Jan 15, 2024

Elon Musk- what an enigma this person is. On the one hand he has achieved some feats that are truly unprecedented for a single human being. Interplanetary space missions, getting close to building life on Mars, creating an Electric Vehicle that disrupted the US car industry and so many more. Everyone in general is in sheer awe of this superhuman being. And yet sadly, the more superhuman you are the more sub-humane you need to be. Not a soul really likes working for him. The manner in which he overtook Twitter and fired 80% of the staff was staggering. It was probably the right thing to do but he took no prisoners doing it. And now he has been supporting the Trump presidency- has not only overtly campaigned for him but also bankrolled him- in the end Trump won, following which he has somehow become Trump's right hand. He is getting himself involved in all kinds of politics ranging from decisions on Tariffs (presumably to protect his other business interests) to overthrowing foreign governments. He is doing this from a nebulous new committee named by Trump called DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency). Very "Dogey", if you ask me.  A non-elected official has now assumed power that seems to far surpass that of bona-fide career politicians in the Republican Party. All of which could well be welcomed in the spirit of implementing a massive and manic cleanse to all kinds of inefficiency and inequity extant in the current set up not just of the United States but even the world at large....

 But recently when I saw a Tweet from Musk to the recently ousted Justin Trudeau, I was filled with utter disgust and rage. He referred to Trudeau as "Girl"- not only was it unflattering and boorish but it was also sexist. I am no leftist, but this simply is not on. It is a blatant compromise on basic human decency.  Infact I absolutely loathed Justin Trudeau- who was an incompetent and utterly narcissistic Prime Minister for the last decade for Canada. A modern-day Mohammed Bin Tughlak, although I think Tughlak might have been more palatable than this chap. Aside of his good looks, he had absolutely squat going for him. It can be argued that in the last 10 years, he has single-handedly led Canada to the brink of disaster on pretty much every front worthy of mention. However, in spite of that, he has been an elected leader of a powerful nation. Therefore, he cannot be referred to as "Girl"  ina  public forum by anyone-ever. I suddenly feel a flush of sympathy for Trudeau- which goes against my enduring opinion of him. All thanks to a kind of sordid hubris exhibited by Musk that really is to be expected in a men's locker room at best. 

It got me thinking- just because one is a billionaire and revered by the world for his cleverness and enterprise, he thinks he can behave as he wishes. Fine, let us analyse what he has done exactly. Putting a man on Mars, making a car drive on its own, creating an Optimus type robot to do all kinds of things people do today- how does any of this help any of the current maladies engulfing the world? Poverty, a lack of Trust globally, Extreme exploitation by the Rich Class, Climate Change, Lack of Jobs, Lack of Dignity of common people- the list goes on. What the hell does any of his so-called great inventions do to address any of these? Not only does it not address them, it actually exacerbates them horrifically. I sound like a luddite- a person who is against the technological revolution. I aren't. But anything can go too far. I think I can safely say that Musk's inventions and his conceptions in general go too far. They are technological inventions that are devoid of humanity and any higher emotional or philosophical purpose. It is an efficiently executed form of an unnecessary bout of intellectual masturbation. Not anything that I can, with any integrity, begin to lionise.

Now that Trudeau is ousted, the next target is Starmer in the UK. Another leftist who has left the right leaning people I the UK very very upset. So Musk has arrived in shining armor to deliver them from him. This is wrong again on all counts. Starmer might lose on his own anyway- no need to have external intervention. There is no end to this. Why blame George Soros if Elon Musk is doing the same. But unfortunately I agree with the left leaning Yanis Yaroufakis. We are officially living in an oligarchy now- this is no longer a democratic world. It probably never was one to begin with but the power corridors were more disperse and opaque. Now they are decidedly not. The world is one big marketplace, and all decisions are made by the highest bidders of which there is a small elite with outsized wealth. Everything, I mean everything is being controlled by them. This can only end one way- and it will be many things, but definitely it will not be pretty. All empires come to an end eventually and this techo-feudal empire will come to an end in, alas, much the same way. It may happen sooner than I think but it is unlikely to affect me.  It will affect my kids though- which makes me really uneasy. How to protect them from this impending upendment and the chaos that will ensue? But I guess they have to deal with this as a generational challenge- I should not try to shield them from this.  As I always believe, if 90% of your house is burning then there is no real reprieve if 10% is somehow safe. You are in very small company and it is unlikely that you will be happy with your personal safety amidst the raging fire all around you. It is the same reason why I do not see why a small minority of people kept resisting the Covid Vaccination. I mean, if truly the vaccination was a terminally dangerous thing, then most people of the world would perish and with it most of the systems and processes of this world. In this case, what is the point of surviving on account of not having fallen for the vaccine conspiracy? You will be by yourself essentially in a completely destroyed planet. A very lonely existence indeed-bereft of any happiness.