Musk and Milei Belong to the Same Cult of Disruption
The public sector needs reform — but the “creative destruction” that can re-energize businesses risks leaving ordinary citizens in the lurch.
They could be all thumbs when it comes to the public sector.
Photographer: Presidencia de la Nación Argentina/Handout/Getty Images
The cult of “disruption” is quickly spreading from the private sector to the public. Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, has axed ten ministries, reduced public spending by a third in real terms, and slashed red tape. Donald Trump, the incoming US president has tapped the world’s best known business disruptor, Elon Musk, to head a new department of government efficiency (DOGE).
Even the British Labour government has leapt on the trend. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has accused “too many civil servants” of “being comfortable in the tepid bath of managed decline.” The Cabinet Secretary Pat McFadden (whom many regard as the real deputy prime minister) has called for a new age of “start-ups” and “disruptors” in the public sector. Airbnb, WhatsApp and Spotify have all emerged from nowhere to disrupt their respective industries; why can’t we apply the same daring-do spirit to the public sector?