~~
elevensies
Exactly what I wanted to know, thanks.

------
__warlord__
I wonder which PATENTS will put in place if he wins the US elections.

Facebook, Inc. (“Facebook”) hereby grants to each human being within the US
territory a perpetual facebook account ;)

------
mc32
He'll probably have to run as an independent. Don't think Dems will let him
usurp their system. And then he'll end up bring a Perot. This time he'll
likely suck more voters from the Dems than Reps.

------
zghst
I'm not sure what Zuckerberg can do to combat the virality of Trump, I have
some suggestions, which he may not like but he'll need to do:

* Ban Trump from Facebook (co-op with Twitter to ban him there also) * Flood Facebook with ads of people helping others, doing good, committing selfless acts * Forgo the traditional presidential campaign, instead of rallies do an eye-catching Apple-style presentation of people, their situations and solutions. * Stick to an optimistic message no. matter. what. Do not get in the mud. * Do not mention your competitor by name * Every week ask open ended policy/progress questions to an audience on FB (for instance, What would the year 2030 look like? Mars for humanity?) * Every week also feature an interview with an activist, about their mission, how they're changing the world and how the audience can help. * The people who helped build Facebook who are still around must absolutely be involved in the campaign as a testament to Zuckerberg's character and perseverance. * As campaign items distribute and sell posters of great SV pioneers and leaders. Beautiful ones of Jobs, Gates, even social justice and advocacy leaders in the world like Yousafzai, etc. And obviously past leaders like Obama, Hillary, Bill, etc. Don't make it about you, but about visionaries who push the boundaries and change things.

Zuckerberg has a significant chance to not end up like Hillary, but honestly,
I would not dare to campaign in 2020; however I would be more than happy to
get Zuckerberg across 270 with a campaign the world will remember.

~~~
Chaebixi
> Ban Trump from Facebook (co-op with Twitter to ban him there also)

So, what exactly do you think would happen if they did that? I'll tell you:
Facebook will start having some serious conversations with government
regulators about all kinds of fun things like antitrust, telecommunications
regulations, etc.

------
Shivetya
Facebook's threat is that politicians have little control over it and it is
not limited to just one country in scope. I don't use facebook but I like that
it exist. the only regulation of such an entity is to keep it non
discriminatory because if it were to start picking winners and losers it
probably could have undue influence.

~~~
dredmorbius
Politicians _do_ have control over Facebook.

It's just not _entirely_ clear which ones.

------
richardknop
Can't wait for 2020 election. I suspect it will be even worse circus than
2016. Get ready for some ridiculous candidates!

~~~
abledon
Kid rock(see vice) & Kanye... (popcorn)

------
yesiamyourdad
There's this assumption that FB should be censoring advertisers. It seems
logical - registering key phrases like "how to burn jews" is bad.

But I still wonder, had they preemptively censored advertisers, would that
itself be a minor scandal?

------
teekert
One can be an Atheist and believe religion to be important at the same time.
One _has_ to believe religion to be important for certain, if one was to run
for POTUS.

------
Pxtl
His platform helped deliver the presidency to one billionaire, why not
another?

------
common_
Seems like the real Mark Zuckerberg comes out at the end of that article.

------
gm-conspiracy
I don't think he is in as much control as he thinks he has.

~~~
conanbatt
I don't think we know how much control he has. 10 years ago he was nowhere,
now he has all the conversations and pictures of 25% of the world.

~~~
gm-conspiracy
He was either complicit with Russia or completely ignorant.

------
hownottowrite
Non-regwall: [https://archive.is/3kESs](https://archive.is/3kESs)

------
gbog
Is it only me or this looks like a Macron-effect? I mean, President Macron did
show to the world it was possible for a young fellow to hijack the elections,
even in a (relatively) stable democracy. Actually, if you think about it, it
seems not that hard to be (or look) much less repugnant than the old comical
zombies and rotten clowns we get proposed.

~~~
gspetr
Hijack? He's as establishment as they come.

He's essentially the french version of Rubio, not in the "minority candidate"
sense, but in the "fallback establishment candidate" sense.

The only difference was that French elites learned from the US Republican
elites, avoided internal discord and obliterated the opposition with "timely"
scandals.

~~~
mijamo
The only scandal was against Fillon, the candidate that was much more like
traditional establishment. There was no scandal at all among the left side of
the spectrum, there just could not agree on anything.

Without the scandal, it could have been Fillon president, so even more
establishment, with corruption as an added bonus. I fail to see how it was an
operation of the "elites".

------
brotoss
Nobody wants this

------
bogomipz
>'“Wouldn’t it be better,” he asks with a sly smile, “if it was actually an
accepted thing for people to want to go understand how other people were
living?”'

Hey Mark, here in the "normal regular person world" that's actually already
accepted. There's a name for it, its called empathy, its a basic human trait.
The fact that you perceive that as somehow "unaccepted" shows just how
disconnected from reality and clueless you actually are.

The fact that you see going on a road trip as something extraordinary and
worthy of your vast PR machinery is nothing short of a joke.

Also I'm sure that embarking on a road trip while being surrounded by security
detail and a team of PR flaks is creating an authentic experience for all
involved.

