Time of Monsters: Fascism and the Fusion of the State and the Corporation

Musk & Trump From the bonhomie to the fallout & beyond

In the context of growing authoritarianism and deepening corporate capture, the second webinar in the series The Political Economy of the Trump Era, titled ‘Time of Monsters: Fascism and the Fusion of the State and the Corporation’, looked at how the collusion between state power and corporate capital is reshaping democracies across the world. Set against a backdrop of ecological collapse, disinformation, and rising inequality, the session critically examined how the corporate-state nexus is no longer concealed but has become an explicit political project – framed in the language of efficiency, innovation, and freedom.

Even when the webinar was held, it did appear that the honeymoon period between the White House and Trump was waning, but the phenomenon on display today goes beyond individuals. Even their apparent fallout underline the close ties that the political class and corporates are exhibiting as Musk called Trump ungrateful and even claiming that it was because of him that he won the election. It only further reveals the quid pro quo relation that has been unfolding and how any move that would disappoint Musk’s expectations is now openly being challenged in public. There is no attempt to even hide the same on their part.

The webinar examined the emergence of a neo-fascist political economy – where billionaires shape policy, public institutions are systematically weakened, and dissent is delegitimised or criminalised. Drawing comparative insights from the United States and India, it highlighted how figures such as Elon Musk and Gautam Adani exemplify a new oligarchic order sustained by deregulation, surveillance, and a global financial architecture that privileges capital over democratic accountability. Musk’s intention of opening a party of his own after the apparent fallout with White House is further symptomatic of the tendency to merge politics and business. One of the speakers underline the fact that behind the veneer of patriotism, the oligarchs are ultimately self-serving and opportunists and thats revealed by the fact that the same Musk had earlier supported Obama, Hillary and even Biden.

The conversation traced the historic complicity of private capital with authoritarian regimes from corporate support to Nazi Germany, to today’s privatised governance experiments like ‘charter cities’ and ‘freedom zones’ which outsource state functions to multinational corporations, eroding democratic oversight and sovereignty. Rather than a breakdown of liberal democracy, the speakers argued that this fusion of corporate and state power represents its transformation, and where state power is wielded to protect monopoly, suppress dissent, and silence opposition. The panelists for this webinar included Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Ladan Mehranvar, Aditya Nigam, and the discussion was moderated by Sharmita Kar.

Read and Download the report here: Time of Monsters Fascism and the Fusion of the State and the Corporation