Idea · carried by 1 source
Tech Hamiltonians
The political faction that has emerged from the mutual discovery of Silicon Valley and Washington — tech companies that have realized they need government (for national security, IP protection, and patriotic workforce culture) and government that has realized it needs tech (for great power competition with China). They are Hamiltonian in orientation but with a distinctly technology-first agenda.
Where it comes from
Mead introduces this concept to Patrick O'Shaughnessy on Invest Like the Best (highlights/walter-russell-mead-world-order), calling it “one of the biggest things that happened in modern American history” — the convergence of tech and government.
How it works
- 1990s: Tech and government were separate — “I'm not an American company, I'm a global company... the cyber world is completely different... Washington, they don't even understand us”
- 2020s: Forced convergence — China's attempt to build a competing technosphere makes national security critical for tech companies, while tech is critical for government power
- Different economic interests than legacy multinationals — Legacy multinationals need free trade, open labor markets, and a flat earth. Tech companies need IP security, supply chain security, and patriotic employees
- Immigration matters differently — A hotel company needs cheap migrant labor; a Silicon Valley company barely notices the janitorial cost increase
- Employees must be patriotic — Tech companies increasingly need workers who think “it's an evil sin to sell IP to China” and will report colleagues who do
- Cultural shift — From “global citizenship” to national identity; from borderless workforce to security-conscious patriotism
The tech-government merger was driven by neither side wanting it — both were surprised by the convergence. But China's challenge made it unavoidable. Tech Hamiltonians are now a major political force with a distinct agenda: security of IP, supply chains, and technological edge — without the globalist assumptions of the old establishment.