BY SOFO ARCHON
This is the transcript of a video published here.
Many people think that Elon Musk will save us, as if he is Jesus or something. Not by using supernatural powers, of course, but by harnessing the powers of technology.
He is what can be described as a “techno-utopian.” And the technological solutions he proposes are every techno-utopian’s dream.
But the truth is, those solutions aren’t solutions at all. For they don’t address the root causes of the biggest problems humanity is faced with today. In fact, they distract us from them and the real solutions.
For example, one of Elon Musk’s “solutions” is electric cars. Cars that are made by the working class and sold to the upper and upper-middle class. Cars that require tremendous resource extraction and cause tremendous environmental pollution, yet which are sold as the better alternative to fossil fuel-powered cars, in effect exploiting the ecological crisis for profit.
How about making structural changes to our cities and transportation systems so that people have to rely less on automobiles?
“No, that won’t help—we need more electric cars!”
Another of Elon Musk’s “solutions”—and his most ambitious one so far—is space rockets. Rockets that will supposedly help humanity to colonize Mars before Earth becomes uninhabitable.
In other words, he is investing billions of dollars in fleeing Earth, instead of healing it. Again, damaging Earth to build, power and maintain those rockets. And techno-utopians think that this is the solution we need!
But wouldn’t all those billions of dollars be better spent on, let’s say, designing, implementing, and promoting alternative educational, agricultural or economic systems with the goal of improving our social and environmental conditions?
As you can understand, Elon Musk’s solutions aren’t solving the world’s problems. On the contrary, they’re adding to them. And I believe he deep down knows that, but his narcissism doesn’t let him admit it.
You see, more than caring about the world, he cares about his self-image. He cares about portraying himself as the bad boy, the rebel, the one who deviates from the norm. That’s why he’s one of the most famous trolls on the internet alive. And for that he’s worshiped by his fellow techno-utopians.
But let’s not forget, he is also the world’s richest man. And you can’t become the richest man in the world by caring about it. You can only become that by being a self-absorbed, greedy, exploitative, hard-hearted individual.
So, to anyone thinking that Elon Musk will save us, please think twice.
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