Palantir Co-founder Joe Lonsdale Visits Harvard
Lonsdale urged Americans to embrace merit and free competition.
On October 29th, the Harvard Republican Club hosted Joe Lonsdale, a venture capitalist and the co-founder of Palantir Technologies, to discuss innovation and American politics. Alongside figures like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, Lonsdale is a leader in the growing movement of tech executives concerned about America’s decline. Sitting at the intersection of a booming tech industry and a decaying political system, Lonsdale offered insight into how we can “rebuild institutions” and combat the “idiocy” standing in the way of American innovation.
Applying his business mind to politics, Lonsdale criticized the regulatory system that “crushes small business people with great ideas” and blocks innovation in the fields that need it most, namely education and healthcare. He lamented that “everything new is almost impossible.”
Despite this, he still believes that America is the best country for young entrepreneurs to turn novel ideas into viable business pursuits. This, however, rests on a functioning court system. We also must stem the growth of a government that is becoming both larger and “stupider.” Lonsdale described many government programs as “lighting money on fire.”
He also warned that the administrative state lends the left tools to create a “system of arbitrary power.” Attempts to expand the government are designed to serve those in power–not to generate results. To illustrate this, Lonsdale noted that most progressives recognize that price controls do not work, but they are “smart about power” and push the policies to increase their control. Across the tech industry, “people are realizing how dangerous this idiocracy really is,” commented Lonsdale, later saying that Kamala Harris is “just constantly putting forward woke stuff based on equity and based on these kinds of Marxist ideas.”
His solution to arbitrary power is simple: merit. Lonsdale asserted that “wokeness can’t embrace merit. It can’t do things functionally.” Believing that competition advances civilization, Lonsdale argued that we need to implement performance-based incentives and accountability in government. Programs should be tied to the value they create rather than the agendas of those in power. He supports competition in other spheres as well, having founded the University of Austin as an alternative to the modern academy.
Alex Bernat, a senior at the college, commented after the event, “I think it’s great that there was an opportunity to hear from someone who is so successful in business and is also so dedicated to helping young founders. [He’s] clearly a very smart guy who’s gotten a lot done. It’s great to hear from someone who has done that and shares my values.”
Michael Oved, president of the Harvard Republican Club, was excited about the audience of over 100 people. “It is cool to be a Republican again. Republicans are no longer hiding in the shadows. And this is just the beginning.”
I echo Alex Bernat's comment that it was great to have Lonsdale come to speak. One of the best reasons for going to Harvard is that you can invite terrific people to come talk and they often say yes.
One quibble: Lonsdale described many government programs as “lighting money on fire". In reality, lighting money on fire is the precise opposite of the government printing money. If one person lights on fire 1,000 hundred dollar bills and the government prints $100,000 in money, the effect on the money supply is zero.