{"product_id":"muskism-a-guide-for-the-perplexed","title":"Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"A whirlwind tour through the plans and inspirations of the world's most self-important man.\"\u003cb\u003e --Malcolm Harris, author of \u003ci\u003ePalo Alto\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eMuskism: A Guide for the Perplexed\u003c\/i\u003e begins with a simple proposition. We live in a bewildering moment defined by a bewildering man: Elon Musk. Not that the book's authors, Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff, believe there's much to be gained by peering into Musk's soul. . . . The authors pluck out some themes, beginning with his childhood in apartheid South Africa. . . . [and] skillfully guide us through the subsequent decades, as Musk made his fortune and learned some lessons that would become foundational to Muskism.\" \u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eMuskism\u003c\/i\u003e is not a biography, although Musk's life story informs the thesis. It is an explanation of the future we are entering.\" \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e--Jacobin\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"This book is brilliant in all the ways Elon Musk is not: unflinchingly honest, actually humorous, and deeply humane. Unlike their subject, these authors punch up, not down, and they do so with erudition and precision. A wholly original and insightful analysis that deserves to be read by the billions of people impacted by Musk's pathological quest for power and wealth.\" \u003cb\u003e--Astra Taylor, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Age of Insecurity\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eMuskism\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\" \u003cb\u003e--Cory Doctorow, author of \u003ci\u003eEnshittification\u003c\/i\u003e and editor of \u003ci\u003ePluralistic\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"The bad news is that Elon Musk is the most powerful and influential man alive--the world-soul astride a Cybertruck. The good news is that Ben Tarnoff and Quinn Slobodian have written this sharp, stimulating guide not just to the man and his ideology but to the paradigm and 'operating system' he represents. Forget the hagiographies and conspiracy theories, this is the only book you need to understand Musk and the world he's seeking to usher in.\" \u003cb\u003e--Max Read, editor of \u003ci\u003eRead Max\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Through the life and work of Elon Musk, this impeccably researched and splendidly written book introduces us to something more than the man: Muskism, the idea of using government to pay for one's entrepreneurship harnessed to ensuring the rise and rule of the new engineering technocracy. It is a world full of promise and fear. Technical prowess no longer seems to work for equality, but for its opposite. Startups are on their way to becoming satraps.\" \u003cb\u003e--Branko Milanovic, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Great Global Transformation\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"A searching look into Elon Musk's quest to rule the universe. . . . Muskism is a doctrine of wealth for the few and political and economic domination: SpaceX in space, X and Grok online, Starlink on every phone... Dystopian isn't a strong enough word for the technocratic future the authors prophesy in this bleak but urgent book.\" \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e--Kirkus\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Slobodian is an academic historian and public intellectual. I look to him for accessible but probing takes on Cold War neoliberals, the failings of globalism, and-you guessed it, a certain world-cratering slimeball in Silicon Valley. Ben Tarnoff is a leading tech writer, known for his clarion call to deprivatize the internet. So these two feel like the perfect guides to help a layman understand the Musk phenomenon.\" \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e--Literary Hub, \u003c\/i\u003e\"Lit Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2026\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Impressive and unrelenting, [MUSKISM] grapples with a destructive ideology that seems poised to consume everything.\" \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e--Publishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Slobodian and Tarnoff's 'guide for the perplexed' capably and cleverly attempts to recognize the world that produced Elon Musk as well as how he became an icon and later, a political firebrand. Pithy and informative from beginning to end.\"\u003cb\u003e \u003ci\u003e--\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"In their new book \u003ci\u003eMuskism: A Guide for the Perplexed\u003c\/i\u003e, historian Quinn Slobodian and tech writer Ben Tarnoff dig into the mindset of Silicon Valley's most gauche tycoon and touch on science fiction more tangentially, but their firmer grasp of just what flavor of capitalism Musk and his cohort represent sheds a brighter light on the topic.\" \u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eSlate\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"...[\u003ci\u003eMuskism \u003c\/i\u003eis] packed with insights about why we find ourselves in such a perilous situation in which a handful of unelected individuals exert unprecedented domestic and global power.\" --\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"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 authorised biography of 2023. Despite the lack of direct access to Mr Musk, the authors provide a portrait of his psyche that is arguably more revealing. . . . the resulting book is, you might say, a Musk-read.\" \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e--The Economist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"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 authorised biography. . . . the authors provide a portrait of his psyche that is arguably more revealing. . . . the resulting book is, you might say, a Musk-read.\" \u003ci\u003e -The Economist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eMuskism\u003c\/i\u003e 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 \u003ci\u003eEnshittification\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn\u003ci\u003e Economist \u003c\/i\u003eBest Book of 2026 - \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e Most Anticipated Book of the Year - A \u003ci\u003eFinancial Times \u003c\/i\u003eMost Anticipated Nonfiction Book of the Year - A \u003ci\u003eKirkus \u003c\/i\u003eMost Anticipated Nonfiction Book of Spring 2026- A \u003ci\u003eLiterary Hub \u003c\/i\u003eMost Anticipated Book of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA pyrotechnic examination of Elon Musk as a symptom and avatar of our postliberal age\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEveryone'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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eMuskism\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMuskism 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eQuinn 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 \u003ci\u003eMuskism\u003c\/i\u003e 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: \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eSilicon Valley: \u003c\/b\u003e 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.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eBig Tech, AI \u0026amp; the Future of Capitalism: \u003c\/b\u003eExamines 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.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eGeopolitics, Power \u0026amp; the Tech Billionaire Era: \u003c\/b\u003eExplores 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.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 02\/09\/2026 (EAN 9780063484320, Hardcover) - *Starred Review\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eBooklist\u003c\/span\u003e 03\/01\/2026 (EAN 9780063484320, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/span\u003e 01\/01\/2026 (EAN 9780063484320, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eContributor Bio:\u003c\/strong\u003eSlobodian, Quinn\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eQuinn Slobodian\u003c\/b\u003e is professor of international history at Boston University, and the author of several books including \u003ci\u003eGlobalists\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCrack-Up Capitalism \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eHayek's Bastards. \u003c\/i\u003eThe last won the National Book Critics Circle award for Criticism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eContributor Bio:\u003c\/strong\u003eTarnoff, Ben\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBen Tarnoff\u003c\/strong\u003e is a writer and technologist based in Massachusetts and is the author of \u003cem\u003eInternet for the People\u003c\/em\u003e and the co-author of \u003cem\u003eVoices from the Valley: Tech Workers Talk About What They Do--And How They Do It\u003c\/em\u003e. He is a frequent contributor to the \u003cem\u003eNew York Review of Books, \u003c\/em\u003e and has also written for the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times, The New Yorker, \u003c\/em\u003e and the \u003cem\u003eNew\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eRepublic, \u003c\/em\u003e among other publications.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Harper","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496220033302,"sku":"9780063484320","price":36.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9780063484320.jpg?v=1783057695","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/muskism-a-guide-for-the-perplexed","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}