'Unholy Alliance' Preparing Bunkers, Fortressed Nations and Space Colonies To Escape the Collapse They're Fuelling, New Book Warns

A powerful elite is, according to Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor, preparing bunkers, fortified nations and even space colonies to escape planetary collapse, rather than addressing the crises facing the world.

The claim forms the central argument of End Times Fascism: And the Fight for the Living World, which is due out on 15 September via Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

An essay adapted from the book, published in The Guardian, describes what the authors call an unholy alliance working towards an apocalyptic future from which only a chosen few will emerge unscathed.

Three Routes To Escape

The authors argue this elite is pursuing three overlapping escape routes rather than focusing on solutions to the crises it faces. These include heavenly ascension, earthly bunkers and fortified nations, or fantasies of colonizing space and merging with machines'.

Entrepreneur Peter Thiel, quoted in the essay, once said his three best ideas for achieving true freedom were cyberspace, outerspace and seasteading. The term refers to the idea of building new countries on floating oil rigs, potentially creating communities outside the conventional structures of existing governments.

The authors argue this way of thinking treats Earth's ecological limits not as a shared reality to be managed, but as an obstacle to be escaped entirely. They contrast this outlook with people who have no escape plan, no bunker in the sky or underground, and are therefore committed to improving conditions where they already live.

A Wedding Sparks Backlash

The essay uses a real-world flashpoint to illustrate its argument. It describes protests in Venice against Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' lavish wedding, reportedly costing an estimated $50 million, amid concerns from residents about the city's overcrowding, tourism and lack of secure, affordable housing.

Locals interviewed for the Guardian essay said the spectacle, staged not long after Bezos' rocket company Blue Origin sent female influencers and celebrities on a brief trip to the edge of space, deepened a feeling that their city was being colonised.

One resident, 35-year-old high school teacher Marta Sottoriva, said the wedding intensified a sense that the city was being taken away by the very wealthy.

Activists responded with banners, mock effigies and floating protest displays across the city's waterways. Officials later announced that the event would be moved to a less central location due to the protests, a decision the authors point to as evidence that resistance to this kind of escapism is already forming in unexpected places.

Altman's Advantages To Being a Machine

The book also highlights comments from OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, who the authors say saw certain advantages to being a machine and has repeatedly suggested that his own children will never be smarter than artificial intelligence.

The authors argue this reflects what they see as a broader tendency among some technology leaders to place increasing value on synthetic alternatives to human experience and relationships.

They also cite criticism from prominent novelist Joyce Carol Oates, who publicly questioned why Elon Musk appeared not to post about nature, art, music, books or everyday human relationships online.

The authors use this exchange to argue that an apparent lack of appreciation for the natural world helps explain why some of the wealthiest people alive appear willing to contemplate abandoning it.

They contrast this with grassroots movements they say represent the antithesis of this mindset, citing community organising efforts built around solidarity, shared place and mutual protection rather than escape or retreat.

The authors frame their argument as more than commentary on individual billionaires or public figures.

Who Bears The Consequences

They present it as a warning that the same resources and technologies capable of addressing climate change, inequality and instability are, in their view, being directed towards personal survival plans for a small few.

If that argument is correct, the implications stretch beyond wealth inequality into questions of accountability: who is responsible for planetary crises, and who ultimately bears their consequences.

The authors argue that recognising this pattern, rather than treating each individual billionaire project as an isolated eccentricity, is the first step towards building organised resistance to it.

They ultimately call for collective movements committed to repairing and remaining on Earth, rather than accepting a future shaped by those planning their own escape.