The political sensibility of Silicon Valley tends to be of a decidedly libertarian bent, espousing self-improvement, meritocracy, and “work-life balance.” Of course, what passes for libertarianism in Northern California is distinct from the conservative right-wing version. Silicon Valley libertarian beliefs are rooted in a strong belief that intelligence and drive are indicators of success, an almost mythological trust in entrepreneurialism, the “do it yourself” ethic, and an idealized view of the internet as utopian space—à la Castells’s layers of internet culture. Silicon Valley encourages a faith in technological solutions, and imagines that widespread adoption of computer technologies will lead to positive social change (in the case of Web 2.0, increased participation, democracy, and community). This almost contradictory combination of “technological determinism and libertarian individualism” is, as discussed earlier, what Richard Barbrook and Andy Cameron labeled the “Californian Ideology.”

Alice E. Marwick, Status Update, loc. 118