The authoritarian impulse of trendy left-wing economists like Thomas Piketty and Gabriel Zucman is not limited to confiscatory taxation and wealth redistribution.

They now openly endorse suppression of political dissent, specifically the Brazilian government’s shutdown order of Elon Musk’s X platform for refusing to censor alleged misinformation at the government’s command.

They wrote:

President Lula da Silva made clear the Brazilian government’s intention to seek digital independence: to reduce the country’s dependence on foreign entities for data, AI capabilities, and digital infrastructure, as well as to promote the development of local technological ecosystems. In line with these objectives, the Brazilian state also intends to force Big Tech to pay fair taxes, comply with local laws, and be held accountable for the social externalities of their business models, which often promote violence and inequality…

All those who defend democratic values must support Brazil in its quest for digital sovereignty.