Why Governments Can’t Unplug From Elon Musk

2026年10月1日，彭博社政府与经济部门负责人斯蒂芬妮·弗兰德斯（Stephanie Flanders）主持了一期题为《特朗普经济学》（Trumponomics）的节目，邀请了技术专家、《Logic》杂志联合创始人本·塔诺夫（Ben Tarnoff）和波士顿大学国际历史学教授奎因·斯洛博迪安（Quinn Slobodian）。讨论围绕他们的著作《马斯克主义：困惑者的指南》（Muskism, a guide for the perplexed）展开，该书将埃隆·马斯克（Elon Musk）的世界观分析为“21世纪的操作系统”，特别关注其对资本主义和政府的影响。 作者们解释说，他们撰写此书的动机是，尽管马斯克有着他们认为的荒谬之处，但其巨大成功背后存在一个“结构性故事”，他们希望理解这个故事。他们试图弥合马斯克的“怪诞之处”与他从全球经济中获得无与伦比的回报之间的鸿沟，超越简单的传记，去探索促成他成功的世界。 《马斯克主义》的核心主题之一是马斯克对待国家的独特方式。与普遍认为他是一个自由主义者的看法相反，作者们认为马斯克始终寻求“将国家工具化，作为权力和利润的来源”，从而实现了他们所谓的“国家共生”。他们以SpaceX为例，展示了马斯克的企业如何与政府权力深度融合以建立其业务，从协助全球反恐战争到支持奥巴马的绿色产业政策。 这种整合导致了“主权即服务”的局面，即马斯克的公司扩大了国家能力——例如将物体送入轨道的成本降低了90%以上——但同时又造成了深度依赖。关键的症结在于，马斯克对这些服务拥有否决权，这在他自主决定关闭乌克兰军队的星链（Starlink）互联网连接时得到了生动体现。这表明，通过技术增强主权的承诺最终可能导致对不负责任的私人个体的深刻依赖。 该书还深入探讨了马斯克通过垂直整合开创“堡垒经济”模式，这是一种他在去全球化趋势普遍兴起之前就已采用的战略。塔诺夫和斯洛博迪安将此与马斯克在南非种族隔离后期阶段的成长经历联系起来，当时南非政权实践了“堡垒未来主义”——利用技术在孤立国家中实现自给自足和安全。他们认为，马斯克将这种心态出售给家庭和国家，提供抵御气候变化或政治不稳定等日益增长的威胁的防御。特斯拉Cybertruck（赛博卡车），被设计用于一个“正在崩溃”的世界，被认为是这种“末日准备者”心态的视觉体现，即个人可以通过马斯克的整合技术实现自给自足。这种转变也有助于解释马斯克政治立场从“光明绿色未来倡导者”转向更黑暗、更具适应性的方针。 讨论随后转向马斯克与Doge（美国数字服务办公室）的合作，作者们将其描述为一个“转折点”。在此，马斯克不仅为国家提供服务，还试图通过重塑政府本身来直接行使主权。尽管他未能实现财务目标，但这种激进的重组旨在取代旧的承包商，并为新一代服务提供商（如面向政府的Grok）铺平了道路，从而增加了政府对他这一代科技公司的依赖。 考虑到人工智能的更广泛影响，作者们指出，生成式人工智能和大型语言模型（LLM）的“资本密集型”性质，使得科技巨头与政府之间需要比“轻资本”的Web 2.0时代更深层、更协调的关系。亚历山大·卡普（Alexander Karp）在其著作《技术共和国》（The Technological Republic）中概述的这一转变，重新定义了硅谷的宗旨，使其转向维护国家主权而非仅仅连接人类。 尽管马斯克主义承诺经济增长，但作者们质疑其能否获得社会合法性和认同。他们指出，“数据中心起义”以及公众对人工智能普遍存在的怀疑构成了“跨党派共识”的反对意见，这对科技阶层构成了重大的政治挑战。在全球范围内，各方的反应不尽相同：欧盟和英国旨在通过发展本土替代方案来实现“数字主权”，而中国则战略性地整合马斯克的部分技术（如上海超级工厂）以提升其自身的工业主导地位，展现出在管理技术依赖方面更果断的方法。播客最后提出了一个问题：政策制定者能否驾驭这些强大的科技实体，还是“数据中心起义”会在政客重新掌权后被忽视？

On October 1st, 2026, Stephanie Flanders, Head of Government and Economics at Bloomberg, hosted an episode of "Trumponomics" featuring Ben Tarnoff, technologist and co-founder of Logic magazine, and Quinn Slobodian, professor of international history at Boston University. The discussion centered on their book, "Muskism, a guide for the perplexed," which analyzes Elon Musk's worldview as an "operating system for the 21st century," particularly focusing on its implications for capitalism and government. The authors explain that their motivation for writing the book was to understand the "structural story" behind Musk's immense success despite what they perceive as his absurdity. They sought to bridge the gap between his "grotesqueness" and the unparalleled rewards he has reaped from the global economy, moving beyond a simple biography to explore the world that made him possible. A central theme of "Muskism" is Musk's unique approach to the state. Contrary to a common perception of him as a libertarian, the authors argue that Musk consistently seeks to "instrumentalize the state as a source of power and profit," achieving what they term "state symbiosis." They highlight SpaceX as a prime example, demonstrating how Musk's ventures deeply integrate with government power to build his businesses, from aiding the global war on terror to supporting Obama's green industrial policies. This integration leads to "sovereignty as a service," where Musk's companies