3 ms·

Plutocracy is to economics as inbreeding is to genetics.

by perpetualcrayon 9y ago

dredmorbius 9y ago
Howso?
- perpetualcrayon 9y ago
  If beliefs were fluid and adapted continuously and were challenged by the current state of the world I would maybe argue differently. But ask yourself this. How frequently do you change your fundamental beliefs about how the world works? How do you think the people who enjoy success beyond your wildest dreams feel about changing the system that has benefited them and their families for countless generations? On top of that, which "causes" would you decide to support? Would you choose to support a cause that disproportionately affects your family's net worth in a negative way as long as it made the rest of the world a better place to live? The fact is no one knows the precise ingredients to a healthy society or what the real solution to wealth inequality is, but only the wealthy and powerful get to steer the ship.
  - dredmorbius 9y ago
    Thanks, that clarifies and greatly improves your initial quip. I've been changing numerous of my fundamental beliefs and can report that perssonally it's been difficult, painful, and disconcerting as hell. There's a quote on enlightenment by a recent Cupertino mystic I ran across a few years back: "Make no mistake about it -- enlightenment is a destructive process. It has nothing to do with becoming better or becoming happier. Enlightenment is the crumbling away of untruth. It's seeing through the facade of pretense. It's the complete eradication of everything we imagined to be true." Slightly more: https://old.reddit.com/r/dredmorbius/comments/78lr8h/enlightenment_is_a_destructive_process/ https://old.reddit.com/r/dredmorbius/comments/78lr8h/enlight... As for human frames, world mental models, and ideologies, they seem profoundly tended to be highly self-serving, particularly of the powerful. As to the relationship of wealth and power: "Wealth, as Mr Hobbes says, is power." Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.

Plutocracy is to economics as inbreeding is to genetics.

dredmorbius 9y ago

Howso?

perpetualcrayon 9y ago
If beliefs were fluid and adapted continuously and were challenged by the current state of the world I would maybe argue differently. But ask yourself this. How frequently do you change your fundamental beliefs about how the world works? How do you think the people who enjoy success beyond your wildest dreams feel about changing the system that has benefited them and their families for countless generations? On top of that, which "causes" would you decide to support? Would you choose to support a cause that disproportionately affects your family's net worth in a negative way as long as it made the rest of the world a better place to live? The fact is no one knows the precise ingredients to a healthy society or what the real solution to wealth inequality is, but only the wealthy and powerful get to steer the ship.
- dredmorbius 9y ago
  Thanks, that clarifies and greatly improves your initial quip. I've been changing numerous of my fundamental beliefs and can report that perssonally it's been difficult, painful, and disconcerting as hell. There's a quote on enlightenment by a recent Cupertino mystic I ran across a few years back: "Make no mistake about it -- enlightenment is a destructive process. It has nothing to do with becoming better or becoming happier. Enlightenment is the crumbling away of untruth. It's seeing through the facade of pretense. It's the complete eradication of everything we imagined to be true." Slightly more: https://old.reddit.com/r/dredmorbius/comments/78lr8h/enlightenment_is_a_destructive_process/ https://old.reddit.com/r/dredmorbius/comments/78lr8h/enlight... As for human frames, world mental models, and ideologies, they seem profoundly tended to be highly self-serving, particularly of the powerful. As to the relationship of wealth and power: "Wealth, as Mr Hobbes says, is power." Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.