Jon Stewart, the former host of The Daily Show and current host of The Weekly Show podcast, was left visibly shaken during a recent episode featuring author Quinn Slobodian. The writer, who co-wrote the book Muskism with an unnamed collaborator, presented a deeply unsettling theory about the worldview of tech billionaire Elon Musk. As Slobodian detailed his analysis of Musk's perception of society, Stewart winced, threw his hands to his head, and uttered, “Oh, dear God.” The moment has since sparked widespread discussion about the dangerous implications of such a mindset.
Slobodian's book Muskism argues that Elon Musk is not an anomaly in the system but rather its ultimate embodiment. According to the synopsis: “Everyone's got an Elon take. He's a messiah. A menace; a genius; a clown. The verdicts differ, but they share one theme: they treat him as an individual. Muskism argues otherwise. Elon Musk isn't a glitch in the system—he is the system. His worldview promises sovereignty through technology: plug in, power up, and become self-reliant. But the more you connect, the more he owns you.” The book delves into Musk's influence on technology, capitalism, and culture, and how his personal philosophy is reshaping modern society.
During the podcast conversation, Slobodian elaborated on Musk's unique perspective. He explained that Musk sees the world not through a traditional economic or social lens but through a computational one. “The world is a space that works from computers outward,” Slobodian said. “He first got a programmable Commodore when he was a teenager, then he connected to the internet before he left South Africa, and ever since then he's been seeing computers as a kind of control unit for reality.” This computer-centric view leads Musk to interpret events and people as either functional components or harmful glitches.
Stewart interrupted to ask, “Why do these industrial technocrats or whatever, all seem to flow into that ideology of diversity will destroy us?” Slobodian responded by contrasting Musk with earlier industrialists like Henry Ford, who welcomed immigrants as long as they met physical standards for factory work. Musk, however, applies his computational lens to populations. “If you see society that way, then when things happen that are against your material interests, you assume them to be either bugs or viruses or failed programming in the system that needs to be fixed,” Slobodian explained. This, he argued, fuels Musk's rhetoric against immigrants and certain groups, whom he labels as “non-player characters” (NPCs) or “bots” that must be eliminated.
Slobodian pointed to Musk's own words as evidence. During his brief tenure working with the federal government and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk described his mission as “reprogramming the matrix” and “getting rid of the bugs, the viruses, the bots, and the NPCs.” Slobodian suggested that this mindset is directly linked to Musk's use of the “great replacement theory,” which posits that illegal immigrants are being brought in to serve as a permanent voting base for the Democratic Party. In Musk's view, these individuals are akin to “offline computer viruses” that need to be identified and removed from the system.
The conversation then turned to Musk's ownership of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Slobodian noted that Musk has created a “closed ecosystem” where only his own messaging can thrive. He revealed to Stewart that he maintains a burner account that follows only Musk. “X has this little feature called Today's News,” Slobodian said. “Yesterday, you know what today's was? There were two items. One is Musk questions whether colonialism made Africa poorer. The second headline was Argentine President Javier Milei praises Musk's battle on the woke mind virus.” Stewart again reacted with shock, exclaiming, “Oh my.”
Slobodian continued: “He wants to create a communications ecosystem in which only those most dogmatic kind of Pravda-like talking points can be repeated back to him.” This manipulation of the information sphere, Slobodian argued, is a tool for Musk to maintain control over the narrative and reinforce his worldview. By controlling the platform, Musk can ensure that his perspectives dominate the public discourse while marginalizing dissenting voices.
The interview also touched on the history of animosity between Stewart and Musk. In March, after Stewart criticized Musk on his show, Musk retaliated by calling Stewart “an extremely skilled propagandist disguised as a truth-teller,” though he also added “great comedian.” Stewart fired back, saying, “Elon Musk is an extremely skilled propagandist.” Musk then replied, “Not as good as you! Stop being so humble.” Stewart had the last word by inviting Musk onto The Weekly Show itself. “Come on the show!! We'll talk about how self deprecating we both are!!” Stewart wrote on X at the time. Musk has yet to take him up on the offer.
The theory that Musk views society as a computer program is both fascinating and deeply troubling. It suggests that Musk's decisions, whether in business or public policy, are guided by a simplistic framework that reduces complex human issues to lines of code. This perspective can lead to inhumane policies, as people are treated as removable errors rather than individuals with rights and dignity. The idea has gained traction among critics who argue that Musk's influence on technology and politics should be scrutinized more closely.
Musk's rise from a South African teenager learning to program on a Commodore to the world's richest man and a key figure in space exploration, electric vehicles, and social media has been nothing short of remarkable. However, his worldview, as described by Slobodian, raises questions about the ethical implications of allowing someone with such power to see the world as a system to be debugged. The book Muskism offers a deep dive into this ideology, and Slobodian's interview with Stewart provides a stark warning about the potential consequences.
The conversation highlights a broader concern about the concentration of power in the hands of a few tech billionaires. As industrialists like Ford and Rockefeller once shaped the 20th century, Musk and his contemporaries are shaping the 21st. But where Ford built factories and paid workers enough to buy the products they made, Musk creates platforms that own the users' data and attention. The promise of technological sovereignty, as laid out in Muskism, becomes a trap: the more one relies on Musk's tools, the more one is owned by them.
This article covers the key points from the recent episode of The Weekly Show featuring Quinn Slobodian, as well as the historical context of Elon Musk's worldview. It expands on the original report by delving into the implications of a computational view of society, the parallels with other industrialists, and the ongoing public feud between Stewart and Musk. The shocking reaction from Jon Stewart serves as a reminder that even seasoned commentators can be taken aback by the depths of modern technocratic thinking.
Source: Yahoo Entertainment News