- cross-posted to:
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- cross-posted to:
- [email protected]
- [email protected]
Summary
Parallels between Henry Ford and Elon Musk illustrate their transformative roles in automaking alongside troubling political affiliations.
Ford’s antisemitism and support for Nazi Germany mirror Musk’s current opposition to unions and endorsement of Germany’s far-right AfD party, which is linked to neo-Nazism.
Musk’s intervention in Germany’s election and promotion of far-right figures on X echoes Ford’s use of media to propagate hate.
Both industrialists are criticized for their social and political impact beyond their industries, with Musk’s actions raising alarm about democracy and labor rights.
My first instinct was to say “Yeah, but Henry Ford wasn’t an idiot.” But then it occurred to me: We didn’t have Twitter back then. He might have just successfully kept his idiocy under wraps. On the other hand, Ford actually did come from humble origins, so I guess it is unlikely that he was as dumb as Musk.
I mean at least ford recognized his employees should be able to afford his product.
Ford did have his own newspaper https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dearborn_Independent where he expressed horrible antisemitic views.
Humble origins are not a guarantee of anything. Evidence: I had them as well.