DSA-aligned Democrats are now the most pro-free-trade voting bloc in the United States, in an incredible turn of events www.theargumentmag.com/p/who-suppor...
Ben Tarnoff
@bentarnoff.com
my latest book is MUSKISM, co-authored with Quinn Slobodian: https://bookshop.org/p/books/muskism-a-guide-for-the-perplexed-ben-tarnoff/3d177fb9349a79ff
Thank you to the inimitable @tressiemcphd.bsky.social for including Muskism on the reading list www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/o...
Opinion | A Reading List for Our Age of A.I. (Gift Article)
A.I. is a political theory. And it is gobbling up our democracy.
nytimes.com
An 8 employee hedge fund that was up hundreds of percent and used aggressive leverage is asking investors for more cash to meet margin calls. The tropes in this particular bull market couldn’t get any lazier. www.ft.com/content/2803...
Leopold Aschenbrenner’s Situational Awareness seeks to raise capital after AI rout
Hedge fund has held talks with existing investors and lenders in recent days
ft.com
The authors of MUSKISM, Quinn Slobidian and Ben Tarnoff are our guests this week, tune in tomorrow! (You won't believe who we talk about on this episode) #ai #datmpodcast #books #author #booktok #future #mars #muskism #wokemindvirus @multitudeshows.com @adambecker.bsky.social
New poll: Americans believe the U.S. should arrest Benjamin Netanyahu by a +22 margin Total: 49-27 Black: 53-13 Hispanic: 52-15 Ages 18-29: 58-17 Harris voters: 74-10 Independents: 55-20 23% of Trump voters agree as well Economist/YouGov:
Today, @gabrielwinant.bsky.social explains why a clear picture of how age mediates class would reveal not gerontocracy, but capitalism and the fractionated class system it produces.
Cradle to the Grave
As Sam Moyn has recently argued, "class reductionism" fails to explain differentiation along the generational gradient — a pattern clearly visible in economics, politics, and ideology.
lpeproject.org
This week's episode of @dreamingagainstthemachine.com, with guests @bentarnoff.com and @quinnslobodian.com, drops TOMORROW! Check it out wherever you get your podcasts!
The authors of MUSKISM, Quinn Slobidian and Ben Tarnoff are our guests this week, tune in tomorrow! (You won't believe who we talk about on this episode) #ai #datmpodcast #books #author #booktok #future #mars #muskism #wokemindvirus @multitudeshows.com @adambecker.bsky.social
“Zero died because of DOGE," Elon Musk said in his interview with the Economist. This claim is utter nonsense and has been widely debunked. But Musk tried to back this up with additional dissembling that's just as bad. We took it on here: newrepublic.com/article/2135...
I’ve been reading Muskism. I know I’m annoying with this BUT every evil person isn’t dumb. and every evil person being dumb on X isn’t merely dumb. It’s very much worth your time to parse why Musk uses this rhetoric the way that he does.
Mehdi Hasan: "The reason Donald Trump liked being around Elon Musk is that he believes wealth equates to intelligence - The beauty of Musk buying Twitter is we've seen him showing us daily how dumb, credulous, conspiratorial and easily manipulated he can be."
Lots of folks had been hoping since last spring that the attacks on 18F and USDS would incite a resurgence of municipal public interest technology!
This is a huge deal - New York City is getting it's own Public Interest Technology Crew! (PIT CREW) www.nyc.gov/mayors-offic...
"Bracingly original. . . .Slobodian’s book offers an illuminating history to our current bewildering moment."—Jennifer Szalai, New York Times Hayek's Bastards by @quinnslobodian.com is out now in #paperback! Learn more: press.princeton.edu/books/paperb...
This week on “Galaxy Brain,” Charlie Warzel talks with the “Muskism” authors Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff about what fuels the world’s richest man:
How Elon Musk Became More Powerful Than Ever
The authors of Muskism break down the beliefs, business strategy, and political influence behind the world’s richest man.
bit.ly
Graphic paying accidental homage to an ad for Robotech-themed powdered fruit drink that appeared in South African newspapers
Grateful for @mrkocnnll.bsky.social's eloquent meditation on Muskism in the latest @nybooks.com www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
Grateful for @mrkocnnll.bsky.social's eloquent meditation on Muskism in the latest @nybooks.com www.nybooks.com/articles/202...
