On whether Elon Musk really "went crazy," and the neoliberal roots of the far-right.

People always ask,”What happened to Elon? When did he go crazy?”

But maybe we have the wrong measure of madness. If Musk did go mad, he’s been rewarded massively for that madness by the market. His erratic, drug-fueled, anti-woke journey has led him to become the world’s first trillionaire. So what are the defining features of “Muskism,” this new state-funded, pathological system of capital that might be the Fordism of the 21st century?

A similar analysis could be made toward the AfD. At first glance, their conspiratorial, racist, and economically reckless plans seem impossible to rationalize. Yet what if those policies make perfect sense when you trace their lineage from neoliberal economists weaponizing "hard money, hard borders, and hardwired human nature."

In this episode, HEIST founding editor Peter Matthews is joined live at Chapters Bookshop in Berlin by historian Quinn Slobodian to discuss his latest book, Muskism, and ideas about the far-right and the AfD from his 2025 Hayek's Bastards.

Links & Resources:

• Buy Muskism
• Buy Hayek’s Bastards
• Check out Quinn Slobodian’s writing on his website
• Chapters Bookshop is in Moabit, in Berlin
• Keep up with HEIST on Instagram: @heistberlin.
• Support worker-owned Berlin journalism and subscribe to HEIST.

Music and sound by Patrick Nininger.