QUINN SLOBODIAN IN CONVERSATION WITH FREDERICK STUDEMANN
SAMSTAG, 26.09.2026 / 11h00
AKADEMIE DER BILDENDEN KÜNSTE WIEN, AULA
In Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed (Harper, 2026), QUINN SLOBODIAN argues that Elon Musk is more than an eccentric and unpredictable billionaire. Rather, he is the avatar of a new political and economic ideology: Muskism. Just as Fordism defined mid-20th-century capitalism by creating social peace through mass production, union compromises, and the welfare state, Muskism defines the 21st century by preaching “social war,” intensified hierarchy, and the pursuit of sovereignty through technology. In conversation with FREDERICK STUDEMANN, literary editor of the Financial Times.
QUINN SLOBODIAN is the author of several books, including Crack-Up Capitalism: Market Radicals and the Dream of a World Without Democracy (Metropolitan Books, 2023) and Hayek’s Bastards: Race, Gold, IQ, and the Capitalism of the Far Right (Zone Books, 2025), which won the US National Book Critics Circle Award for criticism. His most recent book is the bestseller Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed (Harper, 2026), coauthored with Ben Tarnoff. He is a professor of international history at Boston University.
© Tony Luong