Middletown, Ohio -- a Techno-feudalist State Ruled by King Vance

The Rise of the American Techno-State Monarchy -- and the Fight to Restore Democracy

Most of the time, this project outlines positive 'super ecofriendly' futures for the world's urban futures. But today we reflect on the way America might stave off becoming a dystopian techno-fascist monarchy (ruled in the immediate post Trump-era by the likes of Doger-nerd Elon Musk, Vice-Potus J.D. Vance, and techno-fascist Peter Thiel). We do this by outlining the future-history of J.D. Vance's own hometown of Middletown, Ohio.

In a bizarre twist of American political evolution, Middletown, Ohio, became a techno-state monarchy in the late 2030s, ruled by self-proclaimed King J.D. Vance. Bankrolled by billionaire Peter Thiel, Vance rose from venture capitalist-backed political figure to authoritarian sovereign over the struggling post-industrial city. Under Thiel’s ideological influence, the city abandoned democratic governance in favor of a system where government positions were bought and sold like shares in a tech startup. Middletown transformed into a dystopian bastion of techno-feudalism, where the elite thrived while the voices of ordinary citizens were silenced.

Thiel’s bizarre political philosophy, rooted in his belief that democracy is incompatible with technological progress, found fertile ground in Middletown. A staunch advocate for techno-elitism, Thiel argued that a select group of visionary innovators should guide society without interference from the masses. In Middletown, this translated to a government of billionaires who ruled through algorithmic efficiency and opaque decision-making processes. Elections were abolished, replaced by blockchain-based auctions where the highest bidders secured positions of power. Surveillance technology permeated every aspect of life, ostensibly to maintain order but primarily to suppress dissent.

Critics quickly labeled this regime a fascist state, as democracy was unwelcome, and dissent was met with swift technological repression. Fascism, characterized by authoritarian rule, the suppression of opposition, and a merger of state and corporate power, found a 21st-century expression in Middletown's techno-monarchy. Thiel’s belief in the supremacy of the techno-elite bore unsettling parallels to traditional fascist doctrines that celebrated hierarchical governance and rejected democratic pluralism.

However, Thiel’s vision of a techno-monarchy ruling the entire nation never gained traction beyond Middletown. Across the United States, activists, civic leaders, and ordinary citizens galvanized a decade-long movement to reclaim democracy. Grassroots coalitions spanning political affiliations emerged, using digital tools and traditional organizing strategies to combat the spread of techno-authoritarianism. These activists spearheaded legislative reforms that banned the privatization of government positions and reinforced constitutional protections for democratic governance.

Their crowning achievement was the passage of the "Democracy Preservation Act," which explicitly confined techno-monarchical experiments to Middletown, rendering it an isolated anomaly in American governance. The city became a living cautionary tale, a techno-fascist outlier that no other municipality dared emulate. Educational campaigns highlighted Middletown's dystopian transformation as a warning against the perils of unchecked billionaire influence and the abandonment of democratic principles.

Despite its isolation, Middletown remained a spectacle, a grim tourist destination for those curious about the failed experiment in techno-monarchical governance. Vance ruled with dwindling support, his city a hollow shell of its former self. Thiel, discredited and ostracized, retreated from public life, his grand vision rejected by a society that had reaffirmed its commitment to democracy.

The victory of democracy over Middletown's techno-fascism served as a powerful reminder that governance is not the domain of the wealthy few but a collective endeavor requiring the participation and consent of all. The American experiment, tested but resilient, emerged stronger, having confined the bizarre dreams of techno-monarchy to a single, cautionary city.