SpaceX Evolution (Appendix A: SpaceX Politics)
SpaceX Evolution (Appendix A: SpaceX Politics)
A serialized version of this book for SubStack
Link to First Installment: https://chrisprophet.substack.com/p/spacex-evolution
While it might appear SpaceX is apolitical, in reality there’s no such creature, everything has some kind of political moment. Arguably SpaceX’s political importance is steadily increasing as it fields new technologies, particularly those which involve people; either as customers, passengers or potential colonists. Starlink is a great example of how SpaceX is creating a groundswell of support through providing a powerful broadband service to underserved customers, while disrupting more exploitative legacy corporations. Tesla too is the shining hope for creating a sustainable energy economy, so as popular with those who care about the environment and climate change as it is with the growing number of Tesla product owners. This implies it will become far easier to support than oppose SpaceX efforts in the future, particularly for politicians who must be wary of such grassroots support. Given the above, the only real danger appears if SpaceX becomes too closely aligned with one of the political poles, for any reason.
Traditionally SpaceX has been traded between political parties as a symbol of their success, for example after DM-2 (the first crew launch on Dragon) Republicans were triumphal about their success. However, the commercial crew program had been carefully nurtured by the previous Democrat administration, who hoped it might provide a practical means to develop new space capabilities, rather than relying on the expensive and inefficient cost-plus-profit model previously relied upon by NASA.
So in reality is SpaceX Republican or Democrat? Well, that depends on your perspective. Republicans probably view it as proof of the potence of capitalism, where a single gifted individual raises a mighty corporation through superior intellect and will, while maintaining a tight rein on employees. However, Democrats might rejoice in the fact that they are run like a collective, with emphasis on individual autonomy and responsibility, all for the good of the common cause. Putting such selective perspectives aside, the truth is SpaceX are neither, they represent a third lobe of politics, more closely associated with humanism.
“We could consider changing the way we think of things, from say capitalism versus communism…and think more in terms of feedback loops. So does an organization, government or commercial, have a good feedback loop for the customer? Whether it’s the people as a whole or whoever the customers are… I think it’s a false dichotomy to look at government and industry as separate, government are simply a corporation in the limit, it is the ultimate corporation with the monopoly. But then as you get closer to like set up a monopoly, as the feedback loop gets weaker and less responsive to the customer, that’s where you have something that does not maximize the happiness of people, which should be our objective overall.”1 ~ Elon Musk/Wall Street Journal
or perhaps put more bluntly: -
“The real fight is not between right and left, but rather between humanists and extinctionists.”2 ~ Elon Musk
Arguably both left and right politics are unsuited to technological development in application. For example the right’s constant demand for profit tends to restrict long-term investment, eventually sending business overseas. Likewise, the left’s disdain for corporate investors (who they regard as capitalists) and fixation on worker’s rights and regulations, tends to undermine corporate growth. SpaceX have as much as possible sidestepped these two camps, in order to provide the perfect medium for development and accelerate corporate goals. Instead of polarizing its workforce it tries instead to unite them in a common goal and in the process release their potential.
Anyone, who perceives Elon Musk as elitist is clearly a victim of selective perception and their own prejudice. At age 17, Elon decided to leave South Africa because he fundamentally disagreed with the apartheid regime. When new recruits walk through the door at SpaceX he doesn’t see skin color he only perceives their potential. Seeing the potential in others is normally quite difficult due to external and internal limits. However, SpaceX provides the perfect medium for people to shine as they explore their human potential. This is neither left nor right, it is a new direction which emphasizes personal and technological growth, on the journey towards a more enlightened future. This new political philosophy relies on science and technology as the best, perhaps only route to cultural development (see Appendix E: Cult of Elon).
Succinctly: welcome to the technocracy.
Link to next installment: https://chrisprophet.substack.com/p/spacex-evolution-appendix-b-why-spacex