20th March 2025
By Gertrude Kamya Othieno
Dear Readers
Karl Marx once warned *that capitalism would eventually undermine itself, not through an external enemy, but from its own internal contradictions.* He spoke of an economic system so obsessed with profit and self-preservation that it would ultimately consume itself. Today, as billionaires tighten their grip on politics and governance, it is hard to ignore how eerily accurate that prediction was.
In my *From Cradle to Grave series,* I explored how capitalism monetises every phase of human existence, from birth to death. Yet, even within that critique, I had not fully anticipated the speed and scale at which the system would abandon all pretence of democracy, handing the reins to a handful of oligarch billionaires. The latest spectacle, where governance and private wealth are merging into a seamless entity, demonstrates that capitalism is not only exploiting individuals at every stage of life but is now dismantling the very institutions meant to regulate it.
Take Elon Musk and Donald Trump, the twin pillars of modern capitalism’s absurdity. One is a tech billionaire who built his empire on government subsidies while preaching self-reliance. The other is a businessman-turned-politician who rails against elites while securing policies that benefit the wealthiest. Together, they epitomise capitalism’s final evolution: a world where governance is indistinguishable from private business, and democracy takes a back seat to corporate ambition.
Musk’s new role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is a case study in irony. A man who has spent years dismantling regulations and avoiding taxes is now expected to advise the government on efficiency. Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency Dogecoin, a joke asset Musk has repeatedly championed, soared in value following his appointment, proving that financial markets are now driven more by internet spectacle than by economic fundamentals.
Trump, ever the master of contradictions, has positioned himself as both an insider and an outsider, benefiting from corporate capitalism while presenting himself as its opponent. His policies made the ultra-rich wealthier, yet he continues to claim he fights for the ordinary citizen. What we are witnessing is not a battle between the elites and the people but a consolidation of wealth and influence at the expense of public power.
Marx predicted that capitalism would eventually reach a breaking point, a stage where inequality, unchecked power, and economic instability would make the system unsustainable. The warning signs are flashing: record-high wealth gaps, public institutions losing influence to private interests, and political systems increasingly shaped by a handful of billionaires.
The question is no longer whether capitalism’s internal contradictions will bring consequences, it is how soon, and whether ordinary people will have a say in what comes next. Musk and Trump are not outliers; they are the logical outcome of a system that rewards power with more power. *If democracy is to survive, we must stop treating their rise as an anomaly and start recognising it as a wake-up call.*
