Elon Musk, who was born in apartheid-era South Africa, is taking a page from his home country's troubled history as he seeks to remold the United States in his image, argues an opinion writer for Wednesday's issue of The New York Times.
The world's richest man and "First Buddy" -- who donated more than a quarter-billion dollars to help elect Donald Trump to a second term -- is engaging in what political economists call "state capture," writes Tyler McBrien, managing editor of the non-profit national security publication Lawfare.
"State capture occurs when wealthy private interests influence a government to such a degree that they can freely direct policy decisions and public funds for their own benefit or for the benefit of their ideological fellow travelers (or both)," McBrien writes. "Revelations of this especially pernicious, widespread form of corruption have occurred in other countries — a striking example occurred in the country of Mr. Musk’s birth, South Africa — and they offer cautionary tales for democratic governments everywhere."
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McBrien writes that "state capture creates broad, long-lasting systemic inequality and diminished public services."
He cites a 2016 report from South Africa called, State of Capture, that "described how, over a number of years, billions of dollars of public funding went into the pockets of a few elites, instead of supporting struggling health services and education systems." The economic elites "had successfully pressured the president and other top officials into removing or appointing ministers of state-owned entities, 'resulting in improper and possibly corrupt award of state contracts and benefits.'"
Solutions to ridding a government of state capture perpetuated by the likes of Musk include conducting a "high-profile investigation run by elements of the government not yet captured." In addition, "opposition leaders must raise alarms. Making the case that this is not run-of-the-mill, pay-to-play corruption will draw the scrutiny needed to raise the alarms," McBrien writes.
"Americans should know who is in charge of their national government," McBrien concludes. If they can’t answer that simple question, government officials and civil society must recognize warning signs of state capture and take back what is ours."
Read The New York Times opinion piece here.