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There are millions of corrupt people upholding this corrupt 'state'. Not a few billionaires or corrupt politicians. Probably 75% of the population have snouts buried deep in the corruption.
The Real Scale of the Problem
Look, it's not just a handful of billionaires or crooked politicians running a corrupt system. Millions of everyday people prop it up. I'd estimate 75% of the population has their snout buried deep in the trough. That's the uncomfortable truth we're dodging.
Elon Musk keeps saying jobs might become optional in the future. Here's the thing: we're already mostly there.
The Private Sector Waste Machine
In big corporations—the largest employers—tons of roles do nothing useful. Think endless admin busywork or layers of mid-level managers who mostly slow everything down and hurt the very companies paying them.
Then you've got the classic barrier-to-entry scams: lawyers, solicitors, regulators, licensing bodies, NGOs, charities, you name it. Many exist mainly to extract fees and create make-work.
Don't forget the media outfits churning out fake news to keep the whole systemic grift humming along.
The Public Sector Is Even More Obvious
Bureaucrats block progress while branding themselves progressives—all at eye-watering expense.
Healthcare overflows with management layers gaming benefits, plus plenty of doctors and nurses riding the same wave.
Security forces? They collect salaries far more reliably than they deliver actual security to citizens.
Add it all up.
Only a small slice of jobs actually keeps society running properly. Most employment subtracts value from the economy rather than adding any. If we fired everyone in those useless roles tomorrow, the economy would surge and real progress would finally reach the people who actually want to work for a living.
But is the public sector really any different to the private sector in this context? Isn’t it that there is a state, made up from 2 parts: the public sector and the private sector. Or, there is a private state and a public state.
However you choose to imagine the world, both are destroying wealth by adding friction. Both would be more productive if they were paid their full salary and forbidden from doing their "job" as a bare minimum policy.
Only About 25% Really Matter
The truly necessary roles—whether employed or self-employed—probably make up roughly 25% of today's workforce. Shrinking things down that far would skyrocket productivity and efficiency.
Yes, that also means a 75% drop in the tax base—the money politicians swear we need to “run the nation.” But that's another lie. Most of that tax revenue already gets funneled straight into paying the people we'd just let go. It washes out in the end.
So… 75% Unemployed?
At first glance, you'd end up with 75% of people without jobs. But that's only if we refuse to see the world differently.
Once we strip away all that waste, the incentive to actually work for a living shoots through the roof. Wages would climb far above any welfare payment could match.
The only folks left without work would be those able but unwilling to earn. At that point, couldn't we just let friends and family handle their support? They clearly wouldn't need the state anymore.
Yes, there will always be about 1% who are willing to work but are unable to, due to an unfortunate handicap of any kind. Would that be so hard and costly for the state to fund and administer? But not 75%! And would it not be a grand act of honour for the nation to do it, finally?
The State Is the Ultimate Grift
Here's the core issue: the state itself operates as one giant, legalized money-laundering operation. Millions of people—at every level—scrounge benefits and pocket the profits. It's not some tiny cabal of ultra-wealthy pulling strings from the shadows, no matter how loudly the scroungers point fingers to deflect guilt.
Let me say it again, because it bears repeating: There are millions of corrupt people upholding this corrupt “state.” Not a few billionaires or crooked politicians. Probably 75% of the population has their snout buried deep in corruption. What else could explain it?
Musk Is Playing Catch-Up
So yeah, Elon is a bit late to this realisation—though I doubt he was racing to figure it out first. The reality is we already live in a world of abundant wealth. Hardly anyone truly needs a job to survive.
That doesn't mean nobody should work. It means whether we want fewer jobs or simply more effective ones, there's already way more wealth to go around.
But if we don't fix the problem of unjust distribution—where the people who actually create wealth don't get to keep what they've earned—nothing fundamental will change.
Elon still needs to grasp this point. Otherwise it'll chase him all the way out to Mars.
Quick Note on “Unjust Distribution”
Just to be crystal clear: unjust distribution means those who create wealth don't get to keep it—for whatever reason. It has nothing to do with equity or equality. We're talking straight-up justice in who keeps what they produce.
And this justice in the distribution includes the entrepreneur too who presently is ripped off by the state. They employ both their own capital AND their labour. But rarely get to see all of it.
Equality and equity belong to personal relationships—friends, family, communities—not the state. History proves the state has never delivered them. In fact, it reliably makes distribution less just than if it had simply stayed out of the way.