How AI Broligarchs Plan to Profit from Collapse | Naomi Klein & Astra Taylor
September 17, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readHow AI Broligarchs Plan to Profit from Collapse
In their new book End Times: Fascism and the Fight for the Living World, Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor argue that a powerful coalition of tech billionaires, anti-immigration operatives, and religious right figures have united around a shared belief that the world is ending — and rather than prevent its collapse, they want to accelerate it. The book traces how figures like Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and Palantir's Alex Karp are building companies that thrive on crisis, preparing bunkers and escape plans while simultaneously developing the technologies that make collapse more likely. As Klein puts it, "bad times are very good for Palantir."
The Shift from Disaster Capitalism to Permanent Crisis
Klein, who previously documented how corporations profit from catastrophic events in The Shock Doctrine, identifies a crucial shift in how today's elites operate. When she wrote about disaster capitalism, shocks were imagined as interruptions of an otherwise stable normal. Something has flipped decisively since COVID. The market now takes a continual state of rolling, compounding shocks as its baseline. These tech leaders are not waiting for disasters to exploit — they are building infrastructure that depends on permanent crisis.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **Opening: The Apocalyptic Core of the AI Broligarchs** - The episode opens with a montage of clips from Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor’s video “End Times Fascism,” introducing the idea that tech billionaires believe in possible human extinction and are profiting from the anticipation of collapse.
- 2 (00:49) **Host Introduction: Setting Up the Thesis** - JJ welcomes listeners and positions the book as a companion to his previous coverage of Silicon Valley’s political shift, noting the book’s high profile and companion video.
- 3 (03:25) **The Existential Belief of AI Builders** - Klein and Taylor argue that the people coding AI genuinely believe in a non-trivial chance of human extinction, and they work on the technology anyway.
- 4 (04:38) **The AI Bubble and Political Capture** - The host pivots to the economic and political context, highlighting President Trump’s rejection of AI regulation and his alignment with AI CEOs like Jensen Huang.
- 5 (06:01) **The Core Argument: Traders to Creation** - The book’s central claim is introduced: the coalition of tech billionaires, anti-immigration operatives, and the religious right are “traitors to creation,” not just to nations.
- 6 (07:38) **Continuity and Shift from Disaster Capitalism** - Klein explains the evolution of her thinking, noting that while there are continuities with “disaster capitalism,” the key change is that shocks are no longer interruptions of a stable normal.
- 7 (08:26) **The Call to Action: Madness, Love, and Fight** - The authors’ intended effect on readers is clarified: to make people angrier about the current situation, more in love with the living world, and more motivated to fight.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
John Johnston (JJ) breaks down the new book and companion video from Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor: ‘End Times Fascism and the Fight for the Living World.’ The book investigates how tech billionaires are preparing for “the end times,” even as they accelerate global inequality, political instability, and climate change.
Related episode:
The Elon Musk Documentary Just Premiered. It’s Brutal. https://youtu.be/uF0DwtunggA
Referenced videos:
How modern fascism works | End Times Fascism | Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor https://youtu.be/aK2nLNiFEAQ
“End Times Fascism”: Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor on Billionaires, Bunkers, AI, Gaza & the Far Right | Democracy Now https://youtu.be/Qe7KB1AqhH4
More ‘BAD S**T WILL HAPPEN’ if we don’t act: Naomi Klein & Astra Taylor EXPOSE ‘End Times Fascism’ https://youtu.be/gIfX5qHorBQ
Do Tech Billionaires Want the World to Burn? | The Interview https://youtu.be/5GDKpDkieh0
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