Silicon Valley’s ideology fuses technological determinism with libertarian individualism.

Evidence

The political sensibility of Silicon Valley tends to be of a decidedly libertarian bent, espousing self-improvement, meritocracy, and “work-life balance.” Of course, what passes for libertarianism in Northern California is distinct from the conservative right-wing version. Silicon Valley libertarian beliefs are rooted in a strong belief that intelligence and drive are indicators of success, an almost mythological trust in entrepreneurialism, the “do it yourself” ethic, and an idealized view of the internet as utopian space—à la Castells’s layers of internet culture. Silicon Valley encourages a faith in technological solutions, and imagines that widespread adoption of computer technologies will lead to positive social change (in the case of Web 2.0, increased participation, democracy, and community). This almost contradictory combination of “technological determinism and libertarian individualism” is, as discussed earlier, what Richard Barbrook and Andy Cameron labeled the “Californian Ideology.” — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 118

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines the ‘Californian Ideology’ as the fusion of technological determinism and libertarian individualism inflecting the whole tech scene’s worldview.
• XREF: This foundational framing of the Californian Ideology connects to Marwick’s analysis of self-branding as meritocratic discourse and to broader critiques of ‘techno-optimism’. — connects to: Silicon Valley DIY ideology fuses anti-corporate distrust with personal agency — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 127; Capitalism governs through a technological rationality so pervasive that it no longer needs ideology — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos: Neoliberalism’s…, 228; Silicon Valley escape fantasies abandon politics while hiding their own power. — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing: Resisting the…, 191 (+4 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update: Celebrity, Publicity,…, 118

Broader Connections

• Silicon Valley DIY ideology fuses anti-corporate distrust with personal agency #expands (0.85) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 127
• Silicon Valley escape fantasies abandon politics while hiding their own power. #expands (0.80) — Jenny Odell, How to Do Nothing, 191
• Capitalism governs through a technological rationality so pervasive that it no longer needs ideology #contradicts (0.75) — Wendy Brown, Undoing the Demos, 228
• Neoliberalism’s ultimate ideal self is the autonomous self-made individual #complicates (0.72) — Philip Mirowski, Never Let a Serious Crisis Go to Waste, 430
• The internet’s egalitarian founding promise hardened into corporate libertarianism #expands (0.70) — Jürgen Habermas, A New Structural Transformation of the…, 34
• Silicon Valley’s self-image elevates entrepreneurship as society’s universal problem-solving model #expands (0.70) — Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, 713