Quinn Slobodian

A pyrotechnic examination of Elon Musk as a symptom and avatar of our postliberal age A searing analysis of Elon Musk Impressive and unrelenting, this grapples with a destructive ideology that seems poised to consume everything - Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)Impeccably researched and splendidly written, Muskism introduces us to a world full of promise and fear - Branko Milanovic, author of The Great Global TransformationWho on earth is Elon Musk and what is he doing? Is he a hero, a villain, or does he swing constantly between those two poles? According to the constant media gush driven by his every act and pronouncement, Musk is best understood in personal terms. This book argues differently. Rather than seeing Musk as an individual, it sees him as an avatar of something called Muskism: a playbook for our new postliberal age.Its not that Musk himself holds a coherent set of beliefs; you could say his life is one long improvisation. And hes certainly never used the word Muskism just as, a century ago, Henry Ford never used Fordism to define his own postliberal modernity. In exploring the forces that have shaped Musk, from South Africa to Silicon Valley, Space X to DOGE, Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff outline the motifs and practices that have come to dominate our own crisis-ridden world.Muskism, they show, speaks the language of crisis and emergency to invoke a less human future: where humans are purged from the productive process and, through social media and video games, merged with the machine. This is a worldview in which the technocrat is king; which piggybacks on the state to achieve supremacy; and in which only a select few deserve salvation. If you enter, this book warns you, you will grind and you will live in the shadow of one man but the rewards could be priceless and the alternative might be extinction.

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 imprude

Quinn Slobodian, aclamado historiador de las ideas, nos muestra cómo los partidarios del radicalismo de mercado están cumpliendo su principal objetivo: acabar con los Estados nación y con las limitaciones de la democracia.Una obra maestra de historia economica e intelectual.Los Estados nacion dan un toque de color a los mapas, pero no suponen una verdadera fuente de poder.En esta ultima decada, la globalizacion ha fragmentado el mapa en diferentes espacios juridicos: puertos francos, paraisos fiscales, zonas economicas espaciales. Con estos nuevos espacios, los ultracapitalistas han empezado a creer que es posible escapar de las ataduras y la supervision del gobierno democratico. El capitalismo de la fragmentacion sigue la busqueda por todo el mundo de los libertarios radicales mas conocidos desde Milton Friedman a Peter Thiel para encontrar el espacio perfecto para el capitalismo. El historiador Quinn Slobodian nos lleva del Hong Kong de la decada de 1970 a la Sudafrica de los ultimos dias del apartheid, del Sur neoconfederado a la antigua frontera del oeste estadounidense, de la ciudad medieval de Londres a las camaras acorazadas de oro de los multimillonarios de derechas, y finalmente a los oceanos y zonas de guerra del mundo, trazando una incesante caceria de un nuevo espacio donde la competencia de mercado no se vea obstaculizada por la democracia. El capitalismo de la fragmentacion es una apasionante historia del pasado mas reciente y una vision alarmante de nuestro futuro proximo.

George Louis Beer Prize WinnerWallace K Ferguson Prize FinalistA Marginal Revolution Book of the Year A groundbreaking contribution Intellectual history at its best Stephen Wertheim Foreign AffairsNeoliberals hate the state Or do they In the first intellectual history of neoliberal globalism Quinn Slobodian follows a group of thinkers from the ashes of the Habsburg Empire to the creation of the World Trade Organization to show that neoliberalism emerged less to shrink government and abolish regulations than to redeploy them at a global level It was a project that changed the world but was also undermined time and again by the relentless change and social injustice that accompanied it Slobodian s lucidly written intellectual history traces the ideas of a group of Western thinkers who sought to create against a backdrop of anarchy globally applicable economic rules Their attempt it turns out succeeded all too well Pankaj Mishra Bloomberg Opinion Fascinating innovative Slobodian has underlined the profound conservatism of the first generation of neoliberals and their fundamental hostility to democracy Adam Tooze Dissent The definitive history of neoliberalism as a political project Boston Review

Quantos países existem no mundo? A resposta é: cerca de duzentos. Agora pense no ano de 2150. Quantos haverá? Qual futuro o mapa-múndi de hoje sugere? * Eleito um dos melhores livros de não ficção de

