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"Note that owning land is a great zero sum way to get rich. If the Duke of Westminster owns half of London, and isn't interested in selling it, you can't invest
by sjellis 9y ago
"Note that owning land is a great zero sum way to get rich. If the Duke of Westminster owns half of London, and isn't interested in selling it, you can't invest there."
This is the point: an aristocracy is a closed shop. The article points out that land and titles can be bought, thus getting a few people and their descendents in, but it is still a system that is designed to exclude the merely capable. Schools like Eton, the London clubs and the House of Lords seats exist to create near-automatic privileges for the lucky few who were born into the "right" families.
- Boothroid 9y agoExactly, and the nation suffers as a result of the elevation of mediocrities to positions of power.
- ZeroGravitas 9y agoThere's a similar argument to be made about monopolistic corporations. The money that Bill Gates made (and later gave some of to charity) isn't the real problem, it's the multiples of that which he destroyed via economic inefficiency or the crushing of other smaller entrepreneurs. Similarly, aristocrats who are not the absolute riches people on the planet, could still have torched Trillions in value by playing silly games to keep them on the top of the heap.