Elon Musk is unquestionably the most talked-about entrepreneur and businessman today, marking even world politics. The influence of businessmen and wealth holders on political power is a phenomenon that dates back to the earliest ages of history. Not going too far back, just mentioning names like Rockefeller, Rothschild and Ford would be sufficient. Their counterparts in Europe can be added to the list.
In today’s circumstances, where global politics is rapidly warming up and even the possibility of a nuclear third world war is debated, examining the political attitudes and preferences of various members of the billionaire club that impact world politics has become a crucial topic.
Two-party system for 250 years
In this century, world politics has moved beyond the patterns of the last century. In almost every country, significant changes and shifts are occurring not only in political alignments but also among the business leaders at the helm of the economy. In this article, I will set aside individual countries and focus on a very important figure shaping global politics today, Elon Musk, and make some propositions regarding the possible course of US politics in this light.
The US, almost 250 years long old, created a two-party system reflecting the general alignment of society beginning from its birth. In broad terms, the Republican Party was the representative of Southerners, conservatives, rural residents and people of inland. In contrast, the Democratic Party was that of industrialized Northerners, more liberal coastal populations, urban dwellers and the more educated. For a full 250 years, the American people, like on a seesaw, have been swinging between these two parties, without any too radical change.
Realignment is slowly settling
Especially with the end of the Cold War, the dissolution of the Soviet Bloc and the successful worldwide promotion of the globalization ideology led to a “realignment” both globally and within the US. Currently, this realignment is slowly settling, not without intense conflicts, fights and transitions.
As far as we can see, a section in the West generally and in the US more specifically, seems to have learned lessons from history and correctly identified the shift towards Eurasia in the world balance. They are trying to develop a political stance in line with this fact. This trend can be observed or is likely to become visible very soon in the US, Germany, France, the UK, Italy and other important countries.
In this new alignment, a group of visionary people can spot the clues that the “expiry date” of the Western system has arrived. They are looking for ways to follow a more conservative, more restrictive and relatively more peaceful path to at least preserve what is at hand. We are just at the beginning of this process. Then, although political attitudes and preferences are not very clear now, they might fall into place very soon.
Even Liz Cheney becomes a Democrat
The most important developments in this alignment are, of course, taking place in the US due to its prominent role in world politics and economy. A profound divergence has appeared even within the century-old Republican Party policies and politicians. A striking example is the departure of Congresswoman Liz Cheney, the former number two in the Republican Party and daughter of former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, from the party. She left the party and fiercely criticized its leadership. We might witness similar examples since the realignment is to become sharper before the 2024 elections. Some tendencies within the Republican Party, such as racism and anti-Islam sentiments, will gradually fade away.
Another significant realignment to pay attention to is economic preferences. One of the cornerstones of traditional capitalism, the big capital, is slowly realizing the crisis it faces -the final link in the chain of its 200-year-old adventure. In other words, the section within capitalists which can survive only by producing something tangible and selling it globally, is discovering its historical weakening. This compels it towards more balanced relationships with the entire world -a trend is expected to increase.
Globalist and virtual capitalism vs. traditional capitalism
On the opposite side, there are the forces of “globalist and virtual capitalism,” in stark contrast to traditional capitalists. This other one is engaged in global business and aims for an economic order out of and beyond independent national borders. Companies like Amazon, Facebook (META) and Microsoft strive to lead the world market without producing tangible goods contrary to what traditional capitalists do. They resort to ways such as warmongering and direct intervention in the internal affairs of countries. Recent regional conflicts, the global spread of activities related to the LGBT and the erasure of local cultures through social media to turn every individual into a mere number in the “market”: all these are initiatives from the think-tanks of these circles.
They staunchly support Joe Biden and the seemingly “progressive” Democratic Party. The fact that the vast majority of high-tech capitalists are Biden supporters is not because they are more “democratic”, “progressive” or “humanist”, but because a strict globalist policy is necessary for their own capitalist way.
The position of Elon Musk
Now, let’s come to the intriguing position of Elon Musk.
Elon Musk, having been engaged in both above-mentioned “capitalist ways”, has a unique position that could potentially support both the Democratic and Republican Parties. Since the 2020 elections, he made a shift from the Democratic Party towards the Republican Party. This is primarily associated with “Musk’s capitalism”, which is heavily linked to the production of electric cars, especially through Tesla.
Tesla, primarily a traditional-style manufacturing company, plays a crucial role in Musk’s political preferences. Tesla sources raw materials from various countries, including the People’s Republic of China, establishes production facilities in those countries and sells cars there. That is to say, a warlike approach to China and Russia would pose a threat to his own existence. Considering the logic Trump has long emphasized -“I’m a trader, I buy goods, sell goods, it’s not in my interest to destroy my customer”- we can say that Musk and Trump are of this “national, traditional” capitalism.
Of course Musk has other companies such as X, SpaceX, Boring Company. But, once again, Tesla is the most significant production that influences his political preferences and struggle with Biden.
Towards the 2024 election
An aggressive and warmongering section of the Democrats wants to expand US hegemony in the world, not just maintain it. What they are doing in Ukraine, Palestine, Taiwan, South Korea, the China Sea, the Strait of Hormuz, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans is all about this. They seem ready to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals.
We are heading towards a period in which the alignment in the US and the world will sharpen. Accordingly, the struggle between Elon Musk and the Democrats will increase, and we can predict that he will be even more effective among the traditional segment of the Republicans.