Quinn Slobodian retrace dans ce livre les chemins parcourus par un groupe d’intellectuels, les « néolibéraux », depuis les cendres de l’empire des Habsbourg jusqu’à la création de l’Organisation mond

Quinn Slobodian retrace dans ce livre les chemins parcourus par un groupe d’intellectuels, les « néolibéraux », depuis les cendres de l’empire des Habsbourg jusqu’à la création de l’Organisation mond

Gonzo brilliance ... unique and highly entertainingFinancial TimesRevelatory reading Adam Tooze, author of CrashedAfter reading Quinn Slobodians new book, you are not likely to think about capitalism the same wayJacobinLook at a map of the world and youll see a neat patchwork of nation-states. But this is not where power actually resides. From the 1990s onwards, globalization has shattered the map, leading to an explosion of new legal entities: tax havens, free ports, city-states, gated enclaves and special economic zones. These new spaces are freed from ordinary forms of regulation, taxation and mutual obligation - and with them, ultracapitalists believe that it is possible to escape the bonds of democratic government and oversight altogether.Historian Quinn Slobodian follows the most notorious radical libertarians - from Milton Friedman to Peter Thiel - around the globe as they search for the perfect home for their free market fantasy. The hunt leads from Hong Kong in the 1970s to South Africa in the late days of apartheid, from the neo-Confederate South to the medieval City of London, and finally into the worlds oceans and war zones, charting the relentless quest for a blank slate where capitalism and democracy can be finally uncoupled.Crack-Up Capitalism is a propulsive history of the recent past, and an alarming view of our near future.

En esta primera historia del globalismo neoliberal, Slobodian sigue a un grupo de pensadores desde las cenizas del Imperio de los Habsburgo hasta la creación de la Organización Mundial del Comercio, para demostrar que el neoliberalismo no surgio para reducir el gobierno y abolir las regulaciones, sino para volver a implementarlas a nivel mundial. Todo comienza en Austria en la decada de 1920: los imperios se disolvian y el nacionalismo, el socialismo y la autodeterminacion democratica amenazaban la estabilidad del sistema capitalista global. En respuesta, los intelectuales austriacos buscaban una nueva forma de organizar el mundo.Ellos y sus sucesores en la academia y el Gobierno, desde economistas famosos como Friedrich Hayek y Ludwig von Mises hasta figuras menos conocidas como Wilhelm Ropke y Michael Heilperin, utilizaron Estados e instituciones globales para aislar a los mercados de la soberania estatal, los cambios politicos y las turbulentas demandas democraticas de igualdad y justicia social. Lejos de descartar el Estado regulador, los neoliberales querian aprovecharlo para su gran proyecto de proteger el capitalismo a escala global. Un proyecto que cambio el mundo, pero que tambien fue socavado una y otra vez por la desigualdad, el cambio implacable y la injusticia social que lo acompañaron.

Quinn Slobodian est spécialiste de l’histoire du néo-libéralisme et professeur dhistoire économique et politique globale à lUniversité de Boston. Il a notamment publié Les Globalistes. Une histoire i

Quinn Slobodian est spécialiste de l’histoire du néo-libéralisme et professeur dhistoire économique et politique globale à lUniversité de Boston. Il a notamment publié Les Globalistes. Une histoire i

A revelatory exploration of how todays right-wing authoritarianism emerged not in opposition to neoliberalism, but from within itFINALIST FOR THE 2025 NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARDS Bracingly original... Hayeks Bastards demonstrates how a history of ideas can be riveting... His book offers an illuminating history to our current bewildering moment, as right-wing populists join forces with billionaire oligarchs to take a chain saw to the foundations of public life, until theres nothing left to stand on - Jennifer Szalai, The New York TimesAfter the end of the Cold War, neoliberalism, with its belief in the virtues of markets and competition, seemed to have triumphed. Communism had been defeated and Friedrich Hayek, the spiritual father of neoliberal economics, had just about lived to see it. But in the decades that followed, Hayeks disciples knew that they had a problem. The rise of social movements, from civil rights and feminism to environmentalism, were now proving roadblocks in the road to freedom, nurturing a culture of government dependency, public spending, political correctness and special pleading. Neoliberals needed an antidote.In this illuminating new book, historian Quinn Slobodian reveals how, from the 1990s onwards, neoliberal thinkers turned to nature, in an attempt to roll back social changes and to return to a hierarchy of gender, race and cultural difference. He explores how these thinkers drew on the language of science, from cognitive psychology to genetics, in order to embed the idea of competition ever deeper into social life, and to advocate cultural homogeneity as essential for markets to truly work. Reading and misreading the writings of their sages, Friedrich Hayek and Ludwig von Mises, they forged the alliances with racial psychologists, neo-confederates, ethnonationalists that would become known as the alt-right.Hayeks Bastards shows that many contemporary iterations of the Far Right, from Javier Milei to Donald Trump, emerged not in opposition to neoliberalism, but within it. As repellent as their politics may be, these supposed disruptors are not defectors from the neoliberal order, but its latest cheerleaders.

