Killdozer 2.0: What the Attack on a Top CEO Tells Us About the Turbulent Twenties

What Happened?

On December 4, 2024, Brian Thompson, CEO of major health insurance company UnitedHealthcare, was fatally shot outside the New York Hilton Midtown hotel at around 6:45 a.m. The shooter, wearing a light-colored hoodie, was captured on surveillance footage waiting for Thompson’s arrival before firing a silenced pistol. After the attack, the gunman fled on an electric bicycle, triggering a citywide manhunt.

Five days later, on December 9, police arrested 26-year-old Luigi Mangione at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He was found in possession of a 3D-printed "ghost gun" with a silencer, multiple fake IDs, and a manifesto criticizing corporate America and the U.S. healthcare system. Authorities believe the killing was a politically motivated act of protest. Luigi now faces charges of second-degree murder, illegal possession of a firearm, and forgery. 

Healthcare or Wealthcare?

The American healthcare system is infamous for pushing people into debt over basic medical needs while remaining one of the most inefficient systems in the developed world. Life expectancy at birth in the U.S. is significantly lower than in other developed nations, such as South Korea and Germany. As of recent data, life expectancy in South Korea is approximately 83.5 years, and in Germany, it is around 81.3 years, compared to about 76.1 years in the U.S. This disparity exists despite the U.S. spending nearly twice as much per capita on healthcare as Germany and almost four times as much as South Korea. 

Insurance companies are at the heart of the problem, with UnitedHealthcare exemplifying the industry's worst excesses. The company has been criticized for its ruthless cost-cutting measures that prioritize profits over patients. UnitedHealthcare routinely denies coverage for essential treatments like surgeries, cancer therapies, and mental health care, forcing patients to bear enormous financial burdens. The company's reliance on flawed AI algorithms to review and deny claims has sparked lawsuits, with reports of elderly patients being wrongfully denied nursing home and rehabilitation care. Additionally, bureaucratic delays in prior authorizations leave patients waiting weeks or months for urgent medical procedures, putting their health at risk.

At the center of these decisions is the CEO, whose role is to maximize shareholder value — a euphemism for driving up profits, even at the cost of patient care. UnitedHealthcare's CEO is seen by critics as the architect of these brutal policies, embodying the larger failures of America's healthcare system. The case of UnitedHealthcare is not just about one company — it reveals how corporate incentives warp healthcare into an industry that serves profits over people. Unsurprisingly, the killing of the CEO sparked widespread public satisfaction, reflecting deep frustration with the healthcare industry's perceived exploitation of patients.

The problem is clear. The ruling class either cannot or will not resolve it. So, what options remain for the ordinary person?

The Paradox of Good Idea and Wrong Path

Throughout history, humanity has been driven by the allure of grand ideas. These ideas often embody noble aspirations—freedom, justice, progress, or prosperity. However, history also demonstrates how even the most well-intentioned ideas can lead to harmful outcomes when the methods employed to achieve them contradict their inherent values. This paradox raises a fundamental question: Is the greatness of a goal enough to justify the means, or must the path to it reflect its worthiness?

One of the clearest examples of good ideas leading astray lies in revolutions. The French Revolution of 1789 was inspired by the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity. Yet, the pursuit of these ideals through violence and terror culminated in the Reign of Terror—a period where thousands were executed in the name of revolutionary virtue. The methods used to achieve these noble goals contradicted their spirit, tarnishing the very ideals the revolutionaries sought to uphold. This pattern repeats in many political movements, where utopian visions are pursued at the cost of lives and ethical compromises.

Similarly, the drive for progress in science and technology demonstrates how great ideas can lead to morally ambiguous paths. The development of nuclear energy, for instance, was heralded as a solution to humanity's energy needs. However, the same science that powers homes also created weapons capable of unprecedented destruction. The splitting of the atom, an extraordinary intellectual achievement, became a harrowing example of how the application of a good idea without ethical foresight can lead to catastrophic consequences.

Why does this happen? Often, it is because the methods used to achieve a goal are seen as mere tools, separate from the goal itself. This instrumental view assumes that if the destination is worthwhile, any path to it is justified. However, this mindset overlooks the transformative power of the journey. The ways we achieve our goals shape not only the outcomes but also the people, societies, and values we leave behind. A great idea pursued through unworthy means risks corrupting the idea itself.

Consider Mahatma Gandhi’s principle of nonviolence during India’s struggle for independence. Gandhi recognized that the way to achieve freedom must align with the values freedom represents. His insistence on nonviolence wasn’t merely strategic; it was a moral stance that elevated the movement, ensuring that the methods used reflected the greatness of the goal. In this case, the means and the end were in harmony, demonstrating how ethical consistency can magnify the worth of an idea.

This alignment between means and ends is not just a lofty ideal but a practical necessity. When methods are incongruent with goals, the results are often unsustainable. For example, environmental conservation, a universally good idea, falters when implemented through coercion or exclusion. True success comes when actions to protect the planet also respect the rights and dignity of the people affected.

