Overview
Una radiografía del nuevo orden tecnológico mundial.
«Impecablemente investigado y magníficamente escrito». —Branko Milanovic
Aclamado como un genio mesiánico y tildado al mismo tiempo de bufón imprudente, Elon Musk ha capturado el imaginario popular de nuestra era. Pero, más allá del personaje, Quinn Slobodian y Ben Tarnoff proponen una tesis inquietante: Musk no es una anomalía del sistema, sino su encarnación más lograda. Bajo esta premisa, su forma de operar definiría la economía del siglo XXI de la misma forma que el fordismo definió el capitalismo del siglo XX.
Heredero de la tecnocracia, el muskismo plantea gobiernos dirigidos como startups, equipados con software capaz de automatizar políticas a gran escala; promete soberanía individual a través de la tecnología —la fusión creciente entre humanos y máquinas y la evaporación de buena parte del trabajo—; y ofrece seguridad en tiempos de crisis. A cambio, sin embargo, concentra el poder en las pocas manos de quienes poseen la infraestructura. Presentado como modernizador, este proyecto esconde en su interior un mecanismo que reactiva antiguas jerarquías.
¿De dónde vienen todas estas ideas? ¿Qué camino han seguido hasta llegar al corazón de la primera potencia mundial? La propuesta de este libro es que, para entender el mundo que Elon Musk aspira a construir, debemos entender primero los mundos que construyeron a Elon Musk.
Desde Sudáfrica hasta Silicon Valley, de SpaceX a DOGE, de la ciencia ficción a los videojuegos y las redes sociales, sus páginas recorren las experiencias que han moldeado la visión de Musk para revelar la lógica política y económica que están adoptando los gobiernos y las corporaciones más poderosas del planeta. Muskismo no trata solo de un hombre, trata del mundo que está ayudando a transformar.
ENGLISH DESCRIPTION
“An illuminating book that examines where Mr. Musk came from and the episodes that shaped his worldview. In many ways it is the inverse of Walter Isaacson’s authorized biography. . . . the authors provide a portrait of his psyche that is arguably more revealing. . . . the resulting book is, you might say, a Musk-read.” –The Economist
"Muskism cuts straight to the core of the man and the moment, explaining how a mercurial, conspiracy-prone, vicious bastard can inspire loyalty and billions in other peoples' money, and the nightmare world he wants to build with those billions." –Cory Doctorow, author of Enshittification
An Economist Best Book of 2026 • A New Yorker Most Anticipated Book of the Year • A Financial Times Most Anticipated Nonfiction Book of the Year • A Kirkus Most Anticipated Nonfiction Book of Spring 2026• A Literary Hub Most Anticipated Book of the Year
A pyrotechnic examination of Elon Musk as a symptom and avatar of our postliberal age.
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.
If Fordism defined the capitalism of the twentieth century, Muskism may define the twenty-first. Fordism helped build the welfare state. Musk undoes it. He thrives on dependence while preaching freedom. His cars run on subsidies; his satellites run the battlefield; his social networks train the AI that trains us.
Muskism sells itself as the future but entrenches age-old hierarchies. It offers autonomy for some and exclusion for others. It’s pro-natalist but anti-immigrant, futurist but reactionary. It speaks of humanity but warns against empathy.
Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff cut through the hype and the hate to reveal what Musk really represents: a new political economy, where to be “free” means to serve a Technoking. Muskism isn’t about the man. It’s about the machine that made him—and the world he’s making next. To read Muskism is to understand the machinery that made the man, and the world he’s making next, based on his philosophy of power in the spheres of:
«Impecablemente investigado y magníficamente escrito». —Branko Milanovic
Aclamado como un genio mesiánico y tildado al mismo tiempo de bufón imprudente, Elon Musk ha capturado el imaginario popular de nuestra era. Pero, más allá del personaje, Quinn Slobodian y Ben Tarnoff proponen una tesis inquietante: Musk no es una anomalía del sistema, sino su encarnación más lograda. Bajo esta premisa, su forma de operar definiría la economía del siglo XXI de la misma forma que el fordismo definió el capitalismo del siglo XX.
Heredero de la tecnocracia, el muskismo plantea gobiernos dirigidos como startups, equipados con software capaz de automatizar políticas a gran escala; promete soberanía individual a través de la tecnología —la fusión creciente entre humanos y máquinas y la evaporación de buena parte del trabajo—; y ofrece seguridad en tiempos de crisis. A cambio, sin embargo, concentra el poder en las pocas manos de quienes poseen la infraestructura. Presentado como modernizador, este proyecto esconde en su interior un mecanismo que reactiva antiguas jerarquías.
¿De dónde vienen todas estas ideas? ¿Qué camino han seguido hasta llegar al corazón de la primera potencia mundial? La propuesta de este libro es que, para entender el mundo que Elon Musk aspira a construir, debemos entender primero los mundos que construyeron a Elon Musk.
Desde Sudáfrica hasta Silicon Valley, de SpaceX a DOGE, de la ciencia ficción a los videojuegos y las redes sociales, sus páginas recorren las experiencias que han moldeado la visión de Musk para revelar la lógica política y económica que están adoptando los gobiernos y las corporaciones más poderosas del planeta. Muskismo no trata solo de un hombre, trata del mundo que está ayudando a transformar.
ENGLISH DESCRIPTION
“An illuminating book that examines where Mr. Musk came from and the episodes that shaped his worldview. In many ways it is the inverse of Walter Isaacson’s authorized biography. . . . the authors provide a portrait of his psyche that is arguably more revealing. . . . the resulting book is, you might say, a Musk-read.” –The Economist
"Muskism cuts straight to the core of the man and the moment, explaining how a mercurial, conspiracy-prone, vicious bastard can inspire loyalty and billions in other peoples' money, and the nightmare world he wants to build with those billions." –Cory Doctorow, author of Enshittification
An Economist Best Book of 2026 • A New Yorker Most Anticipated Book of the Year • A Financial Times Most Anticipated Nonfiction Book of the Year • A Kirkus Most Anticipated Nonfiction Book of Spring 2026• A Literary Hub Most Anticipated Book of the Year
A pyrotechnic examination of Elon Musk as a symptom and avatar of our postliberal age.
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.
If Fordism defined the capitalism of the twentieth century, Muskism may define the twenty-first. Fordism helped build the welfare state. Musk undoes it. He thrives on dependence while preaching freedom. His cars run on subsidies; his satellites run the battlefield; his social networks train the AI that trains us.
Muskism sells itself as the future but entrenches age-old hierarchies. It offers autonomy for some and exclusion for others. It’s pro-natalist but anti-immigrant, futurist but reactionary. It speaks of humanity but warns against empathy.
Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff cut through the hype and the hate to reveal what Musk really represents: a new political economy, where to be “free” means to serve a Technoking. Muskism isn’t about the man. It’s about the machine that made him—and the world he’s making next. To read Muskism is to understand the machinery that made the man, and the world he’s making next, based on his philosophy of power in the spheres of:
- Silicon Valley: A sharp analysis of Elon Musk as more than a tech CEO, introducing “Muskism” as a new Silicon Valley paradigm shaping artificial intelligence, startups, and 21st-century capitalism.
- Big Tech, AI & the Future of Capitalism: Examines Tesla, SpaceX, and digital platforms through concepts like techno-sovereignty, automation, and “state symbiosis,” revealing how Big Tech is restructuring markets, innovation, and economic power.
- Geopolitics, Power & the Tech Billionaire Era: Explores how Musk’s companies influence global politics, infrastructure, and governance—from satellite networks to energy systems—showing how private tech power is reshaping international relations.
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