5 ms·

Marca's words: [https://a16z.com/the-techno-optimist-manifesto/ https://a16z.com/the-techno-optimist-manifesto/]

floppiplopp 3y ago
A manifesto by an idiot for idiots. The guy displays a severe lack of education and just shows what a dangerous and delusional moron he really is.
- camillomiller 3y ago
  I know this might not be a good comment by the guidelines, but I rarely have wanted to be able to give ten upvotes like in the case of this comment
- imagine99 3y ago
  That may or may not be a correct assessment but you will have a hard time convincing anyone, moronic or non-moronic, without any real arguments and counter-examples. I for one would have loved some more substance to your post...
  - SCdF 3y ago
    Have you read the article that is the subject of this thread? You could start with that
    - fastball 3y ago
      So... you too are unable to actually articulate the issues you have with it?
  - bugglebeetle 3y ago
    He uncritically cites the author of “The Fascist Manifesto” as a “patron saint.” You can safely disregard anything that does this as idiocy.
    - Acrobatic_Road 3y ago
      He is better known as the author of the Futurist Manifesto https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manifesto_of_Futurism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manifesto_of_Futurism
      - meheleventyone 3y ago
        He’s pretty famously an author of both that and the Fascist Manifesto that followed a few years later: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascist_Manifesto https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascist_Manifesto
        peteforde 3y ago
        I'd never heard of him until today. I would stand up to defend your right to read and enjoy a good book by a person that you aren't an expert in. In general, I try to start by extending the benefit of doubt. It seems like nobody here stopped to wonder if pmarca had any idea that the dude wrote the Fascist Manifesto. And if he didn't, does he still deserve to be shamed for enjoying his other work without Googling him first? What if you found out the author of the last thing you read was a fascist after the fact? Should we be mad at you? Do you Google the author of everything you read? If so, that sounds exhausting.
        bugglebeetle 3y ago
        If you call one of the fathers of fascist ideology your “patron saint,” in the context of also listing several other right wing thinkers, I think you know what you’re doing and should expect corresponding disdain.
        fastball 3y ago
        Are there no left-wing thinkers in that rather extensive list?
    - fastball 3y ago
- peteforde 3y ago
  I struggle with this because while I am with you in tone and spirit, the fact of the matter is that pmarca is incredibly intelligent. Putting his wildly successful investment firm aside, you know that he created the first widely used graphical web browser and co-founded Mozilla, right? Instead, I propose that he's been breathing different oxygen for so long that he's long since started believing his own legend. Frankly, I just don't believe that he has anyone in his life who would serve as a grounding influence, and I find this really sad. Anyhow, I jumped into the thread because I find calling someone demonstrably brilliant an "uneducated, delusional moron" might feel good but it distracts from the real discussion.
  - meheleventyone 3y ago
    You can be brilliant in some aspects and a delusional moron in others. The latter often happens when the brilliant feel their brilliance extends beyond their education.
    - peteforde 3y ago
      I didn't finish high school, and by your logic I shouldn't be able to do much more than flip burgers. I can believe that pmarca is wrong about many things, but that doesn't make him a moron. pmarca is clearly not a moron. If you have a huge problem with his opinions, writing him off as a moron is intellectually lazy and it won't advance your position.
      - meheleventyone 3y ago
        You need to read what I wrote again because I didn’t call him a moron or say that if you are uneducated you can’t be brilliant.
        peteforde 3y ago
        Not only did I read what you wrote again, I re-read the comment that you replied to... the one that clearly unambiguously calls pmarca a delusional moron. In other words, we were both replying to a comment that did indeed call him a moron.
somethoughts 3y ago
I would say having read the first page - my hot take is: This is the long form version of Think Different[1] but instead of a mass market "misfit" consumer, the primary target here is a "misfit" consumer that is a ultra high network accredited investor (a.k.a. someone who hasn't talked to a poor person in a while either). Basically a pitch to become a potential A16Z LP and join the "in" club. [1] Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do. — Steve Jobs, 1997
- barrkel 3y ago
  Note that that is ad copy written by ad execs at TBWA/Chiat/Day, not a quote by Jobs. https://www.forbes.com/sites/onmarketing/2011/12/14/the-real-story-behind-apples-think-different-campaign/?sh=808494e62abc https://www.forbes.com/sites/onmarketing/2011/12/14/the-real...
mrkeen 3y ago
I too consider myself a techno-optimist. But how do you get from "technology solves problems" to: > We believe free markets are the most effective way to organize a technological economy. > The market naturally disciplines > Markets prevent monopolies and cartels.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- pauldenton 3y ago
  Some people are just working backwards. They saw how effective a centralized state actor that gave itself emergency powers was, and became cynical of centralized planning solutions as a result. If 2007-2009 showed how Laissez faire rules doesn't work 2020-2022 showed how centralized planning expert rules doesn't work
  - thisgoesnowhere 3y ago
    > 2020-2022 showed how centralized planning expert rules doesn't work What do you mean by this?
    - kortilla 3y ago
      Likely referring to the massive amounts of free capital handed out by the federal government for specific types of businesses.
      - bugglebeetle 3y ago
        That is not central planning. It was largely just corruption.
    - pauldenton 3y ago
      The central planners got their way with covid lockdown rules. Medical privacy laws were waived because knowing someone's vaccination status was more important than their right to privacy. We saw rehab of various kinds shut down in March of 2020, be it alcoholics anonymous gamblers anonymous and so on because they were non essential, but the sale of marijuana and cigarettes in a lung based pandemic was essential so the addicts could have their fix but rehab was non-essential. We could also mention the failure of remote learning and how we will be able to detect this gap in our children's education for decades if not generations to come. The cure was worse than the disease when it came to central plannings response
JTyQZSnP3cQGa8B 3y ago
It’s full of BS like "We had a problem of starvation [and] poverty." How can he be so delusional?
neilv 3y ago
> I am here to bring the good news. > We can advance to a far superior way of living, and of being. One good first step is to end royalty/billionaires.
- fastball 3y ago
  How does one end billionaires?
  - baq 3y ago
    The best civilization came up with is a revolutionary civil war and even that doesn’t work more often than it does
  - milutinovici 3y ago
    Taxes
    - fastball 3y ago
      Billionaires pay taxes. Elon Musk paid the largest individual tax bill of all time in 2021 to the tune of $11,000,000,000.
  - kthejoker2 3y ago
    100% surtax on all wealth above 999 million, 999 thousand, 999 dollars? I can't even tell what kind of response you're looking for.
    - kortilla 3y ago
      You do know that they don’t actually have 1 billion in cash, right? So your proposal is just to take away ownership of companies from anyone successful. That’s not an equality mechanism, that’s a way to drive successful companies into the ground by the government seizing and selling them off. So seriously think about how a wealth tax would work and come back with a proposal that justifies why a company like SpaceX should be seized by the government.