Space Oddity | Mark O’Connell
Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff’s Muskism examines how Elon Musk became the world’s first trillionaire, by selling a vision of the future that very few people would want to inhabit.
nybooks.com
i’m reading the new @quinnslobodian.com on Musk and the book makes a very persuasive case that Musk’s upbringing in apartheid south africa are at the core of his ideology
I also don't think it's a total coincidence that the apex promoter of the Mars colonization grew up in apartheid South Africa: Mars colonization fantasies always include the idea of escape from the terrestrial political reality of having to share space with one's lessers.
highly recommend Muskism by @quinnslobodian.com & @bentarnoff.com. even if you know the details, the urgency/analysis illuminates. dark ending & extremely well-written. minor takeaway: musk seeks to impose on the world a warped reality defined by racism, misogyny, sf tv/film, & games.
We relied on @bentarnoff.com's great new book with @quinnslobodian.com for this piece. We try to offer a real theory on what Musk really means in decrying "suicidal empathy." We argue that his gutting of USAID (also justified by denigrating "empathy") is a test run for much worse to come:
Spoke to @gregsargent.bsky.social about Musk's cyborg anti-humanitarianism and why he dislikes the concept of empathy so much newrepublic.com/article/2119...
Spoke to @gregsargent.bsky.social about Musk's cyborg anti-humanitarianism and why he dislikes the concept of empathy so much newrepublic.com/article/2119...
Elon Musk’s Race War Just Took Darker Turn—Time for a Global Response
The violent fascist riots in Belfast reveal the future that the trillionaire really wants. We need an international movement to constrain him.
newrepublic.com
EP21: A Critical Theory of Christianity? Julian & I talk Horkheimer’s 1940s close engagement with Neo-Thomism & church history given his anti-fascist 30s polemics & neo-con 60s retreat, asking: what might a critical theory of religion look like today? www.patreon.com/crittheorywo...
Episode 21: A Critical Theory of Christianity? (Ft. Julian Assele) | Critical Theory Working Group
Episode 21: A Critical Theory of Christianity? (Ft. Julian Assele) by Critical Theory Working Group on Patreon. Join Critical Theory Working Group's community for exclusive content and updates.
patreon.com
For @foreignpolicy.com, Ben and I wrote about SpaceX's origins in the Global War on Terror and the many vulnerabilities Musk has created for his business—from India to Brazil to the EU—by bolting himself so tightly onto the current administration. foreignpolicy.com/2026/06/12/m...
Elon Musk’s Self-Contradictory Military Policy
The soon-to-be trillionaire’s politics undermine his own business as a government contractor.
foreignpolicy.com
"We are in a world where an enormous amount is up for grabs. Muskism, across its various dimensions, is a project for grabbing as much as possible before anyone else figures out how to push back." www.programmablemutter.com/p/what-would...
What would Muskism be without Musk?
The mode of production behind the man
programmablemutter.com
Great review by @aarontimms.bsky.social one of my favorite magazine writers, who homes in on the cyborg/online/social-media angle which is really one of the weirdest but ultimately (for us) most revelatory aspects of the Muskist asssemblage. newrepublic.com/article/2116...
Elon Musk’s Cyborg Turn Points to a Grim Future
Musk’s transformation into a hyperactive super-troll reveals essential features of his economic vision.
newrepublic.com
"Muskism" is a 21st-century political economy in which private firms sell sovereignty through infrastructure. This piece traces its roots to apartheid South Africa's self-sufficient "fortress futurism." With @quinnslobodian.com and @bentarnoff.com on @publicseminar.bsky.social buff.ly/8eYY5bG
Sovereignty Through Technology - Public Seminar
Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff, in their conversation with L. Zhang, discuss the political-economic model they call "Muskism."
publicseminar.org
With Elon Musk stoking fascist violence all over the world, it's a damn good time to be reading @quinnslobodian.com and @bentarnoff.com on Muskism. Explains a lot about the deeper toxicity of his worldview and grand plans www.amazon.com/Muskism-Guid...
Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed: Slobodian, Quinn, Tarnoff, Ben: 9780063484320: Amazon.com: Books
Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed [Slobodian, Quinn, Tarnoff, Ben] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed
amazon.com
For @thenation.com I wrote about Magnifica humanitas and why it's about the Catholic Church itself, not just AI www.thenation.com/article/soci...
Pope Leo’s First Encyclical Is a Game Changer
Yes, it’s a warning about the dangers of AI. But that’s the tip of the iceberg.
thenation.com
On an all-new podcast @quinnslobodian.com, co-author of the new book “Muskism,” is here to discuss SpaceX’s forthcoming IPO and the consolidation of power among tech titans like Elon Musk. Out now!