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https://theconversation.com/elon-musk-is-remaking-the-world-like-henry-ford-before-him-but-more-dangerously-285247>
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Review: Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed – Quinn Slobodian and Ben
Tarnoff (Allen Lane)
Elon Musk, briefly the world’s first trillionaire – but now a mere billionaire
again – is a man of exceptions. He’s built not one, but two of the world’s most
pioneering technology companies (Tesla and SpaceX). He was talking about
settling humans on Mars with a straight face some 20 years ago. Unlike most
tech CEOs, he posts on social media multiple times daily, via his own platform,
X.
In 2025, he gave what looked like a Nazi salute, very publicly, in Washington
DC. That same year, he held a very senior role in the United States government,
with no prior political experience, while simultaneously expanding his business
empire.
In his brief and chaotic tenure as head of the Department of Government
Efficiency (DOGE), he tried to turn government into a problem of data synthesis
and pattern recognition, leading to optimised policy solutions. All the while,
he seemed to forget that real people, entitled to fairness and justice, were
affected profoundly by his desk-based decisions.
All this has made him a household name and one of the world’s most powerful
individuals. Some, like journalist Cory Doctorow, have been asking: is he now
exceptionally dangerous? And where does he fit in with other oft-criticised
West Coast “broligarchs”, like Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Palantir’s Alexander Karp
and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg?
To answer these questions, you need to scrutinise both the man and the means at
his disposal. This is exactly what Canadian political economist Quinn Slobodian
and technology journalist Ben Tarnoff do in their carefully researched, well
written and thought-provoking book,
Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
