A New Dark Age or a New Renaissance? Lessons from the All-In Summit

Chamath Palihapitiya said it best at this year’s All-In Podcast Summit: we are standing at a crossroads between a New Dark Age and a New Renaissance. It was a powerful framing and a timely one. The world feels precarious: wars, cultural division, institutional decay, and the erosion of confidence in business, technology, and even truth itself; however Chamath’s point and the underlying message of the Summit was that the outcome depends on what kind of leaders step up next.

What I would add is this: if there is to be a New Renaissance, it will not come from politicians, bureaucrats, nor social activists. It will come from capitalists - principled capitalists - who create and lead with courage and conviction.

That spirit was alive on stage throughout the Summit.

Dave Ricks, CEO of Eli Lilly and Company, shared the story behind the development of GLP-1 drugs, which are revolutionizing treatments for diabetes, obesity, and metabolic disease. He spoke not only about science and market demand, but about foresight, the courage to invest in the next frontier of human health before others saw it. He even predicted the next crisis such drugs could help solve: neurodegenerative disease. It was a powerful reminder that progress happens when business leaders act on opportunity long before consensus forms.

Cathie Wood of ARK Investment Management followed with an unflinching case for optimism. She laid out the extraordinary progress unleashed by capitalism over the last century, from computing and biotechnology to space and artificial intelligence. Her thesis was clear: when markets are free and entrepreneurs are empowered, innovation compounds. Every technological revolution is ultimately a moral one too, because it expands human potential and prosperity.

Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir Technologies, brought that point back to first principles. He warned that innovation must not become morally unmoored. Technology, he said, must be used to defend the values of a free society, not to impose them on others, but also to protect the conditions that allow free people to flourish. His words reflected a deep truth: capitalism is also about preserving the civilization that makes progress possible.

And of course, Elon Musk, a living symbol of that ideal, reminded everyone that the future will not be built by him alone, but by any entrepreneur willing to take risks, challenge orthodoxy, and create. His vision, spanning space, AI, and energy, was not mere spectacle; it was a call to arms for builders everywhere.

Through these speakers, the All-In Summit revealed its deeper theme: the New Renaissance will require an elevation of capitalism itself, not cronyism or corporatism, but true capitalism grounded in principle.

Chamath himself touched on this near the end. He recalled that at the turn of the last century, America’s “business barons” were unashamed to be capitalists and they built not only companies but communities. They didn’t apologize for creating wealth; they used it to build the foundations of modern prosperity. Today, however, making money is often treated as morally suspect. Many business leaders feel pressured to downplay profit or signal virtue instead of living it.

Chamath called for reversing that trend to make it good again to start a business, to make money, to create value. That’s not greed: that’s civilization-building.

And that’s exactly what principled capitalists are doing today. Despite the noise, despite the pessimism, a New Renaissance is already forming in boardrooms, startups, and venture funds led by those who see business not as exploitation, but as creation.

At Liberty Ventures, we see this every day with investors, executives, and entrepreneurs who are building the future, guided by the principles that make capitalism moral and sustainable: respect, cooperation, value creation, meritocracy, and freedom.

If we want a New Renaissance, we must earn it. And it will be built once again by courageous capitalists.

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