Muskism, capitalism according to Elon Musk

Elon Musk stands for more than an individual billionaire; he stands for a system. In conversation with Ben Tarnoff and Quinn Slobodian, authors of Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed.

Everyone has a opinion about Elon Musk. He’s a messiah; a menace. A genius; a clown. The verdicts differ, but they share one theme: they treat him as an individual. But Musk today is more than a person. Through Tesla, SpaceX, Starlink, and platform X, Musk controls important infrastructures that function as public systems.

If we look at history from the twentieth century, we learned that Fordism was more than just Henry Ford: he defined capitalism. Ford came and went, but the system stayed. According to Muskism: A guide for the perplexed, the new book by Ben Tarnoff and Quinn Slobodian, we are now going through a similar shift. Muskism captures a transformation in how power is exercised in the twenty-first century. A world in which public systems quietly give way to private ones. Tarnoff and Slobodian examine Elon Musk not as an individual, but as a system – one that promises sovereignty through technology.

In this edition of Techdenkers, we are going to explore Musk’s way of thinking and our growing dependency on his technologies. How does Musk’s faith in technology reshape politics and everyday life? What happens when communication, transport, and even space is organised by one single person? And how much democratic control remains when private systems begin to function like public ones?

About the speakers

Ben Tarnoff is writer and technologist based in Massachusetts. He is author from the book Internet for the People: The Fight for Our Digital Future and Voices from the Valley: Tech Workers Talk About What They Do – And How They Do It.

Quin Slobodian is a professor in International History at Boston University. His books include Crack-Up Capitalism: Market Radicals and the Dream of a World Without Democracy and Hayek’s Bastards: The Neoliberal Roots of the Populist Right.

About Techdenkers

Technology has become an inseparable part of our lives, but do we pay enough attention to it? During Techdenkers we explore the ethical implications of technological innovation. What influence does the arrival of AI have on our lives? How are we going to solve the climate crisis with the help of technology? And do we want algorithms to determine our choice of partner?

The Techdenkers series is provided and broadcast by De Balie and is part of our partnership with Adyen.