Big Tech Should Learn to Love the Flag

Scientific endeavor and national pride have always been part of the American spirit

An unlikely alliance between MAGA populists and the Tech Right has everyone wondering who will hold the most sway in the Trump White House and for how long. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have already caused deep disagreement over H1B visas, which are heavily used by tech companies to import cheap foreign labor and have been open to major abuse and fraud. Turning the taps on legal migration after promising to get the border under control is a recipe for disaster. But this begs a bigger question of how viable the tech-nationalist partnership will be. It could be a more natural pairing than you might expect. Scientific endeavor has often travelled alongside national pride since the time of Benjamin Franklin.

Franklin was a genuine renaissance man in an age when the humanities and the sciences were not siloed from each other like they are today. He famously used kite experiments to draw electricity from the skies. During his transatlantic voyages, Franklin was able to chart the Gulf Stream. A passionate inventor, he created bifocal glasses and the glass harmonica, and corresponded with the great scientific minds of his day. Franklin used Pro and Con lists to guide his logical thinking. This dedication to scientific and technological progress was distinctive among the Founding Fathers. But it was also a natural extension of Franklin’s desire to increase the sum of human knowledge and gain insight into objective and universal truths.

This drove Franklin to be an active citizen and a champion for his country. Franklin is rightly remembered for his role in pressing the case for American independence and helping it become a reality through his deft diplomatic work in Paris. His civic efforts in Philadelphia, where he had gained success and recognition as a printer and editor, also deserves to be praised. Famous for founding the Library Company, American Philosophical Society, the cirty’s fire department, and the University of Pennsylvania, Franklin did much to improve the opportunities available to Philadelphia’s citizens. In his mind, there was no clear separation between science, technology, education, politics, and economics. Each reinforced the other.

American prosperity and strength have long been driven by scientific and technological progress. To emerge from Britain’s imperial shadow, the United States needed to embrace the future. In the true American spirit, Franklin blended scientific endeavor with national pride, pursuing noble ends while keeping a pragmatic mindset. Franklin’s example would be echoed down the years by the great industrialists such as Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and Henry Ford. They understood that technological change and national prosperity were linked and provided the key ingredients for American industrial success.

Scientific and technological progress does carry costs, making old industries redundant and sometimes scarring communities. Periods of adjustment can be painful and demand remedial action, which is why the Gilded Age was followed by the Progressive Era. The latest wave of change has come from the tech companies in Silicon Valley. As AI and robotics approach new breakthroughs, further economic dislocation looks likely. But reactionary opposition to new technology is futile and harmful. China and other geopolitical competitors will not feel any qualms about harnessing new tech. The EU seems determined to drive itself into further irrelevance with burdensome tech regulations, boasting about its new ‘common charging’ rules. But legislation does need to keep up with technological change and state legislatures are now thoroughly debating AI safety. Prudence is a worthy virtue, but it must not descend into extreme risk aversion that holds back progress.

In return, Silicon Valley must recognize that it has become a success partly because of support received from the federal government. Whether it be from public contracts, infrastructure, or education, tech businesses are no different from their nineteenth and twentieth century predecessors. Tech leaders have an obligation to their nation as much as their investors and should be acting as responsible citizens as well as successful entrepreneurs. That is why the H1B visa program should be scrapped and replaced with a scheme that is genuinely designed for top tier skilled workers. Importing more foreign labor to undercut domestic wages will not enable the productivity and innovation gains needed to lead the tech race against China. Instead, tech companies should invest much more in training and skills for the domestic workforce. We have already seen how the TSMC semiconductor plant in Arizona was slowed down by skills shortages among other factors.

When Franklin carried out his famous kite experiments, he was an intellectual pioneer and shining example of the American spirit. Pushing boundaries, searching for truth, and getting things done. These should be what policymakers aim to do. The future of the United States and Silicon Valley are fundamentally linked and will continue to be shaped by China’s aggressive push for hegemony in the Asia Pacific. For the United States to maintain regional balance and remain strong and prosperous, tech leaders will need to quickly rediscover the same combination of scientific endeavor and national pride that animated Ben Franklin.

David A. Cowan is a Ph.D. Candidate in history at the University of Cambridge. He has been previously published at American Affairs, The American Conservative, Engelsberg Ideas, FUSION, and National Review Online.