expand state capacity – such as reducing the cost of putting mass into orbit by over 90% – but simultaneously create deep dependency. The critical catch is that Musk retains veto power over these services, as vividly illustrated by his discretionary decisions to turn off Starlink internet connectivity for Ukrainian forces. This exemplifies how the promise of enhanced sovereignty through technology can ultimately lead to profound reliance on unaccountable private individuals. The book also delves into Musk's pioneering of a "fortress economy" approach through vertical integration, a strategy he employed before it became a widespread trend amidst de-globalization. Tarnoff and Slobodian link this to Musk's South African upbringing during late apartheid, where the regime practiced "fortress futurism" – using technology for self-sufficiency and security in an isolated state. Musk, they argue, sells this mentality to both households and nations, offering fortification against increasing threats like climate change or political instability. The Tesla Cybertruck, designed for a world "breaking down," is presented as a visual manifestation of this "prepper" mindset, where individuals can attain self-reliance through Musk's integrated technologies. This shift also helps explain Musk's political pivot from "bright green future guy" to a darker, more adaptive approach. The discussion then turns to Musk's involvement with Doge (the US Digital Services Office), which the authors describe as an "inflection point." Here, Musk not only provisions the state but directly attempts to exercise sovereignty by reformatting government itself. Although not achieving his financial goals, this radical restructuring aimed to displace old contractors and paved the way for a new generation of service providers, like Grok for government, leading to increased government reliance on his generation of tech companies. Considering the broader implications for AI, the authors note that the "capital-intensive" nature of generative AI and large language models (LLMs) necessitates a deeper, more coordinated relationship between Big Tech and governments than the "capital-light" web 2.0 era. This shift, outlined in Alexander Karp's "The Technological Republic," redefines Silicon Valley's purpose towards securing national sovereignty rather than just connecting people. While Muskism promises economic growth, the authors question its ability to secure societal legitimacy and consent. They point to the "data center revolts" and widespread public skepticism about AI as a "cross-party consensus" of objection, posing a significant political challenge to the tech class. Globally, responses vary: the EU and UK aim for "digital sovereignty" by developing homegrown alternatives, while China strategically integrates parts of Musk's technology (like the Gigafactory in Shanghai) to boost its own industrial dominance, demonstrating a more assertive approach to managing tech dependency. The podcast concludes by asking whether policymakers will be able to harness these powerful tech entities or if the "data center uprisings" will be dismissed once politicians regain power.