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Techno(Politico) King To be or not to be, that’s a DOGE-y question!

Writer's picture: Reji MathewReji Mathew

In Hamlet, Shakespeare’s brooding Danish prince ponders one of the most profound questions of all time:

“To be, or not to be—that is the question.



Let's time travel a bit here.

 

From village kingsmen,town squares to newspapers, radio and then TV with charismatic news anchors, we have always had state owned mechanisms to deliver news. Then cable TV with private news channels made an appearance and now of course we have social media where anchors are competing with some very popular citizen journalist for latest news! Like most other things today, we are spoilt for choice when it comes to sources of news too! Has this led to polarity? Of course it has, then again we have community news that corrects that!

 

Now the news delivering kingsmen are becoming kingmakers and may be even kings! I would definitely be happy to see Elon Musk become King (aka POTUS). Maybe the next few years DOGE will develop him beyond Silicon Valley eccentricities to political corridors on how political ideologies work unlike tech ventures. This stint might groom him to be a statesman and become a Techno-Politico King or he will be who he is and disrupt politics forever. In 2024-25 after supporting Trump, he could have gone back to managing his multiple ventures. Instead, he decided to plunge further into politics than just be a Kingsman through X.

 

“To be, or not to be—that is the question” It’s a line steeped in tragedy and indecision, as Hamlet wrestles with his fate, contemplating life and death, action and inaction. Written in 1601, it reflects the timeless human struggle to decide between opposing forces—existence or oblivion, persistence or surrender, reform or ruin.

 

Now, in 2025, this same question haunts us again. Not in a crumbling Danish castle but in sleek boardrooms of Silicon Valley and the turbulent corridors of Washington, D.C. At the centre of this modern drama stands DOGE, a controversial new initiative led by Elon Musk—the tech world’s Meme King , with a team of Big Ball(er)s who takes it is seriously to come across unserious. Musk even through his sense of humour is pushing human existence, persistence and reform beyond the realms of what we can imagine.

 

What is DOGE?

 

Depending on who you ask, it’s either the future of efficient and probably decentralized governance or a its designed to change the very foundations of what we believe is democracy.

 

TO BE or not to be

 

The first words, “to be,” suggests movement—towards something new and bold. DOGE promises exactly that: governance model to bring more efficiency. It's about bringing in efficiency and bypassing the bureaucracy.

 

If DOGE succeeds, it could redefine what it means to govern, making democracy more direct, agile, and responsive while eliminating bureaucratic wasteful spending. Imagine a world where your vote on critical policy issues happens in seconds, verified on a blockchain network, with no need for politicians to mediate your decisions.

 

DOGE isn’t about playing by the rules—it’s about rewriting them. Like Hamlet, Musk stands on the edge of tradition and innovation, rejecting the old ways in favor of something radically new.

 

DOGE argues that the current political system is broken—riddled with corruption, inefficiency, and special interests. Technology, they say, can fix all of that. No more partisan gridlock. No more endless bureaucracy. Decisions will be fast, transparent, and backed by data.

 

With DOGE, we stand at a crossroads: Do we embrace a future of algorithmic governance, or do we resist and preserve the democratic traditions that have (mostly and inefficiently) served us for centuries?

 

Will democracy become something entirely new, molded by DOGE and the tech titans who champion it? Or will it resist and find a way to coexist with this disruptive force?

 

 Can democracy exist without debate, messiness, and human touch?

 

to be or NOT TO BE

 

Shakespeare’s timeless question—"To be or not to be"—captures the essence of today’s political crossroads. As technology reshapes every aspect of society, we must confront the hard questions of power & control.

 

Will governance dissolve into a tech-driven experiment where algorithms and influencers replace elected officials? Elon Musk insists that DOGE is the next step in being—a digital society governed by logic and efficiency.

 

Critics warn, we might just be building an oligarchy with a digital skin—a world where the few who control the tech infrastructure control everything.DOGE’s promise could easily become its greatest irony. In a world where everything is digital, the ones who control the network control reality itself.

 

What if this new system erodes the very foundations it seeks to rebuild? 

 

to be or not to be that's THE QUESTION

 

DOGE isn’t the first time Musk has tried to shake the system. He transformed the automotive industry with Tesla, redefined space exploration with SpaceX, and liberalised Media with  X , where now you are the Media. DOGE is simply his next act of defiance—a refusal to accept that governance must remain stuck in centuries-old practices.

 

I have a different perspective. Though like I said, I would be thrilled to see Musk more in political spectrum, but I think he has done what he needed to do- the Disruption in Governance and he should play a more mentoring role for DOGE in a year from now and then fix the real QUESTION that’s within his ability to execute fairly quickly.

 

The Question is NEWS and Media as a whole. News is not just important for entertainment and business but it’s the core of politics and DOGE itself.

 

Social Media is becoming pointless; one big world orgy without any climax. We are reading and commenting on world politics which doesn't even concern us; look at me, even I am writing about Elon instead of writing and focussing on things closer to my city, my town.  

 

X as a business model can do amazing by going local and that will bring more efficiency so All DOGEs and MAGAs and MEGAs or MIGAs that Musk can envision.

 

Let us name this idea that I have: Townsquare X - build on the concept of pin code.

 

Each pin code is a Townsquare-X, so it becomes that Town and X, for eg : Richmond-X

 

Now you may ask Why not a city, but rather a pincode. Because most of our real impact we can make by being online is quite literally within our 5 km radius.

 

Users can access two channels- One is X for global news and events as it is now other its TownSquare X- (town)

 

It’s like our old days when we used to have our local cable news and international news. This brings a lot of efficiency in the DOGE concept at a town level which then can bring overall efficiency in not only governance but human life itself.

 

On the business side of things for X , Ad revenues may brilliantly increase at a micro level, and trust Musk to build this mechanism on a lean model. Local Shopping, the Everything X App, local news, local events! Will compliment Musk’s original plan for X to be one stop app for everything- including politics and administration, who knows future of voting will be on X platform.

 

Let's say once Townsquare X reaches 1000+ members, they can elect a Townsquare X Digital mayor who will be appointed based on X polling mechanism. Very Utopian right? I am sure people who get the drift will understand where this is heading. A perfect world of One Government and One Currency and UBIs and that whole utopian life. What is best for the world is best found out as it evolves and not to pre determine it.

 

Without over imagining it - just a TownSquare X will bring lot more efficiencies to Local Administration and even to human lives which seems to be moving fast towards Doom Scrolling information that’s not needed.

 

Power is a fleeting force, and history has repeatedly shown how even the mightiest figures can fall once they become intoxicated by it. Napoleon Bonaparte, after early successes, believed he was invincible, only to meet his downfall in the freezing plains of Russia and exile to a lonely island. Julius Caesar, too, rose to absolute power, transforming the Roman Republic into a dictatorship—until betrayal struck in the Senate. Those who pursue it relentlessly often fall victim to their own ambition and overreach.

 

 Elon Musk, a visionary and disruptor, may perhaps tread carefully as he steps into political territory. The world doesn’t need another fallen emperor—it needs a TechnoKing who can build lasting infrastructure, advance humanity without becoming ensnared by the allure of unchecked power.

 

Occupy Mars? Maybe that’s the Question :)

 
 
 

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