This is a cornerstone of Russian literature, raised by Dostoevsky, who often explored the moral dilemmas of means and ends in works like 'Crime and Punishment' and 'The Brothers Karamazov.' His stories frequently grapple with the idea that achieving noble goals through immoral actions ultimately corrupts both the individual and the ideal itself. "Tell me yourself, I challenge you—answer. Imagine that you are creating a fabric of human destiny with the object of making men happy in the end, giving them peace and rest at last, but that it was essential and inevitable to torture to death only one tiny creature... and to found that edifice on its unavenged tears, would you consent to be the architect on those conditions?" (Dostoevsky, 'The Brothers Karamazov').

Radicals with a Plan

The hero of the past week appears to have skipped the study of Russian literature and instead turned to a more practical form of reading — the manifesto of the Unabomber.

It is already known that Luigi Mangione was found in possession of his own manifesto, the contents of which criticize corporate America from a libertarian perspective. The act of writing manifestos holds a certain grim prestige among American (and global) dissidents — be they deranged individuals or principled system challengers, depending on one's political outlook.

Perhaps the most infamous example of this tradition is the manifesto of Theodore "Ted" Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber. A right-wing eco-terrorist, Kaczynski waged a mail-bombing campaign against individuals and institutions he believed were contributing to the destruction of ecosystems and hastening the collapse of the living world. His manifesto, Industrial Society and Its Future, along with his subsequent deeper analysis of industrial society, remains a subject of ongoing debate and discussion due to its provocative critique of technological progress and modern civilization (we have contributed our 2 cents here, here and here).

The connection between Mangione and Kaczynski becomes even more pronounced with the discovery that Mangione had left a review of Kaczynski’s manifesto on Goodreads, suggesting familiarity with Kaczynski's work and an endorsement of his violent approach to addressing societal issues.

The act of leaving manifestos is a hallmark of many terrorists, but it’s notable that both the Unabomber and Mangione were highly educated individuals. This intellectual pedigree sets them apart from many other radicals and we will come back to this important fact a bit later.

The Power of a Single Shot

Let's set aside moral judgments — what lessons can history teach us about analyzing this situation?

The killer of United Healthcare's CEO has received massive support online, prompting some mainstream media outlets and politicians to "explain" to the public why his actions were immoral. However, these explanations have often appeared ineffective, with many viewing the politicians as out of touch with public sentiment. A noteworthy historical parallel can be found in Russian history with the case of Vera Zasulich. In 1878, Zasulich shot and wounded General Fyodor Trepov, the governor of Saint Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire, as an act of political protest. Remarkably, her trial ended in an acquittal by a jury, which was seen as a reflection of growing public sympathy for revolutionary motives and dissatisfaction with the regime.

Individual terror — the targeting of specific individuals, often members of the political elite or ruling class — has a long and complex history. In Russia, the Socialist Revolutionaries carried out a campaign of targeted assassinations during the early 20th century, aiming to destabilize the imperial regime. Similar tactics were used by the Kurdish PKK in Turkey, as well as the Red Brigades and the Armed Revolutionary Nuclei in Italy during the 1970s and 1980s.

In the United States, a unique form of individual terror took place in 2004 when Marvin Heemeyer used a heavily armored bulldozer to demolish government buildings in Granby, Colorado. Frustrated with local authorities over a zoning dispute, Heemeyer took matters into his own hands, destroying town hall, a police station, and other properties. While he ultimately took his own life, his actions were celebrated by some as a stand against corruption and injustice. Unlike Luigi Mangione, however, Heemeyer focused his rage on local authorities rather than the upper echelons of the ruling class.

This distinction is significant. Attacks on prominent members of the ruling elite have broader consequences for social stability and the public perception of justice. While Heemeyer's actions were seen as a local and deeply personal vendetta, attacks on prominent figures such as UnitedHealth's CEO Brian Thompson, as well as two assassination attempts on the then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, signal broader discontent with systemic issues (for broader analysis of political assassinations check here).

Historically, individual terror has had limited success in achieving political objectives. Vladimir Lenin, whose brother was executed for his role in such acts, famously declared, "We shall follow a different path," emphasizing systematic efforts to organize revolutionary masses - approach ultimately culminated in the 1917 Russian Revolution.

Conclusion

Dr. Turchin's model, which we discussed in a previous post and which successfully predicted the current instability in the U.S. over 15 years ago, highlights two key factors in the development of a crisis: the impoverishment of the masses and the overproduction of elites. The recent assassination serves as a striking demonstration of both of these factors. On one hand, there is the dire situation with healthcare, affecting the lives of tens of millions of people. On the other hand, there is an elite aspirant with a brilliant education (similar to the Unabomber) who, unable to integrate into the elite, decides to wage a battle against it.

The key question remains: Will Luigi Mangione have a metaphorical brother Mario, someone who finds "a different path"? As America moves through the Turbulent Twenties, the answer could determine whether the nation emerges renewed or sinks into prolonged discord.