How “Muskism” Is Changing American Capitalism - ft. Quinn Slobodian

For the better part of the 20th century, the American economy relied on the steady social peace of "Fordism"—an era of mass production and consumption that helped reconcile capitalism with democracy. Today, a radical new paradigm threatens to upend that equilibrium: "Muskism". While conventional wisdom suggests that Silicon Valley billionaires are libertarians desperate to escape government oversight, historian Quinn Slobodian argues they actually want to achieve state symbiosis by turning the government into a dependent client. This vassalization of the state means private actors absorb critical public functions without any democratic constraints. Discussing insights from his and co-author Ben Tarnoff's new book, Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed , Slobodian unpacks how Elon Musk’s worldview is reshaping the global political economy. This episode also dives into the parallels between American tech supremacy and the Chinese economic model. Slobodian posits that the real vulnerability in the United States is not the excess of regulation that the Abundance agenda focuses on, but rather a failure to discipline capital. Connect with us: 📺

You can listen to How “Muskism” Is Changing American Capitalism - ft. Quinn Slobodian online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

How “Muskism” Is Changing American Capitalism - ft. Quinn Slobodian is an episode from Capitalisn't by University of Chicago Podcast Network.

This episode is 00:55:37 long.

This episode was published on May 7, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Capitalisn't when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.