Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires

Five mysterious billionaires summoned Douglas Rushkoff to a desert resort for a private talk. The subject? How to survive the Event: the societal collapse they know is coming. Rushkoff argues that these men were under the influence of The Mindset, a Silicon Valleystyle certainty that they and their cohort can escape a disaster of their own makingas long as they have enough money and the right technology.

Rushkoff traces the origins of The Mindset in science and technology through its current expression in missions to Mars, island bunkers, AI futurism, and the metaverse. Through fascinating charactersmaster programmers who want to remake the world as if redesigning a video game and bankers who return from Burning Man convinced incentivized capitalism will prevent environmental disastersRushkoff explains why those with the most power to change the world have no interest in doing so. He argues that the only way to survive the coming catastrophe is to ensure it doesnt happen by rediscovering community, mutual aid, and human interdependency.

Anticipating the mass layoffs and institutional collapse that have recently rocked Silicon Valley, Rushkoffs Survival of the Richest is a necessary and timely read (Los Angeles Review of Books) with a prophetic message about the future of tech and our human community.