By Pedro Vásquez García
As part of the sharpening class struggle, an ideological battle is being waged internationally in which imperialism employs methods ─ unsuspected decades ago ─ against any type of dissident or alternative thought to the reactionary script. Today, one of the main referents of this conservative paradigm is the tycoon Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter).
Although his monopolistic practices and unfair competition are notorious, as well as labour overexploitation and mass layoffs in his companies, we will not address these issues in these lines, because what interests us is how in a few decades this man became the biggest publicist of the authoritarian and anti-democratic wave that sweeps the world.
Initially, Elon Musk ─ of South African origin ─ upon settling in the United States made bold (and questionable) moves in the technological, commercial and stock market spheres that he knew how to capitalize on symbolically through the image of a “self-made” man – supposedly enriching himself through his merits and individual effort, and deliberately hiding that his first technological company began with the financial backing of his father. This “omission” is part of a corporate marketing strategy that promotes a value system in which individualism and exploitation are idealized over other forms of association.
Between 2003 and 2005, Musk ventured into space and satellite internet. His business in these areas is presented under the camouflage of philanthropy. Powerful propaganda laboratories present his business as scientific development in favour of human beings. The successes of Musk ─ who has had significant state funding ─ are used to argue the thesis of the efficacy of private administration to manage key sectors of a country’s economy.
It is precisely this narrative that has catapulted Musk to head the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE); an instance created by Donald Trump to “dismantle government bureaucracy.”
Musk’s mission at the White House is to “slash excess regulations; cut wasteful spending; and restructure federal agencies.”
Now, the 2022 acquisition of Twitter ─ which he renamed X ─ is one of the most relevant moves of recent times in the battle for the imposition of a culture akin to his economic interests.
Musk dressed his purchase in the garb of defending freedom of expression against an evil media that censors and lies. However, since the tycoon has been running this social network, there has been a 50-percent increase in the dissemination of fake news and content that extols reactionary and hate speech.
Musk has used this platform to harbour and gather chauvinist currents – against plurality, immigration, minority rights – all with the aim of preparing the ground for the acceptance of anti-democratic, anti-communist, Zionist, oppressive ideas of specific groups, and in defense of individual freedoms inherent to the development of class-divided society.
The battle to control public opinion and maintain the cultural hegemony of the most reactionary sectors has also been seasoned with attractive conspiracy theories that impact the electorate and end up being the backdrop for the justification of the “minimal State,” bordering on plutocracy and promoting economic and labour deregulation.
Musk is not only the megaphone of Trump’s “witticisms,” but of the authoritarian wave sweeping the world. Hence the use of the Nazi salute at the Republican billionaire’s inauguration and his participation in the campaign activities of the far-right Alternative for Germany organization, which has climbed to second place in the national elections held in the European country this month.
Tribuna Popular
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