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> or those with the resources to buy might This feels a bit like those rich survivalists who think they are going to fix bomb-collars to their bodyguards to en

> or those with the resources to buy might This feels a bit like those rich survivalists who think they are going to fix bomb-collars to their bodyguards to ensure loyalty in the apocalypse... stock certificates aren't worth a whole lot in a world where the rule of law has broken down

ygjb 2mo ago
I said resources not money. Charisma, religion and promoting hate have empowered just as many psychopaths in history as wealth.
- swiftcoder 2mo ago
  Well, right, but I'm not sure the tech elites actually own much in the way of resources in that sense. Is the Apple fandom strong enough to get Tim Cook his own private army of zealots when society breaks down?
  - danans 2mo ago
    > Is the Apple fandom strong enough to get Tim Cook his own private army of zealots when society breaks down? Society won't break down (in the chaos sense) and resources will still be allocated. Power abhors a vacuum as they say. It's just that resources and power will controlled and distributed in an openly feudal way. Technology's egalitarian objectives will be replaced by overtly oligarchic ones. Tech fandom will be replaced with other identities constructed to gain access to real resources owned and controlled by the few.
    - andsoitis 2mo ago
      > access to real resources owned and controlled by the few. What’s an example of such a real resource?
      - danans 2mo ago
        Land, housing, water, energy, food, medicines, healthcare, security, and proximity to influence. I'm sure I forgot a few.
        andsoitis 2mo ago
        > Land, housing, water, energy, food, medicines, healthcare, security, and proximity to influence. I'm sure I forgot a few. And you think the vast majority of people do not have access to the overwhelming majority of those things? The evidence suggests the opposite. The only item in your list I would agree with is "proximity to influence", but it is also the one thing that is totally different from the others in the list.
        danans 2mo ago
        > And you think the vast majority of people do not have access to the overwhelming majority of those things? The evidence suggests the opposite. The comment I responded to asked: > Is the Apple fandom strong enough to get Tim Cook his own private army of zealots when society breaks down? I didn't say we are there now. Responding to the parent's question about a dystopian future scenario, I said that those are the resources that will become controlled by the few if "society breaks down" due to technofeudalism.
      - swiftcoder 2mo ago
        Ability to purchase (legal) force. Whoever pays the Pinkertons owns the means of production.
  - j16sdiz 2mo ago
    Tim Cook might be not. One of the AI companies might. Imagine what one could do with an infinite Charisma, propaganda generating machine.
  - t-3 2mo ago
    > Is the Apple fandom strong enough to get Tim Cook his own private army of zealots when society breaks down? Not when he has to compete for them with Zombie Steve.

ygjb 2mo ago

I said resources not money. Charisma, religion and promoting hate have empowered just as many psychopaths in history as wealth.

swiftcoder 2mo ago
Well, right, but I'm not sure the tech elites actually own much in the way of resources in that sense. Is the Apple fandom strong enough to get Tim Cook his own private army of zealots when society breaks down?
- danans 2mo ago
  > Is the Apple fandom strong enough to get Tim Cook his own private army of zealots when society breaks down? Society won't break down (in the chaos sense) and resources will still be allocated. Power abhors a vacuum as they say. It's just that resources and power will controlled and distributed in an openly feudal way. Technology's egalitarian objectives will be replaced by overtly oligarchic ones. Tech fandom will be replaced with other identities constructed to gain access to real resources owned and controlled by the few.
  - andsoitis 2mo ago
    > access to real resources owned and controlled by the few. What’s an example of such a real resource?
    - danans 2mo ago
      Land, housing, water, energy, food, medicines, healthcare, security, and proximity to influence. I'm sure I forgot a few.
      - andsoitis 2mo ago
        > Land, housing, water, energy, food, medicines, healthcare, security, and proximity to influence. I'm sure I forgot a few. And you think the vast majority of people do not have access to the overwhelming majority of those things? The evidence suggests the opposite. The only item in your list I would agree with is "proximity to influence", but it is also the one thing that is totally different from the others in the list.
        danans 2mo ago
        > And you think the vast majority of people do not have access to the overwhelming majority of those things? The evidence suggests the opposite. The comment I responded to asked: > Is the Apple fandom strong enough to get Tim Cook his own private army of zealots when society breaks down? I didn't say we are there now. Responding to the parent's question about a dystopian future scenario, I said that those are the resources that will become controlled by the few if "society breaks down" due to technofeudalism.
    - swiftcoder 2mo ago
      Ability to purchase (legal) force. Whoever pays the Pinkertons owns the means of production.
- j16sdiz 2mo ago
  Tim Cook might be not. One of the AI companies might. Imagine what one could do with an infinite Charisma, propaganda generating machine.
- t-3 2mo ago
  > Is the Apple fandom strong enough to get Tim Cook his own private army of zealots when society breaks down? Not when he has to compete for them with Zombie Steve.