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"He who rests while other people work with their heads, hands, and hearts is a capitalist".
by xyzzy4 10y ago
"He who rests while other people work with their heads, hands, and hearts is a capitalist".
- dang 10y agoWe detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11669954 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11669954 and marked it off-topic.
- 0xdeadbeefbabe 10y agoOr an HN commentator.
- stoic 10y agoBack to work.
- 6stringmerc 10y agoThat quote certainly describes my view of the legacy of Steve Jobs at the cold, pragmatic core.
- zer00eyz 10y ago>Steve Jobs at the cold, pragmatic core. This is probably the best description of what we see of him that I have ever seen. Combine that with his verbal judo and one should not be shocked that he was successful. But I don't think his legacy is one of resting.
- mwfunk 10y agoJust because a CEO spends their day making high-level decisions because they are literally delegating tasks to tens of thousands of people doesn't mean that they are "resting".
- PhasmaFelis 10y agoJust don't make the mistake of thinking that it was only Steve Jobs. He just happened to be more visible than most.
- SilasX 10y agoWages of labor, interest of time, rent of land, profit of mind. (German: Löhne der Arbeit, Zinsen der Zeit, Miete des Landes, Profit des Verstandes)
- andrepd 10y agoMakes people mad, but it's true. People who rest and reap profits orders of magnitude above those who work, due only to the fact that they hold capital, are leeches on society.
- WalterBright 10y ago> are leeches on society The societies that have gotten rid of the capitalists haven't made life better for the rest.
- jackhack 10y agoI see. And when those leeches lend capital for a new startup effort that otherwise wouldn't happen... allowing a business to form, a product to develop, an industry to blossom, on an accelerated timescale, what then? Would you still brand this role a parasite? I realize that this sort of anticapitalist nonsense is currently fashionable in university, but the irony of it being spouted on ycombinator (which might have something to do with investors, after all) is really quite amusing.
- PhasmaFelis 10y ago> I see. And when those leeches lend capital for a new startup effort that otherwise wouldn't happen... allowing a business to form, a product to develop, an industry to blossom, on an accelerated timescale, what then? Would you still brand this role a parasite? How is that qualitatively different from a medieval lord who chooses to permit peasants to work his fields for their survival, in exchange for growing wealthy off the fruits of their labor? The rich graciously permitting the rest of us to share a small portion of their wealth, so that we can work to make them more wealth while incidentally keeping a bit for ourselves, is the basis for much of our society; but that doesn't mean there's no other way to do it, nor does it make them inherently virtuous. (I'm not saying they're inherently monstrous, either. Many capitalists may be well-meaning and try to use their money for good, and that is laudable. But don't pretend that the mere fact of having and investing money makes one a hero.) > I realize that this sort of anticapitalist nonsense is currently fashionable in university It's been fashionable in every place and time where abusive capitalists have existed. > but the irony of it being spouted on ycombinator (which might have something to do with investors, after all) is really quite amusing. The header up there at the top of the page says "Hacker News". It's fashionable right now to imagine that every hacker yearns for a West Coast startup and loads of venture capital, but it's not actually true.