title: [Book Sharing] Silicon States - How Business Giants Control the Economy and Society
published: false
date: 2025-10-30 00:00:00 UTC
tags:
canonical_url: https://www.evanlin.com/reading-silicon-states/
---
[](https://moo.im/a/4bfgiR "Silicon States")
Silicon States: The Power and Politics of Big Tech and What It Means for Our Future
How Business Giants Control the Economy and Society
Author: Lucie Greene
Original Author: Lucie Greene
Translator: Lin Junhong Publisher: Tianxia Culture
#### Purchase Recommendation Website:
- Readmoo: [Buy it here](https://moo.im/a/4bfgiR).
# Preface:
This is the 9th book I finished reading in 2025. I initially wanted to understand the entrepreneurial spirit within Silicon Valley and the views of several giants on society.
It mentions topics related to political awakening, social politics, and changes in social media.
## Outline
The next batch of world powers will be entrepreneurs, not nation-states
From the private sector to the public sector, from the earth to space
Technology companies are rethinking everything, reinventing everything
But──
Is the progress defined by Silicon Valley the progress we want?
Is the future that Silicon Valley wants the future we can accept?
As the public's confidence in governments and their institutions rapidly declines, this void is gradually being filled by Silicon Valley companies. A small group of companies with massive amounts of cash, talent, and ambition are taking control and gaining the confidence of consumers around the world.
Despite the beautiful promises of technology, we cannot blindly accept the innovative vision outlined by technology companies. Instead, before we hand over the future to a small group of elite companies, we must first recognize the commercial nature of technology companies, understand the potential impact they may have on political and socio-economic systems, and thus resist their interests, biases, and inherent flaws.
In this book, the renowned futurist and leader of an international think tank, Lucie Greene, interviews business leaders, major venture capitalists, scholars, journalists, and activists to explore the tensions that Silicon Valley inevitably brings due to its global influence, to understand the true interests of these companies, and the immense power they hold over unsuspecting citizens.
Understand how Google, Apple, Amazon, and Facebook exert influence globally
Gain insight into how Silicon Valley giants are comprehensively eroding our environment
This book takes you to witness:
The influence of Silicon Valley: How did it transform from a chip center into a global powerhouse?
The future landscape of Silicon Valley: Innovation is deep, far-reaching, and broad, beyond your imagination
The dark side of Silicon Valley: Monopoly, manipulation, discrimination, and serious cultural flaws
### 《Silicon States》 Key Points Summary
Based on the 28 highlighted content provided, this book explores the rise of Silicon Valley as a technology empire, its culture, social impact, challenges, and controversies. The book emphasizes that Silicon Valley is not only a center of technological innovation but also a force that reshapes democracy, philanthropy, education, media, and global values, while also exposing issues of bias, privacy, and inequality. The following is a summary of the key points, categorized by topic, each including relevant highlighted excerpts, and marked with primary tags and dates. The categorization is based on the logical relationships of the content, aiming to capture the core arguments of the book.
#### 1. **Silicon Valley History and Cultural Origins**
- **Definition and Expansion of Silicon Valley**: The term "Silicon Valley" originated in 1971, referring to the silicon chip manufacturers in the Santa Clara Valley in the southern San Francisco Bay Area, and later expanded to San Francisco and Oakland (2015, Uber moved to Oakland). (Date: 2023/11/4)
- **The Influence of the PayPal Mafia**: Former PayPal employees (such as Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman) founded or invested in Palantir, SpaceX, Tesla, LinkedIn, Yelp, YouTube, etc., after selling the company in 2002, defining Silicon Valley culture and celebrity status. (Date: 2024/05/11; Tags: Pragmatic Idealism)
- **Corporate Expansion Model**: Silicon Valley shifted from selling software to traditional industries to building its own solutions, such as Uber and Lyft replacing the taxi industry. (Date: 2024/05/11; Tags: Pragmatic Idealism)
#### 2. **Technology and Democracy: Voting, Privacy, and Government Intervention**
- **Voting Barriers for Young Voters**: Voting systems are outdated (e.g., paper registration requires printing, mailing, only 4% have printers at home), not due to apathy. Vote.org (supported by Y-Combinator) uses technology, text messages, and marketing to promote registration, emphasizing that election day should be a holiday. (Date: 2024/05/18, 2025/11/1; Tags: Hacking the Government, Unsung Safety Net)
- **Data Privacy and Public Misunderstanding**: Silicon Valley expands into healthcare and finance, and the public lacks knowledge of technology privacy, with concerning consequences. FutureGov assists with government digital transformation. (Date: 2025/11/1; Tags: Unsung Safety Net)
- **Foreign Interference and Social Media**: Russia used Facebook, Twitter, etc., to interfere in the US election and Brexit referendum, with Mueller indicting 13 Russians, etc. Social media is a tool for division. (Date: 2024/05/11, 2024/06/1; Tags: Hacking the Government, Fake News and the Future)
