> Nobody starts out as a superstar. The superstar is a dictator with a strong halo effect. Think of any superstar developer and look into how they achieved tha

> Nobody starts out as a superstar. The superstar is a dictator with a strong halo effect. Think of any superstar developer and look into how they achieved that status. It's almost a certainty they were left alone to their own devices for great lengths of time. Which neatly coincides with... > We also notice who's helping the team reach the next level and who's simply in it for themselves. Capitalism relies on a contradictory stance: that the best employees are actually socialists that believe they are capitalists. Which is to say that a company wants employees that believe in the greater good (i.e. the team) but the employees need to feel like they are participants in capitalism through their efforts at their job. Otherwise they will realize they are simply being screwed (and probably demand real socialism, or a seat at the big boy table of capital). Adam Smith's self-interest is an inconvenience for the company. We even talk about such people with disdainful language such as "ladder climbers" or "sociopaths". We feel cheated when we see someone get a promotion by not playing by the established rules of the commune. Which is pretty much how all promotions happen. Similarly, few people get hired by going in the front door. Businesses abhor competition. They get the government to rig their markets and carry their losses. They desire monopoly. So you have the socialist employee aspiring to be a participant in capitalism while the capitalist corporation aspires to socialism. But let's cut to the chase: what this entire topic is fundamentally about is how to make your labor more predictable. More uniform. More interchangeable. And, ultimately, replaceable. Because, if labor was treated less like cattle and more like creative, responsible, independent adults we would not be having this discussion. The discussion we are having now is about how to babysit. That's literally why management exists. To manage. Human resources. Managers don't want employees messing up the production schedule and HR doesn't want employees messing up their legal standing. In addition, managers concern themselves with threats to their job. Corporations want labor that is stupid enough to play along but smart enough to get their job done within the specified parameters. The illusion falls apart once labor realizes it and is powerless to change it (manifested as burnout, apathy, or rebellion). Then the stick comes out. The absolute worst managers I've had were in the service industry. There, the stick comes out faster because it's much harder to convince someone they are getting a fair deal making $6 an hour. We, in the IT heavens high above Metropolis, don't often feel that type of oppression. But the dynamic is the same.