{"id":1377,"date":"2025-05-18T17:09:15","date_gmt":"2025-05-18T17:09:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=1377"},"modified":"2025-05-18T17:09:15","modified_gmt":"2025-05-18T17:09:15","slug":"what-was-elon-musk-trying-to-achieve-with-doge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=1377","title":{"rendered":"What Was Elon Musk Trying to Achieve With DOGE?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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As Elon Musk begins to step back from his work with the Trump administration, analysts are engaging in widespread debate over his time in government, asking: What was he trying to achieve with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the quasi-agency that has dismantled much of the federal bureaucracy and wreaked havoc in Washington and beyond?<\/p>\n

Musk\u2019s likely explanation\u2014to boost \u201cefficiency\u201d and save the government money\u2014doesn\u2019t quite add up. Despite its claims of widespread savings, DOGE\u2019s actions may actually cost taxpayers billions of dollars. Is Musk just an old-fashioned political opportunist? A pawn on the chessboard of the U.S. right? A predatory capitalist in ruthless pursuit of profit above all else?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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As Elon Musk begins to step back from his work with the Trump administration, analysts are engaging in widespread debate over his time in government, asking: What was he trying to achieve with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the quasi-agency that has dismantled much of the federal bureaucracy and wreaked havoc in Washington and beyond?<\/p>\n

Musk\u2019s likely explanation\u2014to boost \u201cefficiency\u201d and save the government money\u2014doesn\u2019t quite add up. Despite its claims of widespread savings, DOGE\u2019s actions may actually cost taxpayers billions of dollars. Is Musk just an old-fashioned political opportunist? A pawn on the chessboard of the U.S. right? A predatory capitalist in ruthless pursuit of profit above all else?<\/p>\n

In the articles below, FP columnists and contributors look to a wide range of sources\u2014biographies, world history, and Musk\u2019s own affinity for physics\u2014as they debate this question and more. Together, they offer a portrait of Musk and his work at DOGE just as it winds down.<\/p>\n

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Musk wears a red had that reads “GULF OF AMERICA.”<\/figcaption>

Elon Musk looks on at a cabinet meeting in the White House in Washington on April 30.Jim Watson\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Elon Musk Was Donald Trump\u2019s Useful Idiot<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s looking increasingly likely that the world\u2019s richest man got played, Gideon Lichfield writes.<\/p>\n


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An illustration shows a golden Newtons cradle with Elon Musk depicted on the one at left and sending a globe-motif ball swinging at right.<\/figcaption>

Nicol\u00e1s Ortega illustration for Foreign Policy<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Elon Musk\u2019s First Principles<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

The world\u2019s richest man wants to apply the rules of physics to politics, FP\u2019s Adam Tooze writes. What could go wrong?<\/p>\n


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A caricature titled “The Rhodes Colossus” depicts the imperialist Cecil Rhodes standing on a map of Africa.<\/figcaption>

A caricature titled \u201cThe Rhodes Colossus\u201d depicts the imperialist Cecil Rhodes standing on a map of Africa. Hulton Archive\/Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Elon Musk Is America\u2019s Cecil Rhodes<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s not the first time that liberal capitalism has retreated\u2014and predatory capitalists have filled the void, FP\u2019s Caroline de Gruyter writes.<\/p>\n

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A silhouette of the top of Elon Musk’s head.<\/figcaption>

Elon Musk listens to a speaker during the U.K. Artificial Intelligence Safety Summit at Bletchley Park in England on Nov. 1, 2023.Toby Melville\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

AI Is Infiltrating the U.S. Government<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

Trump\u2019s actions are a distraction from the main order of business: the pursuit of fantastic profit through a surging industry, FP\u2019s Howard W. French writes.<\/p>\n

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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk watch the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket in Brownsville, Texas.<\/figcaption>

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk watch the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket in Brownsville, Texas, on Nov. 19, 2024.Brandon Bell\/Getty Images<\/span> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

What Drives Elon Musk?<\/strong><\/a><\/h3>\n

FP\u2019s Cameron Abadi and Adam Tooze discuss his wealth, political power, and support for far-right parties.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As Elon Musk begins to step back from his work with the Trump administration, analysts are engaging in widespread debate over his time in government, asking: What was he trying to achieve with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the quasi-agency that has dismantled much of the federal bureaucracy and wreaked havoc in Washington and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1378,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1377","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politcical-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1377\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}