The End of Reality Audiobook By Jonathan Taplin cover art

The End of Reality

How Four Billionaires Are Selling a Fantasy Future of the Metaverse, Mars, and Crypto

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The End of Reality

By: Jonathan Taplin
Narrated by: Jason Culp
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About this listen

A brilliant takedown and exposé of the great con job of the twenty-first centurythe metaverse, crypto, space travel, transhumanismbeing sold by four billionaires (Peter Thiel, Mark Zuckerberg, Marc Andreesen, Elon Musk), leading to the degeneration and bankruptcy of our society.

At a time when the crises of income inequality, climate, and democracy are compounding to create epic wealth disparity and the prospect of a second American civil war, four billionaires are hyping schemes that are designed to divert our attention away from issues that really matter. Each scheme—the metaverse, cryptocurrency, space travel, and transhumanism—is an existential threat in moral, political, and economic terms.

In The End of Reality, Jonathan Taplin provides perceptive insight into the personal backgrounds and cultural power of these billionaires—Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Marc Andreesen (“The Four”) —and shows how their tech monopolies have brought middle-class wage stagnation, the hollowing out of many American towns, a radical increase in income inequality, and unbounded public acrimony. Meanwhile, the enormous amount of taxpayer money to be funneled into the dystopian ventures of "The Four," the benefits of which will accrue to billionaires, exacerbate these disturbing trends.

The End of Reality is both scathing critique and reform agenda that replaces the warped worldview of "The Four" with a vision of regenerative economics that seeks to build a sustainable society with healthy growth and full employment.

©2023 Jonathan Taplin (P)2023 PublicAffairs
Economic Conditions Politics & Government Sociology Economic disparity Interstellar Economic inequality
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Critic reviews

“I've followed technology, and politics, for decades. But I found a tremendous amount of new information and insight in 'The End of Reality.' Anyone interested in where culture is headed, and how democracy can survive, will want to read this book.”—James Fallows, national correspondent for The Atlantic and author of Breaking the News

"Once again, Jonathan Taplin has cut to the core of a heartless techno-oligarchy. If names like Musk, Thiel, and Zuckerberg only cause you distress, Taplin's careful exposé will move you to outrage, though with hope that the hyper-barons can be curbed.”—Sean Wilentz, author of The Rise of American Democracy

Once again, Taplin has cut to the core of a heartless techno-oligarchy. If names like Musk, Thiel, and Zuckerberg only cause you distress, Taplin’s careful exposé will move you to outrage, though with hope the hyper-barons can be curbed.”—Sean Wilentz, George Henry Davis 1886 Professor of American History, Princeton University

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I should have read it sooner

This book does a lot to explain the world that we are living in in America in 2024. It provides the motivation of why these guys work so hard to get Donald Trump reelected and what they are set to gain in his second administration.

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Essential & timely!

An vital overview of our current crisis and how to change our trajectory from the path of technocratic nihilism to a world in which we all thrive.

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End of Reality

Exceptional and terrific. Book ends with Move Fast and Break Things. Maybe a 3rd coming soon for a trilogy?

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Realizing

Good read. I wish I have read sooner. It a good reality check. A must read.

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Insightful

Taplin’s insightful description of Musk, Thiel, Zuckerberg & Andreessen and their technologies demystifies their projects’ value to society. I’ll never again see them the same way.

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Oustanding

Taplin’s interesting background along with his strong research made the book fascinating and worthwhile. The power and corruption of the technocrats needs to be understood and pushed back.

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A must read....

I have no idea why this book has so few reviewers, it's absolutely eye-opening how big money controls the world today and will completely dominate in the future if there is not a course correction

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Eye-Opening and Thought-Provoking

Jonathan Taplin, a former professor of innovation at USC, does a great job creating a framework in which to understand the alliance formed by the Technocratic elite and the Republican party. Prior to reading this book, I understood that Peter Thiel was a fascist and dangerous; now I see it clearly. Similarly, the author explains how Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter and selling of the expensive folly of colonizing Mars are both part of the same program — the ending of subjective reality and its replacement with a Technocratic “metaverse” in which they, the overlords, are the masters.

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Amazing work!!

Just listen to his points and truly see what’s going on around you. Why is the media accepting fascism??? Why are these people allowed to control and benefit from our taxes??? Tell yourself is mars colonization a reality??? We can barely build new communities here having the materials at our disposal. Don’t be a sheep and think for yourself stop accepting an “alternative” reality that won’t do anything for you, this is our world right here and Mars or AI won’t pay your bills and put food on YOUR families table.

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A Reality Check

Wonderfully written. The books chronological order kept my interest. The authors breakdown of where we were, how we got here, and where we most likely (especially given the latest election results) are going gives the reader a palpable understanding of why things are the way they are, ie why Musk is riding Trump’s dick so hard. While there is a tinge of optimism in the author’s tone throughout the book there is no denying the reality of what’s to come.

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