With J. D. Vance now serving as Vice President—presumably strengthened by the ideological muscle of Peter Thiel—a new breed of conservative politics has arrived: one that is increasingly shaped by Silicon Valley titans like Peter Thiel and Elon Musk, often called the “Tech Right.” These types find themselves involved in a regime change within the conservative movement and express interest in escaping modernity. However, those aren’t the only figures that flirt with this meta-political, philosophical language. The Tech Right alliance between Silicon Valley titans and MAGA conservatives has birthed a new political hybrid. But this movement's true significance may lie less in its political impact than in its cultural resonance–particularly with an unexpected figure: Lana Del Rey.

This political realignment isn’t simply about policy or populism. Instead, it speaks to a deeper cultural shift, one that has surprisingly intersected with the world of pop music and performance art. Lana Del Rey, of all figures, offers an illustrative example. Her romantic aesthetic, her ambivalent stance toward mainstream feminism, and her fascination with futurism reflect many of the same yearnings that drive the Tech Right: a desire to escape modernity’s constraints, transcend political fatigue, and explore new frontiers. The infamous Fader interview included her saying that feminism was not interesting enough for her. Instead, she talked about space exploration and technological innovations having a stronger pull on her at the time. Whether this is her general sentiment or her particular sentiment on that day, it still puts both topics under the microscope.

Feminism isn’t the future of young women; technology is.

Does feminism inspire women as it did with the Boomer generation? Can we expect fatigue among women, especially when more exciting things are available? You’ll find a similar response from Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs. Why embrace the political side of youth activism when there are other factors that explain the climate debate? There is an unintuitive wedge between the political and the yearning for something else—a wedge between the future and politics. It was probably not a very heavy quotation in the grand scheme of things, but it did seem to capture her in a vulnerable moment that helps explain why Thiel and Musk have been outsiders.

The journey into the American underworld of beatniks and esoteric music inspired the philosopher queens of the 20th century.

Del Rey’s popularity implies the natural fatigue of politics. In the post-GamerGate era, the feminist colonization of the media minimized the wide range of identities on the table. The celebrity and her fans don’t read Gloria Steinem talking points in New York Magazine. They don’t want to sit and listen to a feminist explain her understanding of Simone de Beauvoir. Their revolutionary side has more aesthetic than political appeal. The journey into the American underworld of beatniks and esoteric music inspired the philosopher queens of the 20th century. Del Rey was no exception when she used everything to drive young people out of the climate, from the Golden Age of Hollywood throwbacks to Kerouac’s Americana themes. These were escapes from politics. It’s post-political. Much like it was for Thiel, this was “an escape from politics in all its forms.”

Del Rey’s merging of romanticism and “Hollywood Sadcore” met the climate and the audience at an opportune time. However, she couldn’t shy away entirely from the political context in which her fans were surrounded. Like Robert Sean Leonard in "Swing Kids", the beauty of the scene has a mostly musical and theatrical quality, though it gets interrupted by politics–an unfortunate pattern Del Rey and Thiel have tried to counter.

Musk may be more invested in a transhumanist project than what the dazzled dreams of Del Rey might represent. Her romantic celebration of regional identity implies that we have come from somewhere like Mount Dasein. The Hegel-reading e-girl pining for the completion of the system of German idealism may relish utopian thinking beyond biology, but Del Rey’s infectious sensibility has much more to do with Heidegger. The balance between the Heideggerian journey for authentic identity and his concerns about technological dystopia may be determined by men like Musk and Thiel. It’s disconcerting that they’ve found themselves in political company, a fact that could influence their projects aimed at appeasing these political figures rather than accomplishing their original intent.

Musk seems occupied with personal projects beyond X, itself a vague libertarian pitch for protecting free speech and preventing wokeism from determining elections. A noble gesture. Yet, Thiel also seems to have more political cache with his protégé Vance capturing the VP spot. This positions both of them to be political juggernauts for the next few months.

By the standards of the Philosopher Queens, this political stuff limits the imaginations of potential world historical men. We could find savvy, eloquent speakers who explain American decline at NatCon, but what Thiel and Musk provide goes beyond the Republican Party. They could create trends and liberate the youth from politics, as Thiel mentioned when he shed his libertarianism.

Rather than stick by this dying breed of conservatives, they need to shed their conservatism and find authentic identity outside the media hype of November. Use Musk’s X to galvanize groups to replace the neocons, mobilize people outside the fringes, and influence the Overton window. Those groups could go offline and bring social capital back to a generation that needs it. And all of this could be done outside the purview of CPAC and Trump rallies. A renaissance of socialization escaping the boring political spectrum.

The Tech Right may normalize the escape from politics with their projects representing innovations in a century that lacks social capital. They may also be the gatekeepers of apolitical project that leaves me no better off than the conservatives have. Regardless, their ambitions for tech in a politicized world resemble Del Rey’s dreams of electric sheep. We may find ourselves in that car floating in space instead of worrying about politicized aesthetics. If Thiel or Musk can’t reach the youth, Del Rey has already succeeded in planting the seeds to escape modernity and its consequences.

Aaron Cummings is an American cultural commentator. He has written for IM_1776 and The Mises Institute.