[tbskm]

Is America not already there? Living in the southeast I literally see people in Home Depot buying garden tools wearing Proud Boys shirts. Every week brings a new mass shooting, several states equate the abortion of a 10-year-old rape victim with homicide, and the Texas GOP is now officially trying to abolish the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Yet America is one of the most rabidly pro-growth nations in the world.

Elon Musk is a billionaire, who cares about his opinion on anything but making money? There are academic fields full of people who investigate the myriad problems of American (and, more generally, capitalist) societies. To ignore them all simply because you think entrepreneurs are “punk rock” is entirely unscientific. Of course Elon wants growth, his entire life is dedicated to it and he serves to gain the most if it occurs, regardless of its consequences for everyone else.