A manifesto by an idiot for idiots. The guy displays a severe lack of education and just shows what a dangerous and delusional moron he really is.

camillomiller 3y ago
I know this might not be a good comment by the guidelines, but I rarely have wanted to be able to give ten upvotes like in the case of this comment
imagine99 3y ago
That may or may not be a correct assessment but you will have a hard time convincing anyone, moronic or non-moronic, without any real arguments and counter-examples. I for one would have loved some more substance to your post...
- SCdF 3y ago
  Have you read the article that is the subject of this thread? You could start with that
  - fastball 3y ago
    So... you too are unable to actually articulate the issues you have with it?
- bugglebeetle 3y ago
  He uncritically cites the author of “The Fascist Manifesto” as a “patron saint.” You can safely disregard anything that does this as idiocy.
  - Acrobatic_Road 3y ago
    He is better known as the author of the Futurist Manifesto https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manifesto_of_Futurism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manifesto_of_Futurism
    - meheleventyone 3y ago
      He’s pretty famously an author of both that and the Fascist Manifesto that followed a few years later: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascist_Manifesto https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascist_Manifesto
      - peteforde 3y ago
        I'd never heard of him until today. I would stand up to defend your right to read and enjoy a good book by a person that you aren't an expert in. In general, I try to start by extending the benefit of doubt. It seems like nobody here stopped to wonder if pmarca had any idea that the dude wrote the Fascist Manifesto. And if he didn't, does he still deserve to be shamed for enjoying his other work without Googling him first? What if you found out the author of the last thing you read was a fascist after the fact? Should we be mad at you? Do you Google the author of everything you read? If so, that sounds exhausting.
        bugglebeetle 3y ago
        If you call one of the fathers of fascist ideology your “patron saint,” in the context of also listing several other right wing thinkers, I think you know what you’re doing and should expect corresponding disdain.
        fastball 3y ago
        Are there no left-wing thinkers in that rather extensive list?
  - fastball 3y ago
peteforde 3y ago
I struggle with this because while I am with you in tone and spirit, the fact of the matter is that pmarca is incredibly intelligent. Putting his wildly successful investment firm aside, you know that he created the first widely used graphical web browser and co-founded Mozilla, right? Instead, I propose that he's been breathing different oxygen for so long that he's long since started believing his own legend. Frankly, I just don't believe that he has anyone in his life who would serve as a grounding influence, and I find this really sad. Anyhow, I jumped into the thread because I find calling someone demonstrably brilliant an "uneducated, delusional moron" might feel good but it distracts from the real discussion.
- meheleventyone 3y ago
  You can be brilliant in some aspects and a delusional moron in others. The latter often happens when the brilliant feel their brilliance extends beyond their education.
  - peteforde 3y ago
    I didn't finish high school, and by your logic I shouldn't be able to do much more than flip burgers. I can believe that pmarca is wrong about many things, but that doesn't make him a moron. pmarca is clearly not a moron. If you have a huge problem with his opinions, writing him off as a moron is intellectually lazy and it won't advance your position.
    - meheleventyone 3y ago
      You need to read what I wrote again because I didn’t call him a moron or say that if you are uneducated you can’t be brilliant.
      - peteforde 3y ago
        Not only did I read what you wrote again, I re-read the comment that you replied to... the one that clearly unambiguously calls pmarca a delusional moron. In other words, we were both replying to a comment that did indeed call him a moron.

