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I have another theory. I'd argue more people are getting attention/becoming famous because of monetary success, i.e. being rich (and I don't have a good theory

I have another theory. I'd argue more people are getting attention/becoming famous because of monetary success, i.e. being rich (and I don't have a good theory why that is). The assholes/jerks aspire much more for attention and thus are much more visible. The ease of getting attention nowadays also plays a significant role.

thwayunion 4y ago
I think it's something else. After all, people with large amounts of capital having attention and power is not new; the world's dominant economic and political system has been grounded in an ideology of capital for at least half a century, and in the Anglo world far longer.
- WalterBright 4y ago
  > the world's dominant economic and political system has been grounded in an ideology of capital for at least half a century As opposed to what less dominant but still significant systems?
  - thwayunion 4y ago
    > As opposed to what less dominant but still significant systems? The cold war ended roughly half a century ago; I'm rounding. (To be clear: no love lost for the soviet system, but "an ideology of capital" it decidedly wasn't.)
    - WalterBright 4y ago
      The USSR's economy still revolved around money and allocating money. It was just the government allocating it rather than individuals.
      - varjag 4y ago
        And in our Soviet passports we all had "No True Scotsmen" under "nationality".
      - nine_k 4y ago
        If you read more about (post-war) Soviet economy, you'll notice how money's role was secondary, and what was really important in the industry was access to goods that were in short supply (that is, nearly all of them), and various "limits" of access which the government set. Also, corporate lobbyists were a thing, and played a major role in getting access to these limited goods, getting them on time, and raising the "limits". As some researches pointed out, the Cold War-era Soviet system was an "administrative market".
        WalterBright 4y ago
        It still operated on money. The Soviet system did not obviate money in any way. The reason the gulags existed was so the government could get cheap forced labor. That means it was about money.
    - darkerside 4y ago
      Then you shouldn't say "at least" half a century. You're scraping unearned points there.

thwayunion 4y ago

I think it's something else. After all, people with large amounts of capital having attention and power is not new; the world's dominant economic and political system has been grounded in an ideology of capital for at least half a century, and in the Anglo world far longer.

WalterBright 4y ago
> the world's dominant economic and political system has been grounded in an ideology of capital for at least half a century As opposed to what less dominant but still significant systems?
- thwayunion 4y ago
  > As opposed to what less dominant but still significant systems? The cold war ended roughly half a century ago; I'm rounding. (To be clear: no love lost for the soviet system, but "an ideology of capital" it decidedly wasn't.)
  - WalterBright 4y ago
    The USSR's economy still revolved around money and allocating money. It was just the government allocating it rather than individuals.
    - varjag 4y ago
      And in our Soviet passports we all had "No True Scotsmen" under "nationality".
    - nine_k 4y ago
      If you read more about (post-war) Soviet economy, you'll notice how money's role was secondary, and what was really important in the industry was access to goods that were in short supply (that is, nearly all of them), and various "limits" of access which the government set. Also, corporate lobbyists were a thing, and played a major role in getting access to these limited goods, getting them on time, and raising the "limits". As some researches pointed out, the Cold War-era Soviet system was an "administrative market".
      - WalterBright 4y ago
        It still operated on money. The Soviet system did not obviate money in any way. The reason the gulags existed was so the government could get cheap forced labor. That means it was about money.
  - darkerside 4y ago
    Then you shouldn't say "at least" half a century. You're scraping unearned points there.