5 ms·

Old rich also likely earned their wealth in a lot more unethical way.

spaceman_2020 4y ago
A lot of the old rich are just old aristocrats. Most made their fortunes through war, conquest, or plain old exploitation of their subjects. Far nastier stuff than some nerd striking it rich by making a fun app.
- markdown 4y ago
  > ... plain old exploitation > ... some nerd striking it rich by making a fun app I suppose you could call Amazon a fun app.
rayiner 4y ago
Quite the opposite. A Carnegie whose money comes from developing the American steel industry, or a Hershey whose money comes from chocolate, or the heirs of countless founders of companies that make real stuff, seems much more ethical than people today who make their money from one of the various heads of the advertising or finance hydras.
- quickthrowman 4y ago
  A counter-example is John Jacob Astor, America’s first multimillionaire, who earned his fortune smuggling opium.
  - andsoitis 4y ago
    Opium was just a part, and my understanding not the main part of how he made his fortune.
- TotoHorner 4y ago
  Are you joking? You should google the Pittsburgh steel strikes and Henry Frick. You think someone who has to shoot their workers is more ethical? It’s genuinely hilarious to see how poor HN’s grasp of history is.
  - xyzzyz 4y ago
    > You should google the Pittsburgh steel strikes and Henry Frick. You mean the guy who survived an assassination attempt by labor activists, who were running a totally illegal blockade of his business? And it’s not even like the laws have changed about it since then, their blockade strike would be totally illegal today as well.
    - TotoHorner 4y ago
      > And it’s not even like the laws have changed about it since then Let me know if it's still legal to have your workers work with highly dangerous machinery for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week (for wages that would be comparable to federal minimum wage today ~ although it's hard to find a good inflation calculator that tracks back to the 1880s). I'm sure that's totally comparable to the plight that Google/FB/Amzn employees have to put up with. Obviously I admire what he did with the Gospel of Wealth & his philanthropy, but that doesn't excuse his horrible treatment of workers. Honestly, it's just so astonishing that you can even argue in support of Henry Frick. You should read up about the Johnstown FLood and the failure of the South Fork Dam. I feel like the HN crowd just skims the wikipedia bio and uses that to craft a hilariously terrible argument.
      - xyzzyz 4y ago
        If they didn’t like the working condition, they could have striked or left, that’s not the point. What they did in fact do was to use violence to block people who did like these working condition and specifically came there to work there in their place, when they striked. Oh, and they tried to kill Frick too, don’t forget that. I am not so much arguing in support of Frick but rather against a completely dishonest narrative where he is villainized for “shooting workers”, while completely omitting the details as to what events led to that situation.
        tptacek 4y ago
        They did strike. And when they did, Fick had a private army of Pinkertons kill them.
- ergocoder 4y ago
  Worse labor law, worse justice system, worse worker right, worse compensation, worse working condition. I could go on.

spaceman_2020 4y ago

A lot of the old rich are just old aristocrats. Most made their fortunes through war, conquest, or plain old exploitation of their subjects. Far nastier stuff than some nerd striking it rich by making a fun app.

markdown 4y ago
> ... plain old exploitation > ... some nerd striking it rich by making a fun app I suppose you could call Amazon a fun app.

rayiner 4y ago

Quite the opposite. A Carnegie whose money comes from developing the American steel industry, or a Hershey whose money comes from chocolate, or the heirs of countless founders of companies that make real stuff, seems much more ethical than people today who make their money from one of the various heads of the advertising or finance hydras.

quickthrowman 4y ago
A counter-example is John Jacob Astor, America’s first multimillionaire, who earned his fortune smuggling opium.
- andsoitis 4y ago
  Opium was just a part, and my understanding not the main part of how he made his fortune.
TotoHorner 4y ago
Are you joking? You should google the Pittsburgh steel strikes and Henry Frick. You think someone who has to shoot their workers is more ethical? It’s genuinely hilarious to see how poor HN’s grasp of history is.
- xyzzyz 4y ago
  > You should google the Pittsburgh steel strikes and Henry Frick. You mean the guy who survived an assassination attempt by labor activists, who were running a totally illegal blockade of his business? And it’s not even like the laws have changed about it since then, their blockade strike would be totally illegal today as well.
  - TotoHorner 4y ago
    > And it’s not even like the laws have changed about it since then Let me know if it's still legal to have your workers work with highly dangerous machinery for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week (for wages that would be comparable to federal minimum wage today ~ although it's hard to find a good inflation calculator that tracks back to the 1880s). I'm sure that's totally comparable to the plight that Google/FB/Amzn employees have to put up with. Obviously I admire what he did with the Gospel of Wealth & his philanthropy, but that doesn't excuse his horrible treatment of workers. Honestly, it's just so astonishing that you can even argue in support of Henry Frick. You should read up about the Johnstown FLood and the failure of the South Fork Dam. I feel like the HN crowd just skims the wikipedia bio and uses that to craft a hilariously terrible argument.
    - xyzzyz 4y ago
      If they didn’t like the working condition, they could have striked or left, that’s not the point. What they did in fact do was to use violence to block people who did like these working condition and specifically came there to work there in their place, when they striked. Oh, and they tried to kill Frick too, don’t forget that. I am not so much arguing in support of Frick but rather against a completely dishonest narrative where he is villainized for “shooting workers”, while completely omitting the details as to what events led to that situation.
      - tptacek 4y ago
        They did strike. And when they did, Fick had a private army of Pinkertons kill them.
ergocoder 4y ago
Worse labor law, worse justice system, worse worker right, worse compensation, worse working condition. I could go on.