Marc Andreessen

Of course. So I had this moment with a senior executive who I won't name, but he said to me, you know, they had this conversation in 2014, and he said to me with kind of this sense of dawning horror, he's like, I think some of these kids are joining the company not with the intent of doing things for us, but destroying us. Like they're professional activists in their own minds first and foremost.

Of course. So I had this moment with a senior executive who I won't name, but he said to me, you know, they had this conversation in 2014, and he said to me with kind of this sense of dawning horror, he's like, I think some of these kids are joining the company not with the intent of doing things for us, but destroying us. Like they're professional activists in their own minds first and foremost.

And it just turns out the way to exercise professional activism right now most effectively is to go destroy a company from the inside.

And it just turns out the way to exercise professional activism right now most effectively is to go destroy a company from the inside.

Like, you know, all hands meetings started to get very contentious where you'd get like brigaded at an all hands meeting as a CEO where, you know, you'd have these extremely angry employees show up and they were like just completely furious about like there's way too many white men on the management team. Why are we a for-profit corporation?

Like, you know, all hands meetings started to get very contentious where you'd get like brigaded at an all hands meeting as a CEO where, you know, you'd have these extremely angry employees show up and they were like just completely furious about like there's way too many white men on the management team. Why are we a for-profit corporation?

Don't you know all the downstream horrible effects that this technology is having? We need to spend unlimited money in order to make sure that we're not emitting any carbon. So you take the laundry list of fashionable kind of radical left-wing positions of that time, and they're spending a huge amount of time at the company basically organizing around that.

Don't you know all the downstream horrible effects that this technology is having? We need to spend unlimited money in order to make sure that we're not emitting any carbon. So you take the laundry list of fashionable kind of radical left-wing positions of that time, and they're spending a huge amount of time at the company basically organizing around that.

And I will say, in fairness, I think in most of these companies, this kind of person never got to be, you know, anywhere close to 100% of the workforce. But what happened is they became like 20%, maybe 30%. And then, of course, what happened was there's this big middle, right, of sort of go-along, get-along people who generally also consider themselves Democrats.

And I will say, in fairness, I think in most of these companies, this kind of person never got to be, you know, anywhere close to 100% of the workforce. But what happened is they became like 20%, maybe 30%. And then, of course, what happened was there's this big middle, right, of sort of go-along, get-along people who generally also consider themselves Democrats.

and they're just kind of trying to follow along with the trends. And so you take this activist core of 20%, you add 60% of go-along, get-along people, and all of a sudden, as the CEO experiences, oh my God, 80% of my employees have radicalized into a political agenda. People say from the outside is, well, you should just fire those people. But as the CEO, you're like, I can't fire 80% of my team.

and they're just kind of trying to follow along with the trends. And so you take this activist core of 20%, you add 60% of go-along, get-along people, and all of a sudden, as the CEO experiences, oh my God, 80% of my employees have radicalized into a political agenda. People say from the outside is, well, you should just fire those people. But as the CEO, you're like, I can't fire 80% of my team.

And by the way, I have to go hire people to replace them. And the other people at the other companies are behaving the same way. And I can't go hire kids out of college because I'm just going to get more activists. And that's how these companies became captured.

And by the way, I have to go hire people to replace them. And the other people at the other companies are behaving the same way. And I can't go hire kids out of college because I'm just going to get more activists. And that's how these companies became captured.

That's 100% true. That's completely correct. I would just say that I went through the long, I went through the description of 13 to 16 because when the main Democratic machine kicked in and decided that we were to blame for Trump, the overwhelming response for basically everything other than Peter was just like, yep, you got us, we're guilty, we did it.

That's 100% true. That's completely correct. I would just say that I went through the long, I went through the description of 13 to 16 because when the main Democratic machine kicked in and decided that we were to blame for Trump, the overwhelming response for basically everything other than Peter was just like, yep, you got us, we're guilty, we did it.

Because like this is, as you know, it's like wall-to-wall coverage in the news. Like, and I'm, you know, and I'm reading the New York Times every day and I'm watching MSNBC every night. And I'm like, oh my God, what have we done? Right?

Because like this is, as you know, it's like wall-to-wall coverage in the news. Like, and I'm, you know, and I'm reading the New York Times every day and I'm watching MSNBC every night. And I'm like, oh my God, what have we done? Right?

Every night, every night, Brian Williams. The last remaining honest news anchor in America, right? The guy you can really rely on, the guy you can really trust to tell you the truth. And, you know, 11 o'clock or 8 o'clock, you know, out here every night, it was, you know, it is day 167 of the Trump interregnum of having a Russian spy in the White House.

Every night, every night, Brian Williams. The last remaining honest news anchor in America, right? The guy you can really rely on, the guy you can really trust to tell you the truth. And, you know, 11 o'clock or 8 o'clock, you know, out here every night, it was, you know, it is day 167 of the Trump interregnum of having a Russian spy in the White House.