- **Cultural Conflict**: Zuckerberg's promotion of Free Basics in India was criticized, ignoring local values (such as the elephant god valuing independence), symbolizing Western companies imposing control. (Date: 2024/06/1; Tags: Silicon Valley Missionaries)
#### 3. **Philanthropy and Social Welfare: Commercialization and Risks**
- **Philanthropy 2.0**: Silicon Valley enters philanthropy on a moonshot scale, with individual donations reaching $281 billion in 2017 (growth exceeding GDP), not just donating money, but also using data and technology to pursue exposure and effectiveness. (Date: 2025/10/11; Tags: Strategic Philanthropy)
- **The Dangers of Commercializing Public Welfare**: Turning public welfare into hashtag marketing, distorting issues, and portraying Silicon Valley leaders as saviors, only saving "worthy" problems. (Date: 2025/11/1; Tags: Strategic Philanthropy)
- **SXSW and Trends**: In 2016, SXSW promoted social welfare enterprises, collaborating with the United Nations and Google, publishing books such as "Doing Good is Now Fashionable." (Date: 2025/10/11; Tags: Strategic Philanthropy)
- **Facebook's Willow Village**: Building a 59-acre community in Menlo Park, including employee/low-income housing, bike paths, and railway upgrades, modeled after Victorian model villages. (Date: 2023/11/4)
#### 4. **Diversity and Bias: Gender, Race, and Data Issues**
- **Disadvantage of Women and Minorities**: Only 35% of Facebook employees are women, with women in tech positions at 19% and university graduates at 27%. The gig economy (such as Airbnb) is even more disadvantageous for women. (Date: 2025/10/11; Tags: Women are more disadvantaged in the gig economy, Promoting Diversity)
- **Silicon Valley Blind Spots**: Philanthropy and innovation reflect the perspective of "white, wealthy, 25-year-old men," with racial/gender blind spots being common. (Date: 2025/11/1; Tags: Strategic Philanthropy)
- **Data Bias in Healthcare**: Silicon Valley attempts to decentralize healthcare (providing information, tracking health), but without major breakthroughs. Healthcare spending exacerbates inequality, with the poorest 10% income dropping 47.6%, and 7.01 million people falling into poverty. (Date: 2025/08/30; Tags: Data Bias)
#### 5. **Education and Skills Transformation: Silicon Valley's Alternative Models**
- **UnCollege's Gap Year**: A 9-month intensive program, advocating "mastering education," using "peer groups" and "journeys" (such as volunteering in India) to teach social impact, empathy, and adaptation. Riding the wave of education startups. (Date: 2025/08/30; Tags: If Silicon Valley Founded a School)
- **Future Skills Needs**: In 2015, problem-solving, coordination, and management were needed; in 2020, emotional intelligence and cognitive flexibility were added. But traditional courses do not cover them. (Date: 2025/08/30; Tags: If Silicon Valley Founded a School)
#### 6. **Media, Fake News, and Cultural Influence**
- **Fake News and Gray Areas**: Silicon Valley platforms become news intermediaries/producers, alongside unverified content. Ad removal is limited to obvious controversies; AI news, sponsored content, and Russian propaganda are difficult to handle. The UK demands evidence from Zuckerberg. (Date: 2024/06/1, 2024/05/18; Tags: Fake News and the Future)
- **Worsening Media Perception**: In a 2017 survey, 53% felt TV, 48% social media, and 45% online news had worsened (69% viewed negatively). Traditional media power is eroded by Silicon Valley, with Trump's Twitter followers exceeding SNL viewership. (Date: 2024/05/18; Tags: Fake News and the Future)
- **Silicon Valley Missionary Culture**: Instagram drives travel (such as Havana, Cuba), but uploads are limited. Media turns to promoting tech elites (such as the "Vanity Fair" summit), and dissenting voices (such as EU fines, Amazon monopoly) are drowned out. (Date: 2024/06/1, 2024/05/18; Tags: Silicon Valley Missionaries, Fake News and the Future)
#### 7. **Corporate Activities and Market Expansion**
- **Airbnb's Transformation**: From home sharing to travel (online guides, bookings), avoiding regulatory issues. The 2016 host conference tickets were $345 + $60 for awards, with 6,000 people needing accommodation. (Date: 2025/08/30; Tags: Promoting Diversity)
- **Other Activities**: Salesforce Dreamforce tickets are nearly $2,000; Refinery29's 29Rooms interactive exhibition, suitable for Instagram. (Date: 2025/08/30; Tags: Promoting Diversity)
## Thoughts
If you also want to buy this, I suggest you look for other more up-to-date books. After all, Silicon Valley is a place of high-tech and talent density, and many changes happen quite rapidly. And the original version of this book was written in 2019, which also means that it has missed several important events in recent years:
- Market changes due to COVID-19
- The rise and fall of blockchain
- The impact of Trump's presidency on Silicon Valley.
But besides these, you can observe some related Silicon Valley events. For example:
- The impact on Silicon Valley after PayPal's success
- Uber's resistance wave against market expansion in various countries
- Airbnb's disruptive innovation in the market
Of course, there are also some more advanced topics:
- Related conflicts of gender equality in Silicon Valley
- The impact of political issues on the Silicon Valley tech circle
This is a very in-depth book, and although it's been a while, it contains some very interesting content. I highly recommend it to everyone.
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