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I'm not sure you really have a grasp of human history if you think money and force are separate things. That's only a very recent idea. If you look at historic

I'm not sure you really have a grasp of human history if you think money and force are separate things. That's only a very recent idea. If you look at historical rankings of wealth, by far the richest people were leaders of great empires. They were so wealthy that it's silly to put it in modern terms (1) & (2). Caesar Augustus controlled the entire output of Egypt which was the breadbasket of the Mediterranean world. His person wealth is estimated to be in the $5 to $10 trillion range. More recently, how rich was Stalin when he could literally do anything with an economy making up 10% of global GDP? It's even unclear how much Putin is worth with credible accusations that he recently built a $1B palace (3) and has a wealth in the $200B range. It is only our recently invented democratic institutions that enable billionaires who profit from non-violent sources. I sincerely hope you develop a sense of how important these institutions are. This is my last comment btw, I hope you feel like you've learned something. (1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wealthiest_historical_figures https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wealthiest_historical_... (2) https://www.luxuo.com/the-lux-list/super-rich/richest-people-of-all-time.html https://www.luxuo.com/the-lux-list/super-rich/richest-people... (3) https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56007943 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-56007943

WalterBright 5y ago
> how rich was Stalin Stalin didn't buy his way into power. He took power by force, then used that power to make himself rich. This is not capitalism. As I pointed out, people who take money through force are in a quite different category. > I hope you feel like you've learned something. I'm dumbfounded that you believe that Stalin, Caesar, etc., were free market capitalists gaining their wealth through running a successful business. > It is only our recently invented democratic institutions that enable billionaires who profit from non-violent sources. None have yet turned that into running the country. Note how billionaire Bloomberg's presidential campaign failed miserably. As did Ross Perot's. Rich people in America have not had much of a track record of buying themselves into office, though elected representatives have a tendency to get very rich while in office. Hmmm...

WalterBright 5y ago

> how rich was Stalin Stalin didn't buy his way into power. He took power by force, then used that power to make himself rich. This is not capitalism. As I pointed out, people who take money through force are in a quite different category. > I hope you feel like you've learned something. I'm dumbfounded that you believe that Stalin, Caesar, etc., were free market capitalists gaining their wealth through running a successful business. > It is only our recently invented democratic institutions that enable billionaires who profit from non-violent sources. None have yet turned that into running the country. Note how billionaire Bloomberg's presidential campaign failed miserably. As did Ross Perot's. Rich people in America have not had much of a track record of buying themselves into office, though elected representatives have a tendency to get very rich while in office. Hmmm...