somethoughts 3y ago

I would say having read the first page - my hot take is: This is the long form version of Think Different[1] but instead of a mass market "misfit" consumer, the primary target here is a "misfit" consumer that is a ultra high network accredited investor (a.k.a. someone who hasn't talked to a poor person in a while either). Basically a pitch to become a potential A16Z LP and join the "in" club. [1] Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do. — Steve Jobs, 1997

barrkel 3y ago
Note that that is ad copy written by ad execs at TBWA/Chiat/Day, not a quote by Jobs. https://www.forbes.com/sites/onmarketing/2011/12/14/the-real-story-behind-apples-think-different-campaign/?sh=808494e62abc https://www.forbes.com/sites/onmarketing/2011/12/14/the-real...

mrkeen 3y ago

I too consider myself a techno-optimist. But how do you get from "technology solves problems" to: > We believe free markets are the most effective way to organize a technological economy. > The market naturally disciplines > Markets prevent monopolies and cartels.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
pauldenton 3y ago
Some people are just working backwards. They saw how effective a centralized state actor that gave itself emergency powers was, and became cynical of centralized planning solutions as a result. If 2007-2009 showed how Laissez faire rules doesn't work 2020-2022 showed how centralized planning expert rules doesn't work
- thisgoesnowhere 3y ago
  > 2020-2022 showed how centralized planning expert rules doesn't work What do you mean by this?
  - kortilla 3y ago
    Likely referring to the massive amounts of free capital handed out by the federal government for specific types of businesses.
    - bugglebeetle 3y ago
      That is not central planning. It was largely just corruption.
  - pauldenton 3y ago
    The central planners got their way with covid lockdown rules. Medical privacy laws were waived because knowing someone's vaccination status was more important than their right to privacy. We saw rehab of various kinds shut down in March of 2020, be it alcoholics anonymous gamblers anonymous and so on because they were non essential, but the sale of marijuana and cigarettes in a lung based pandemic was essential so the addicts could have their fix but rehab was non-essential. We could also mention the failure of remote learning and how we will be able to detect this gap in our children's education for decades if not generations to come. The cure was worse than the disease when it came to central plannings response

JTyQZSnP3cQGa8B 3y ago

It’s full of BS like "We had a problem of starvation [and] poverty." How can he be so delusional?

neilv 3y ago

> I am here to bring the good news. > We can advance to a far superior way of living, and of being. One good first step is to end royalty/billionaires.

fastball 3y ago
How does one end billionaires?
- baq 3y ago
  The best civilization came up with is a revolutionary civil war and even that doesn’t work more often than it does
- milutinovici 3y ago
  Taxes
  - fastball 3y ago
    Billionaires pay taxes. Elon Musk paid the largest individual tax bill of all time in 2021 to the tune of $11,000,000,000.
- kthejoker2 3y ago
  100% surtax on all wealth above 999 million, 999 thousand, 999 dollars? I can't even tell what kind of response you're looking for.
  - kortilla 3y ago
    You do know that they don’t actually have 1 billion in cash, right? So your proposal is just to take away ownership of companies from anyone successful. That’s not an equality mechanism, that’s a way to drive successful companies into the ground by the government seizing and selling them off. So seriously think about how a wealth tax would work and come back with a proposal that justifies why a company like SpaceX should be seized by the government.