Muskismus: Macht und Maschine

For many years, authoritarianism and liberalism were regarded as opposing ideologies. However, this distinction has increasingly lost credibility, particularly in light of Javier Milei’s election as anarcho-capitalist president in Argentina and Donald Trump’s return to office. The emerging form of libertarian authoritarianism reconciles apparent contradictions into a new, unsettling coherence: an intense emphasis on personal freedom coexists with demands for absolute obedience; the defence of unrestricted free speech is accompanied by the suppression of dissent; and while state power is publicly derided, there is a simultaneous glorification of unchecked executive authority. Furthermore, this new authoritarianism seeks to dismantle government and bureaucracy only to replace them with a hyper-centralised, technologically administered system—artificial intelligence. Elon Musk epitomises this paradox: from visionary tech innovator and advocate of clean energy to a symbol of the far right, and now as head of the cost-cutting agency DOGE, tasked with restructuring US federal institutions. In their critically acclaimed book, Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff examine the origins of what they term “Muskism”, tracing Musk’s evolution and the ideological roots of this emerging phenomenon. What emerges is a new dispositif—a complex system—uniting radical disruption with extreme concentration of power, techno-optimism with reactionary politics, transhumanist aspirations with racist and conspiracy-driven narratives. “Muskism” is not simply a modern capitalist Frankenstein; it presents itself, in its own terms, as the blueprint for a 21st-century Leviathan.

Quinn Slobodian will join Christian Schmidt and Thomas Khurana in a discussion exploring the forces driving “Muskism”, its role in advancing a new form of capital’s dictatorship, and the strategies available to resist the growing convergence of machines, capital, and power.

The Event will be held in English.