The Technological Republic

A call to arms from one of the most original thinkers (and founder-CEOs) on the planet. Palantir is controversial, partly since it is misunderstood, but largely since Alex Karp has a unique vision and genuinely wants to change the world by shifting the debate. The Technological Republic (whose title surely shows homage to Plato) is a classic in multidisciplinary thinking, evoking ideas as diverse as how bees swarm, how comedians improvise, and how to differentiate between broad and narrow vision (per Isaiah Berlin's fox and hedgehog). The key contention of The Technological Republic is that the U.S. has become complacent as a nation and that unless technological impetus is reoriented towards working in conjunction (as opposed to opposition) with government, then the U.S. risks seeing its values and position of global dominance eroded. In Karp's view — and it would be hard to disagree — the impetus towards compromise and a related unwillingness to take sometimes bold decisions has been deleterious to progression. Think radically if you want to change the world. Not rated.

By Alexander Karp