Elon Musk ’s role as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency , also known as DOGE , is on the surface a spectacular effort to overhaul the inefficiencies of federal bureaucracy . But beneath the rhetoric of cost - cut and regulatory streamlining lie a troubling scenario .
Musk has been appointed what is called a “ special government employee ” in charge of the White House office formerly cognise as the U.S. Digital Service , which was rename theU.S. DOGE Serviceon the first daylight of President Donald Trump ’s 2nd term . TheMusk team’spurported goals are to maximize efficiency and toeliminate waste material and redundance .
That might sound like a bold move toward Silicon Valley - way innovation in governance . However , the deep motivations driving Musk ’s involvement are unbelievable to be strictly selfless .
Elon Musk, right, has moved to take the reins of the U.S. government.© Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Musk has an enormous corporal conglomerate , dream in artificial tidings , desire for fiscal powerand a long - standingdisdain for authorities oversight . Hisaccess to sensitive government systemsand power torestructure agencies , with theopaque decision - makingguiding DOGE to date , have positioned Musk to evoke unprecedented fiscal and strategical benefits for both himself and his companionship , which include the electric car company Tesla and space transportation company SpaceX.
One historical parallel in particular is striking . In 1600 , the British East India Company , a merchant transport house , begin with exclusive rights to conduct trade in the Indian Ocean realm before slowlyacquiring quasi - governmental powersand ultimatelyruling with an iron fistover British colonies in Asia , including most of what is now India . In 1677 , the company gained theright to coin currencyon behalf of the British jacket .
AsIexplain in my upcoming book “ Who elect Big Tech ? ” the U.S. is witnessing a like practice of a private companionship taking over government operations .
A security officer blocks U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, right, from entering the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency headquarters on Feb. 6, 2025, in an effort to meet with DOGE staff.
Yet what took 100 in the colonial era is now unfolding at lightning speed in mere days through digital way . In the twenty-first century , data approach and digital fiscal systems have replace physical trading billet and private armies . Communications are the cay to power now , rather than brute intensity .
The data pipeline
Viewing Musk ’s moves as a business leader grab becomes clearer when examininghis corporate imperium . He control multiple caller that have federal contract bridge and are subject to government regulations . SpaceX and Tesla , as well as tunneling house The Boring Company , the brainiac skill company Neuralink , and contrived intelligence firm xAI all mesh in market place where administration oversight can make or break fortune .
In his novel role , Musk can oversee – and potentially dismantle – the government delegacy that have traditionally constrain his businesses . The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration hasrepeatedly enquire Tesla ’s Autopilot system ; the Securities and Exchange Commission haspenalized Musk for food market - move tweets ; environmental regulations haveconstrained SpaceX.
Through DOGE , all these lapse mechanisms could be counteract or do away with under the guise of efficiency .
Candidate Donald Trump speaks at a key cryptocurrency industry conference in July 2024.
But the most catastrophic aspect of Musk ’s leadership at DOGE is its unprecedented access to politics data . DOGE employees reportedly havedigital permit to see datain the U.S. government ’s payment organisation , which includes bank account selective information , Social Security number and income tax documents . Reportedly , they have also appropriate the ability toalter the system ’s software program , data , transactions and record .
Multiple medium reports betoken that Musk ’s staff have already made change to the programs that process payments for Social Security beneficiary and government contractor to make iteasier to block paymentsandhide records of paymentsblocked , made or alter .
But DOGE employees only need to be able to read the datum to make copies of Americans ’ most raw personal data .
A federal motor inn hasordered that not to take place – at least for now . Even so , funnel the data intoGrok , Musk’sxAI - created hokey news system , which is already connected with the Musk - have disco biscuit , formerly known as Twitter , would produce an alone capacity forpredictingeconomic switching , name governmentvulnerabilitiesandmodelingvoter behavior .
That ’s an enormous and alarming amount of information and power for any one person to have .
Cryptocurrency coup?
Like Trump himself and many of his airless adviser , Musk is alsodeeply involved in cryptocurrency . The parallel emergence ofTrump ’s own cryptocurrencyandDOGE ’s unmistakable coalition with the cryptocurrency known as Dogecoinsuggests more than coincidence . I believe it points to a coordinated scheme for control of America ’s money and economic policy , effectively placing the United States in entirely private hands .
The mavin – and danger – of this strategy lie in the fact that each step might appear absolve in closing off : modernizing political science systems , improving efficiency , updating payment substructure . But together , they create the scaffolding for transferring even more financial power tothe already wealthy .
Musk ’s tyrannic tendencies , evident in hisforceful management of Xand hisassertion that it was illegalto publish the names of multitude who work for him , suggest how he might wield his raw exponent . company critical of Musk could face unexpected audits ; regulatory agencies size up his business organisation could incur their budgets slashed ; ally could get privileged access to government contracts .
This is n’t speculation – it ’s the logical extension of DOGE ’s dominance combined with Musk ’s demonstrated behavior .
Critics are calling Musk ’s actions at DOGE a massivecorporate takeover . Others are simply call it acoup . Theprotest movementis gain impulse in Washington , D.C. , andaround the body politic , but it ’s unbelievable that street protests alone can bar what Musk is doing .
Who can effectively investigate a group design to dismantle oversight itself ? The administration’sillegal firingof at least a dozen inspector ecumenical before the Musk performance began advise a measured strategy to eliminate administration answerability . The Republican - conduce Congress , tight aligned with Trump , may not need to step in ; but even if it did , Musk is moving far faster thanCongress ever does .
Destroy the republic, build a startup nation?
Taken together , all of Musk ’s and Trump ’s moves lay the foundation for what cryptocurrency investor and enterpriser Balaji Srinivasan calls “ the web body politic . ”
The idea is that a virtual country may form online before establishing any physical presence . Think of the mesh state like a tech startup company with its own cryptocurrency – alternatively of declaring independency and combat for sovereignty , it first progress biotic community and digital scheme . By the time a Musk - line up cryptocurrency realise prescribed position , the underlying structure and relationships would already be in place , making alternatives impractical .
change over more of the world ’s fiscal system intoprivately manipulate cryptocurrencieswould take mogul away from internal governments , which must answer to their own people . Musk has already begun this effort , using his wealth and social media pass on to engage in government not only in the U.S. butalso several European countries , includingGermany .
A nation govern by a cryptocurrency - based organisation would no longer be run by the people living in its soil but by those who could afford to buy the digital currency . In this scenario , I am relate that Musk , or the Communist Party of China , Russian President Vladimir Putin or AI - surveillance pudding stone Palantir , could yield irrelevant Congress’power over regime spending and action mechanism . And along the way , it could remove the power to hold president accountable from Congress , the judicature and American citizen .
All of this plainly presentsa thicket of conflict - of - interest group problemsthat are wholly unprecedented in scope and scale .
The interrogative sentence front Americans , therefore , is n’t whether government needs modernisation – it ’s whether they ’re willing to sacrifice democracy in pursuit of Musk ’s version of efficiency . When we grant technical school leader direct restraint over authorities role , we ’re not just streamline bureaucratism – we ’re fundamentally neuter the relationship between private major power and public governance . I trust we ’re undermining American home security , as well asthe power of We , the People .
The most grave inefficiency of all may be Americans ’ delayed response to this crisis .
Allison Stanger , Distinguished Endowed Professor , Middlebury
This article is republish fromThe Conversationunder a Creative Commons license . Read theoriginal article .
DOGEDonald TrumpElon Musk
Daily Newsletter
Get the good tech , science , and culture newsworthiness in your inbox daily .
word from the future , deliver to your nowadays .
You May Also Like
