Growing fears that Elon Musk could neutralize Congressional power over public spending and political accountability
Afrasianet - Does history repeat itself? Companies that control and rule the world? This must be a fact that is taking hold now.
In 1600 the British East India Company began to acquire exclusive rights to transport commercial goods from South and East Asia to Europe, gradually acquired quasi-governmental powers, and ended up ruling with an iron fist over British colonies in Asia, including India. In 1677 the company received the right to mint the currency on behalf of the royal crown.
What took so long in the colonial era is now being repeated at lightning speed. The brute power of the India Trading Company, which ruled India in the name of the empire and established its own army, is now being followed by major companies that control communications technologies and have access to data and digital financial systems in the United States, so that digital influencers gradually take over the United States, and then the world.
Some may see this view as a pure illusion, but what is happening now in the United States at the hands of the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, with a broad mandate, is nothing but the dismantling of the traditional government there to replace it with a digital government that relies on major information technology companies extensively, under the pretext of pressing government spending to save two trillion dollars from the federal budget and raise the efficiency of government performance.
Little by little, the American state is weakening in front of the power and influence of digital companies that use accelerated technologies in artificial intelligence to see a future "digital citizenship" in which the citizen belongs to this space and will be loyal to it, and holds his passport.
Elon Musk is leading moves to seize power in the sense already explained. Within his business empire, companies have contracts with the federal government and are subject to government regulations.
SpaceX, Tesla, the tunnel driller, the brain science company, and the artificial intelligence company operate in government-controlled markets, whose role is now required to be curtailed.
It is important for him — and he has had the opportunity — to dismantle these government agencies that have restricted his business. The National Safety Administration investigated and subjected Tesla's autopilot system to scrutiny, and the SEC sanctioned Elon Musk for market-moving tweets. Environmental regulations also restricted SpaceX's activities.
The biggest danger lies in Elon Musk's unprecedented influence over sensitive digital data, led by US government payment systems, Social Security numbers, and income tax documents. He began intervening directly through the Office of Financial Services, which oversees the administration of about $5 trillion, including Social Security payments, Medicare services, tax refunds, and federal salaries.
Musk sent his technical team to take control of the payment automation system, the secure payment system, which led to the resignation of David Librick, a senior U.S. Treasury official.
This sparked panic within government institutions, followed by a flood of mass dismissals via email, while 21 other employees resigned under pressure after being asked to use their expertise to "dismantle vital public services".
Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has aimed to dismantle federal government institutions one by one, most notably the U.S. Agency for Development, a key tool in U.S. policy to ensure aid reaches the countries and communities most in need.
Although a federal court has tried to limit this trajectory, the dismantling of the agency paves the way for a digital alternative: using big data that digital companies have about millions of people around the world.
This digital model provides quick and direct access to the most vulnerable and influential in any country, allowing for more efficient and cost-effective U.S. agendas. This is the vision Musk is working to achieve.
With his goal of demobilizing the army of employees, Elon Musk is seeking to restructure the federal administration through artificial intelligence. He has established an integrated system that uses this technology to analyze data, draw conclusions, monitor economic transformations, identify vulnerabilities within government institutions, and even predict voter behavior. All of this is done under the supervision and control of major technology companies, giving them exceptional leverage to become the world's de facto governing power.
Cryptocurrency coup?
Elon Musk is deeply involved in the world of cryptocurrencies. He appears to be leading a coordinated strategy aimed at tightening control over U.S. fiscal and economic policy, transferring the levers of power to a narrow elite of influencers.
The danger – and perhaps genius – is that the contours of this plan seem to be justified and logical: from modernizing government systems to improving efficiency, and developing payment infrastructure. Taken together, however, they are effective tools to enable the wealthy to control the financial system.
With the Republican-dominated Congress identifying with the US president, who provides broad support for Musk, the chances of intervention appear slim. Even if he wishes, Musk's pace of action far exceeds Congress's ability to keep up or contain.
These moves shape an ambitious project based on what crypto investor and businessman Balaji Srinivasan calls a "network state."
This idea is to establish a virtual entity online, crystallizing before it takes any physical form on Earth. Imagine it as a tech startup, owning its own cryptocurrency, and establishing a digital social order, rather than the traditional declaration of independence and the struggle for sovereignty. Once this digital currency is officially recognized, the infrastructure of this entity is complete, and turning back becomes almost impossible.
Moving forward with the conversion of increasing parts of the global financial system into digital currencies dominated by the private sector means, in practice, taking power away from national governments that are supposed to be accountable to their people.
Musk has already embarked on this path, using his vast wealth and influence on social media platforms to influence not only U.S. policy, but also a number of European countries, including Germany.
In a financial system governed by cryptocurrencies, sovereignty will not be in the hands of citizens residing on state territory, but of those who have the ability to buy these currencies.
In this scenario, fears are growing that Elon Musk could neutralize Congressional authority over public spending and political accountability, and perhaps even override the judiciary and citizens, opening the door to a complex web of conflicts of interest unprecedented in modern history, in terms of size and influence.
The central question for Americans is not whether the government needs modernization, but rather whether they are willing to compromise democracy in favor of Musk's so-called model of managerial efficiency.
When technology leaders take over direct government tasks, it is not only about simplifying bureaucracy, but also redefining the relationship between the private sector – specifically tech giants – and public institutions of government.
This approach is a direct threat to U.S. national security and to the very essence of the "we, the people" principle. Worse, the repercussions of this shift may extend globally, affecting the relationship of governments with their people, and the control of states over their economies and national policies.
The major catastrophe at this stage may be not in the gravity of what is being implemented, but in the slow response of the Americans to it. Governments are not corporations, public spending is measured not by profit, but by achieving social justice and balanced development, government employment provides vital opportunities for the middle classes, and institutional oversight protects the system from collapse and risk.