Unaradiografía del nuevoordentecnológicomundial.«Impecablementeinvestigado ymagníficamenteescrito».Branko MilanovicAclamado como un genio mesiánico y tildado al mismo tiempo de bufón imprudente, Elon

Unaradiografía del nuevoordentecnológicomundial.«Impecablementeinvestigado ymagníficamenteescrito».Branko MilanovicAclamado como un genio mesiánico y tildado al mismo tiempo de bufón imprudente, Elon

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 Isaacsons 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. 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 EnshittificationA 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 YearA pyrotechnic examination of Elon Musk as a symptom and avatar of our postliberal ageEveryones got an Elon take. Hes 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 isnt a glitch in the systemhe 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. Its 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 isnt about the man. Its about the machine that made himand the world hes making next. To read Muskism is to understand the machinery that made the man, and the world hes 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 Musks companies influence global politics, infrastructure, and governancefrom satellite networks to energy systemsshowing how private tech power is reshaping international relations.

Quinn Slobodian, aclamado historiador de las ideas, nos muestra cómo los partidarios del radicalismo de mercado están cumpliendo su principal objetivo: acabar con los Estados nación y con las limitaciones de la democracia. Una obra maestra de historia economica e intelectual.Los Estados nacion dan un toque de color a los mapas, pero no suponen una verdadera fuente de poder.En esta ultima decada, la globalizacion ha fragmentado el mapa en diferentes espacios juridicos: puertos francos, paraisos fiscales, zonas economicas espaciales. Con estos nuevos espacios, los ultracapitalistas han empezado a creer que es posible escapar de las ataduras y la supervision del gobierno democratico. El capitalismo de la fragmentacion sigue la busqueda por todo el mundo de los libertarios radicales mas conocidos desde Milton Friedman a Peter Thiel para encontrar el espacio perfecto para el capitalismo. El historiador Quinn Slobodian nos lleva del Hong Kong de la decada de 1970 a la Sudafrica de los ultimos dias del apartheid, del Sur neoconfederado a la antigua frontera del oeste estadounidense, de la ciudad medieval de Londres a las camaras acorazadas de oro de los multimillonarios de derechas, y finalmente a los oceanos y zonas de guerra del mundo, trazando una incesante caceria de un nuevo espacio donde la competencia de mercado no se vea obstaculizada por la democracia. El capitalismo de la fragmentacion es una apasionante historia del pasado mas reciente y una vision alarmante de nuestro futuro proximo.

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Gonzo brilliance unique and highly entertaining Financial Times Revelatory reading Adam Tooze author of Crashed After reading Quinn Slobodian s new book you are not likely to think about capitalism the same way JacobinLook at a map of the world and you ll see a neat patchwork of nation states But this is not where power actually resides From the 1990s onwards globalization has shattered the map leading to an explosion of new legal entities tax havens free ports city states gated enclaves and special economic zones These new spaces are freed from ordinary forms of regulation taxation and mutual obligation and with them ultracapitalists believe that it is possible to escape the bonds of democratic government and oversight altogether Historian Quinn Slobodian follows the most notorious radical libertarians from Milton Friedman to Peter Thiel around the globe as they search for the perfect home for their free market fantasy The hunt leads from Hong Kong in the 1970s to South Africa in the late days of apartheid from the neo Confederate South to the medieval City of London and finally into the world s oceans and war zones charting the relentless quest for a blank slate where capitalism and democracy can be finally uncoupled Crack Up Capitalis