Marc Andreessen on his Techno-Optimist Manifesto

Eighteen months ago you published a 5,000 word essay called the Techno Optimist Manifesto. Let me quote you. We are told that technology takes our jobs, reduces our wages, increases inequality, and is ever on the verge of ruining everything. But our civilization was built on technology. Technology is the glory of human ambition and achievement, the spearhead of progress and the realization of our potential. It is time once again to to raise the technology flag. Okay, apart from anything else, there are not a lot of people in Silicon Valley who write as well as that. There we go. Mark, would you close our conversation by reading this excerpt from your essay, the Techno Optimist Manifesto?

Love to. We believe in the romance of technology, of industry. The romance, the eros of the train, the car, the electric light, the skyscraper, the microchip, the neural network, the rocket, the split atom. We believe in adventure, undertaking the hero's journey, rebelling against the status quo, mapping uncharted territory, conquering dragons and bringing home the spoils for our community. We believe that we have been and will always be the masters of technology not mastered by technology. This is really key point today. Victim mentality is a curse in every domain of life, including in our relationship with technology, both unnecessary and self defeating. We are not victims, we are conquerors. We believe America and her allies should be strong and not weak. Economic, cultural and military strength flow from technological strength. A technologically strong America is a force for good in a dangerous world. We believe in greatness.

Marc Andreessen. Thank you very much, Peter.

A pleasure.