Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 30, 2026

Technolibertarianism

Technolibertarianism, sometimes referred to as cyberlibertarianism, is a political ideology with roots in the Internet's early hacker cypherpunk culture in Silicon Valley in the early 1990s and in American libertarianism. The ideology focuses on minimizing government regulation, censorship, or anything else in the way of a "free" World Wide Web. In this case, the word "free" is referring to the meaning of libre, not gratis. Cyber-libertarians embrace fluid, meritocratic hierarchies, which are believed to be best served by markets. The most widely known cyberlibertarian is Julian Assange. The term technolibertarian was popularized in critical discourse by technology writer Paulina Borsook in her 2000 book, Cyberselfish: A Critical Romp Through the Terribly Libertarian Culture of High Tech.

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Technolibertarianism, sometimes referred to as cyberlibertarianism, is a political ideology with roots in the Internet's early hacker cypherpunk culture in Silicon Valley in the early 1990s and in American libertarianism.123 The ideology focuses on minimizing government regulation, censorship, or anything else in the way of a "free" World Wide Web. In this case, the word "free" is referring to the meaning of libre (no restrictions), not gratis (no cost). Cyber-libertarians embrace fluid, meritocratic hierarchies, which are believed to be best served by markets. The most widely known cyberlibertarian is Julian Assange.45 The term technolibertarian was popularized in critical discourse by technology writer Paulina Borsook in her 2000 book, Cyberselfish: A Critical Romp Through the Terribly Libertarian Culture of High Tech.6789

Notable proponents

See also

See also

References

References

  1. Dahlberg, Lincoln (2016). "Cyberlibertarianism". The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology (2nd ed.). pp. 1–2. doi:10.1002/9781405165518.wbeos0720. ISBN 978-1-4051-2433-1.
  2. Dahlberg, Lincoln (2017). "Cyberlibertarianism". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.013.70. ISBN 978-0-19-022861-3.
  3. Dahlberg, Lincoln (2019). "Cyberlibertarianism". In Cloud, Dana L. (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Communication and Critical Cultural Studies. Oxford University Press. pp. 422–443.
  4. Jurgenson, N. (2014). [1]. International Journal of Communication
  5. Tariq, O. The End of Digital Libertarianism? Archived 2018-01-17 at the Wayback Machine. London School of Economics
  6. Borsook, P. (2000). Cyberselfish: A Critical Romp Through the Terribly Libertarian Culture of High Tech. PublicAffairs. ISBN 1891620789.
  7. Borsook, P. (2001). Cyberselfish: Ravers, Guilders, Cyberpunks, And Other Silicon Valley Life-Forms. Yale Journal of Law and Technology, 3(1): 1–10.
  8. Jordan, Tim. Taylor, Paul. (2013). Hacktivism and Cyberwars: Rebels with a Cause? Routledge. ISBN 1134510756.
  9. Dahlberg, Lincoln (2009). "Libertarian Cyber-Utopianism and Global Digital Networks". Globalization and Utopia. pp. 176–189. doi:10.1057/9780230233607_12. ISBN 978-1-349-30142-3.
  10. "Trump's techno-libertarian dream team goes to Washington". Vox. November 11, 2024.
  11. "'Techno libertarians': Why Elon Musk is supporting Donald Trump in the US election". Euronews. October 30, 2024.
Further reading

Further reading