3 ms·

Here's what I don't understand. Let's say you're a selfish multi-billionaire, essentially having won at life, and now you want more. Essentially the only things

by feoren 2y ago

Here's what I don't understand. Let's say you're a selfish multi-billionaire, essentially having won at life, and now you want more. Essentially the only things your money can't buy you are long life, health (both physical and mental), and perhaps the ability to explore places humans have never ventured and create things humans have never created. If you want any chance at these things, wouldn't you want to encourage as much scientific innovation as possible? Steve Jobs died at 56 of pancreatic cancer. Wouldn't these people want science to advance as fast as possible, before they too get cancer, or at least die of some age-related disease that science might otherwise have been able to cure? Why is the billionaire class so dead-set on tearing down scientific institutions? It makes no sense even if you assume they're selfish assholes. It only makes sense if they are extremely stupid selfish assholes who are so blinded by their own evilness that they are cannibalizing their own futures for the fleeting sensation of their societal rank going up (due to them tearing down the rest of society around them). Is that really the explanation? I've never believed in purely evil cartoon villains before, but I just don't see any other explanation anymore.

davesque 2y ago
I think it's because science, knowledge, and truth are the great equalizers. In the limit, they put everyone on an equal playing field, which would also eliminate the advantage of wealth.
- sebazzz 2y ago
  True long-term thinking.
makeitdouble 2y ago
Power. That's what you do if you want power. Edit: For those in doubt, a parallel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Leap_Forward https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Leap_Forward > The Great Leap Forward stemmed from multiple factors, including "the purge of intellectuals, the surge of less-educated radicals
- mindslight 2y ago
  Given the movement is based around returning to some imagined idyllic time with simpler problems that we've already figured out how to solve, perhaps we should call it the Great Leap Backwards?
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
alfor 2y ago
[flagged]
fzeroracer 2y ago
I think there's actually a really simple answer: They're bored [1]. You're right in that they have so much money that they could do literally anything they want, but none of that is exciting. Tearing down institutions, making yourself King, having the masses lavish you with praise and worship. That's all stuff that's exciting, and why wouldn't they do that? They got all this money and wealth thanks to their own hard work, so they know how to best drive the car so to speak. Essentially what we've done is allowed excessive amounts of wealth to pool in the hands of bored, malignant narcissists that are now leveraging it to play a real world game. What's going on in the US is I think a unique brand of oligarchy, because the oligarch classes in other countries were concerned with preserving power and wealth. But the oligarchs we have at home are not smart enough to preserve power nor do they really care. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/25/tech-right-trump-inauguration https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/25/tech-righ...
- throwway120385 2y ago
  If they keep this up they might find themselves in an entirely different pool.
mandevil 2y ago
"What matter where, if I be still the same, And what I should be, all but less than he Whom thunder hath made greater? Here at least We shall be free: th’Almighty hath not built Here for his envy, will not drive us hence: Here we may reign secure, and in my choice To reign is worth ambition, though in hell; Better to reign in hell than serve in heav’n." - Paradise Lost, Book 1, by John Milton Some of us engineers were paying attention in English class.
9x39 2y ago
>Wouldn't these people want science to advance as fast as possible, The Trump admin (lump the aligned billionaire players in) links some of this research to patronage networks of their opponents. Here's an example of their claim: https://x.com/NIH/status/1888004759396958263 https://x.com/NIH/status/1888004759396958263 If you're asking what their target is, I think it's the money networks. Whether they are going to achieve their aim is debatable.
- sirbutters 2y ago
  https://xcancel.com/NIH/status/1888004759396958263 https://xcancel.com/NIH/status/1888004759396958263 Let's not contribute to xitter.
- mindslight 2y ago
  This resonates, as the only thing they see the world in terms of is "patronage networks". In their mind there isn't some larger purpose to funding scientific research, it's just money supporting the "liberal conspiracy" (ie any institution that won't ask "how high" while smiling when they bark "jump") Stepping up a level, it's not because they see a larger playing field and have some reason to want to change the system. It's because they're small minded people who literally don't understand what they're butchering and chopping down to their own level. Now, I don't think they were always like this. Musk definitely accomplished things through his companies, and Trump hasn't always talked like a senile old man waiting for a ride from the police station. It seems that they've been made small minded by crippling social media addictions, going in spirals of ever-smaller numbers of ever-more "enthusiastic" followers that lap up the lamest low-effort reactionary takes.
nine_zeros 2y ago
> Why is the billionaire class so dead-set on tearing down scientific institutions? Because they are mentally ill. They need more because that's who they are. And at this point in time, their biggest risk is not being able to get their desired 7% return yoy. They can't get it via innovation because they are not innovative. They can't get it via fed printing money. They can't get it via general investment. They can get it by exploitation or by robbing/scamming. See Trump coin or buying elections. And no, they are not interested in making the world a better place. Their sickness wants just more more and more for themselves.
throwway120385 2y ago
One of the things I learned from those leaked messages the other day is that the people pushing these ideas publicly actually seem to believe them, because even when they're around other people who might be in on the "con" they're still loudly pushing the same ideas. So yeah, I definitely believe the leaders that are on-board with this are just really stupid. It doesn't take a ton of intelligence to make a ton of money. You just have to be persistent and you have to get good opportunities, which are largely luck of the draw.
- spacemadness 2y ago
  Being born into money also certainly helps. It's one of the seeds of inequality.
ashoeafoot 2y ago
because humanity got a secret revaluation and was deemed to retarded under economic stress to keep its most dangerous tools?
card_zero 2y ago
Isn't it ideological? I see no mystery. Presumably it's because climate scientists sway opinion against fossil fuel, and humanities academics promote leftist concerns. It's not an intentional attack on future cancer treatment.
roenxi 2y ago
The obvious answer is they can support anything they care about directly. The relationship a selfish multi-billionaire has with the government is ideally that said government takes a huge amount of money from them, then spends it much less efficiently than they would on things Mr. billions doesn't think are the highest priority targets to fund.
pjmorris 2y ago
"Poor man wanna be rich Rich man wanna be king And a king ain't satisfied 'Til he rules everything" - 'Badlands', Bruce Springsteen
__MatrixMan__ 2y ago
Evidence based policies are toxic to economic growth. I say so much the worse for economics, but some say so much the worse for evidence.

