Musk is not just building a rocket company or a satellite company - but what we see is a vertically integrated ideological stack where he can kind of build an echo chamber from low Earth orbit all the way back to Earth and create a kind of closed loop for the ideology that he wants to push out.
I am using the word pragmatism in a specific sense. I am not speaking about being pragmatic as a political tactic; deciding what issues should be given priority and what battles to choose, or a willingness to compromise, or a recognition that there are limits to what can be accomplished at any time. I am writing now about pragmatism in a meaning closer to its philosophical origin in the writings of William James-that truth is not found in abstract principles or beliefs,
The word "ideology" has become a fixture in American political rhetoric, invoked by leaders to cast opponents' beliefs as dangerous, stupid or unfounded. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump vowed to "defeat the toxic poison of gender ideology," saying he would take "historic action" to reaffirm what he described as a divinely created gender binary. Education Secretary Linda McMahon has similarly criticized "DEI ideologies" in hiring and admissions, arguing instead for merit-based practices.