~~~
ms88
He is discovering what religions (yes all of them) have been saying for years.
I don't see any harm in that.

Better than what a lot of other rich scumbags I know do with their time.

~~~
theseatoms
Which is more likely, that Mark is experiencing a genuine, and highly
publicized, spiritual awakening, or that he's meticulously crafting his public
persona based on unprecedented troves of information about modern society?

~~~
autokad
I do find his changes suspicious, but he did get married / have a kid which
can also bring huge changes

~~~
bogomipz
I'm not sure I would consider the further cultivation of his megalomania and
messianic complex a huge change.

------
hnaccy
What a goober.

------
uniban
Zuckerberg has done all these things within a relatively short period of time:

* Says he’s no longer an atheist, "questioned" religious matters, he broke through his skepticism and now believes religion to be “very important.”

* Restructuring of Facebook stock trough the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. In the SEC filing it says that he can take a leave of absence from Facebook and still retain voting control of the company if he goes to work for the government.

* Hired a top Democratic campaign manager David Plouffe into the iniative. Plouffe was Obama's campaign manager.

* Hired top Republican campaign manager Ken Mehlman into the iniative. Mehlman is a former George W. Bush campaign manager and RNC chairman.

* Promised to visit all 50 states and meet people.

* Hires a former top adviser to President Barack Obama and the chief strategist for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.

This is not PR as usual for CEO. He is into something big.

~~~
zizek23
This country worships success. That's the reason Trump won.

Zuckerberg is not only ridiculously successful but touches everyone's life
everyday and people may feel an intimacy that doesn't exist.

Without being judgmental just looking at the dynamics he is going to win.

~~~
AlexandrB
What scares me about Zuckerberg vs. Trump is how much more of a cypher
Zuckerberg is. Trump's motivations are pretty clear: money, fame, and his own
ego. These aren't noble causes but they're easy to understand and it's
possible to predict what trump will do from these. What motivates Zuckerberg?
The mealy-mouthed, 5000 word manifesto [1] from Facebook this year certainly
doesn't shed any light on this question. Nor does he have a track record in
politics to point to.

From his unscripted words [2], actions [3], and the company he keeps [4] I
suspect his vision is some kind of techno-libertarian utopia where anything is
legal as long as it's in the TOS - unless it's _the bad thing_ and must be
therefore be purged from the internet.

But considering Facebook's weird puritanical streak [5], and their recent
refusal to reveal political ad information [6]. I'm left with this quote from
Alpha Centauri:

> "Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he
> dreams himself your master."

[1] [https://www.recode.net/2017/2/16/14640460/mark-zuckerberg-
fa...](https://www.recode.net/2017/2/16/14640460/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-
manifesto-letter)

[2] [http://gawker.com/5636765/facebook-ceo-admits-to-calling-
use...](http://gawker.com/5636765/facebook-ceo-admits-to-calling-users-dumb-
fucks)

[3] [http://www.mercurynews.com/2013/10/10/mark-zuckerberg-
buys-f...](http://www.mercurynews.com/2013/10/10/mark-zuckerberg-buys-four-
houses-near-his-palo-alto-home/)

[4] [http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-defends-
faceb...](http://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-defends-facebook-
board-member-peter-thiels-ties-to-trump-2017-3?op=1)

[5] [https://news.artnet.com/art-world/facebook-censors-
caravaggi...](https://news.artnet.com/art-world/facebook-censors-caravaggio-
nude-cupid-730454)

[6] [https://www.yahoo.com/news/fire-facebook-refuses-disclose-
po...](https://www.yahoo.com/news/fire-facebook-refuses-disclose-political-
ads-bought-russian-trolls-230143492.html)

~~~
gspetr
"Zuckerberg sometimes talks about the promise of brain implants, which he
believes will one day convey the entirety of one’s mental state to another
human being"

Those who join us need only give up only half of their humanity - the
illogical, ill-tempered, and disordered half, commonly thought of as 'right-
brain' functioning. In exchange, the 'left-brain' capacities are increased to
undreamed potentials. The tendency of Biologicals to cling instead to their
individual personalities can only be attributed to archaic evolutionary
tendencies.

\--Prime Function Aki Zuckerberg-5, "Convergence"

------
outoftacos
Great read, at first I thought it was just a puff piece but the ending is a
great insight into the filter bubble that folks with that amount of money and
power live in. He can't handle any criticism or line of questioning that dares
to peek behind the curtain, it's something that just never happens in his
world.

I'm not sure what level of power he's going to buy next, but everyone should
be trying to peek behind the curtain. And deleting their Facebook.

~~~
enraged_camel
>>He can't handle any criticism or line of questioning that dares to peek
behind the curtain, it's something that just never happens in his world.

Neither can Trump, yet here we are.

~~~
spaginal
Zuckerberg wants to fully combine his wealth and access to information about
us into a presidency and then what? If you say the wrong thing about him on
Facebook the IRS suddenly audits you? Criticism of Zuckerberg flags you in
government databases as well?

Trump owns a chain of hotels and sells ties and hats, but doesn't operate what
could largely be seen as the most expansive and intimate database about every
American ever made.