by feoren 2y ago

davesque 2y ago

I think it's because science, knowledge, and truth are the great equalizers. In the limit, they put everyone on an equal playing field, which would also eliminate the advantage of wealth.

sebazzz 2y ago
True long-term thinking.

makeitdouble 2y ago

Power. That's what you do if you want power. Edit: For those in doubt, a parallel: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Leap_Forward https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Leap_Forward > The Great Leap Forward stemmed from multiple factors, including "the purge of intellectuals, the surge of less-educated radicals

mindslight 2y ago
Given the movement is based around returning to some imagined idyllic time with simpler problems that we've already figured out how to solve, perhaps we should call it the Great Leap Backwards?

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

alfor 2y ago

[flagged]

fzeroracer 2y ago

I think there's actually a really simple answer: They're bored [1]. You're right in that they have so much money that they could do literally anything they want, but none of that is exciting. Tearing down institutions, making yourself King, having the masses lavish you with praise and worship. That's all stuff that's exciting, and why wouldn't they do that? They got all this money and wealth thanks to their own hard work, so they know how to best drive the car so to speak. Essentially what we've done is allowed excessive amounts of wealth to pool in the hands of bored, malignant narcissists that are now leveraging it to play a real world game. What's going on in the US is I think a unique brand of oligarchy, because the oligarch classes in other countries were concerned with preserving power and wealth. But the oligarchs we have at home are not smart enough to preserve power nor do they really care. [1] https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/25/tech-right-trump-inauguration https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/25/tech-righ...

throwway120385 2y ago
If they keep this up they might find themselves in an entirely different pool.

mandevil 2y ago

"What matter where, if I be still the same, And what I should be, all but less than he Whom thunder hath made greater? Here at least We shall be free: th’Almighty hath not built Here for his envy, will not drive us hence: Here we may reign secure, and in my choice To reign is worth ambition, though in hell; Better to reign in hell than serve in heav’n." - Paradise Lost, Book 1, by John Milton Some of us engineers were paying attention in English class.

9x39 2y ago

>Wouldn't these people want science to advance as fast as possible, The Trump admin (lump the aligned billionaire players in) links some of this research to patronage networks of their opponents. Here's an example of their claim: https://x.com/NIH/status/1888004759396958263 https://x.com/NIH/status/1888004759396958263 If you're asking what their target is, I think it's the money networks. Whether they are going to achieve their aim is debatable.

sirbutters 2y ago
https://xcancel.com/NIH/status/1888004759396958263 https://xcancel.com/NIH/status/1888004759396958263 Let's not contribute to xitter.
mindslight 2y ago
This resonates, as the only thing they see the world in terms of is "patronage networks". In their mind there isn't some larger purpose to funding scientific research, it's just money supporting the "liberal conspiracy" (ie any institution that won't ask "how high" while smiling when they bark "jump") Stepping up a level, it's not because they see a larger playing field and have some reason to want to change the system. It's because they're small minded people who literally don't understand what they're butchering and chopping down to their own level. Now, I don't think they were always like this. Musk definitely accomplished things through his companies, and Trump hasn't always talked like a senile old man waiting for a ride from the police station. It seems that they've been made small minded by crippling social media addictions, going in spirals of ever-smaller numbers of ever-more "enthusiastic" followers that lap up the lamest low-effort reactionary takes.

nine_zeros 2y ago

> Why is the billionaire class so dead-set on tearing down scientific institutions? Because they are mentally ill. They need more because that's who they are. And at this point in time, their biggest risk is not being able to get their desired 7% return yoy. They can't get it via innovation because they are not innovative. They can't get it via fed printing money. They can't get it via general investment. They can get it by exploitation or by robbing/scamming. See Trump coin or buying elections. And no, they are not interested in making the world a better place. Their sickness wants just more more and more for themselves.

throwway120385 2y ago

One of the things I learned from those leaked messages the other day is that the people pushing these ideas publicly actually seem to believe them, because even when they're around other people who might be in on the "con" they're still loudly pushing the same ideas. So yeah, I definitely believe the leaders that are on-board with this are just really stupid. It doesn't take a ton of intelligence to make a ton of money. You just have to be persistent and you have to get good opportunities, which are largely luck of the draw.

spacemadness 2y ago
Being born into money also certainly helps. It's one of the seeds of inequality.

ashoeafoot 2y ago

because humanity got a secret revaluation and was deemed to retarded under economic stress to keep its most dangerous tools?

card_zero 2y ago

Isn't it ideological? I see no mystery. Presumably it's because climate scientists sway opinion against fossil fuel, and humanities academics promote leftist concerns. It's not an intentional attack on future cancer treatment.

roenxi 2y ago

The obvious answer is they can support anything they care about directly. The relationship a selfish multi-billionaire has with the government is ideally that said government takes a huge amount of money from them, then spends it much less efficiently than they would on things Mr. billions doesn't think are the highest priority targets to fund.

pjmorris 2y ago

"Poor man wanna be rich Rich man wanna be king And a king ain't satisfied 'Til he rules everything" - 'Badlands', Bruce Springsteen

__MatrixMan__ 2y ago

Evidence based policies are toxic to economic growth. I say so much the worse for economics, but some say so much the worse for evidence.