11 ms·

How To Make Trillions Of Dollars

237 points by dreadsword 14y ago

pippy 14y ago
I loved everything about this post. Very enlightening
- rbn 14y ago
  I didn't. Its a person with too many first world problems and a dash of conspiracy theories. ( high level marketers created the world we live in...ect)
  - adamcadaver 14y ago
    +1 We live in a consumption economy, this is hardly a groundbreaking realisation.
  - grecy 14y ago
    > dash of conspiracy theories. It doesn't matter if it's a conspiracy or not, the fact is it's a reality of the world we live in. Acknowledgement of a problem is the first step to fixing it, or at the very least minimizing it's impact.
    - jacques_chester 14y ago
      The conspiracy theory is central to the larger theory. If you believe that the world we live in has one, or a few, central intelligences directing how it has unfolded, then it's relatively easily changed. Find those people, usurp their levers of power. If it's bullshit and nobody anywhere has that kind of influence, then it's impossible to usurp the Secret Masters and use their mechanism. So. Yeah. It matters to the argument if there's a conspiracy.
      - nacker 14y ago
        > it's relatively easily changed. Find those people, usurp their levers of power. If it's so easy, could you please do us all a favor and usurp the levers of power of the Rothschilds, the Rockefellers, and Goldman-Sachs to start with? Waiting patiently, thanks!
        jacques_chester 14y ago
        If it's unclear, I am not a supporter of the Secret Masters interpretation of history or modern society.
      - grecy 14y ago
        > It matters to the argument if there's a conspiracy. I don't believe it does. Taking the dot-points as fact (People work almost all the time, etc.), which I believe they are, then we accept that as the reality of our world, and we can make a choice to do something about it as individuals (i.e. stop buying stuff), or not (i.e. keep buying stuff). For an individual to make that choice and take action, it makes no difference why that is the current reality of our world. It only matters that it is. We don't need to usurp any powers from anybody (real or imagined), or use any kind of mechanism as you suggest, we just need to change our actions as individuals (if we decide we're not happy with the way things are) or keep doing what we're doing (if we're fine with the way things are)
  - mikekij 14y ago
    While there may not be individuals out here masterminding the system the way the author describes, there are definitely people that know they are benefiting from our collective addition to consumption.
  - dag11 14y ago
    > (high level marketers created the world we live in...ect) But... they did. That's the entire idea behind marketing and consumerism. They're paid to make us need a certain product or service. It's not paranoia.
    - rbn 14y ago
      God Complex. It's impossible to narrow down the cause of today's complex society to the work of marketers.
  - mynameishere 14y ago
    Yep, strictly college freshman dorm room BS. The reality is, everybody working and consuming so hard makes it fairly easy for the occasional rebel to disengage, given the massive productivity of society overall. So quit complaining.
geuis 14y ago
The author makes a good introduction and really gets to the point about halfway through. Should have ended there. The rest is just repetitive.
- anthonyb 14y ago
  I disagree. The first half explains the situation, the second half gives you options as far as dealing with it.
  - waqf 14y ago
    But the "explaining the situation" is a striking exposition of a relatively original perspective, whereas the "options for dealing with it" are the same shtick we read every week here on HN.
    - anthonyb 14y ago
      But looking at "the same schtick" given a new and original perspective is still worthwhile. You may notice aspects that weren't apparent earlier.
grecy 14y ago
It's been a long time since I read an article I agree with so much.
mikekij 14y ago
This is a great post. My only disagreement is with the insinuation that the lack of universal healthcare in the US is there to intentionally trap people in unfulfilling jobs. While I agree that it sometimes has this affect, I think universal healthcare may actually make people even more dependent on the system the author is writing against, all while decreasing the quality of the health care we receive. Great article though. --Written from my budget apartment, while working on stuff I love
- grecy 14y ago
  From my experience living and working in multiple countries, some with and some without universal healthcare - I'm shocked that a person's health can be tied to their employment. It's a disgrace, and it absolutely, 100% has the impact of trapping people to their job. After 7 years in a country where health care is tied to employer, my brother moved to the other side of the world to a country with universal healthcare and within 3 days said "the biggest cultural difference I've noticed is how employees are treated... so much better here"
  - waqf 14y ago
    Without further information, your second paragraph sounds like a straightforward correlation/causation fallacy. Can you add context which might dispel that impression?
    - grecy 14y ago
      Sure. The more we talk about it, the more he notices the differences when an employer has to actually compete for employees, not the other way around. People in that country get the same level of care if they have been employed full time for 10 years, or have never had a job, or whatever. Because of this, people are free to move between jobs, or even outright quit if they want, because they know their health will not suffer. Nobody in that country discusses health or healthcare like it's an issue, because it's something they take for granted. It's a given. With that in mind, imagine how differently the conversation goes when someone says something like "I'm thinking about working for a non-profit" or "I'm thinking about taking 2 years off to explore my creative talents", etc.
firefoxman1 14y ago
Amazing article. The most powerful method of marketing I've seen is that which blurs the line between "want" and "need", or between pain and discomfort. Then they put their product on the "need" side, or categorise your discomfort as real pain. "You don't want a cell phone, you need it. Look, everyone around you has one, so it must be necessary!" "Hey, that minor discomfort you have with [whatever]? You have every right to be in pain from it. Heck, you should go out right now and get diagnosed with a disorder we invented/coined last year. Oh by the way, we also have a drug that relieves the symptoms."
michaelochurch 14y ago
It's amazing to me how much expense comes out of fear. For example, one of the reasons why Manhattan real estate is so expensive is that people feel a need to live here in order to keep up their professional status. Not to limit their commutes, but because the really evil law and financial firms stop promoting you as soon as you move off the island. So they spend $5 million on a house, as opposed to, for example, not working for douchebags. Where this is worst in New York is in the private school industry. $40,000 per year is market now, and it starts in nursery school. On no data whatsoever, parents now spend half a million out of fear that if their kids go to public schools, they won't be able to get into the top colleges and get good jobs. New Yorkers, take note that people in the rest of the country think you're a giant douchebag if you spend $40,000 on a nursery school. The Bush years were awful for political reasons-- curtailment of civil liberties, illegal wars, disastrous morale-- but, economically, this past decade would actually be a fairly good time for the U.S. if the Satanic Trinity-- healthcare, housing, and tuition-- of costs were better controlled.
- grecy 14y ago
  > It's amazing to me how much expense comes out of fear. If you are amazed by that, I suggest you spend a chunk of time outside America. The rest of the world is not run by fear. I spent last week in America, and was amazed by how pervasive that culture is there.
  - tlb 14y ago
    The distinction is unclear to me. What test can I apply when observing someone taking an action to determine whether or not they did it out of fear?
    - grecy 14y ago
      You can monitor the inputs to their decision making to see if fear is a factor. In the rest of the developed world the news, TV, radio and media in general do not talk of things that create fear. Advertising is not based on fear. People do not talk of losing their job. People do not talk of going bankrupt (or financial trouble) because of health care/university loans. People do not talk about home invasions or terrorist attacks like they are a real thing. In short, fear is not an input to the decision making process in developed countries. It is an extremely strong input in America.
Evgeny 14y ago
Originally posted on the author's blog, about 2 years ago http://www.raptitude.com/2011/01/how-to-make-trillions-of-dollars/ http://www.raptitude.com/2011/01/how-to-make-trillions-of-do...
- rdudekul 14y ago
  Great resource. Thank you for sharing.
nicetrick 14y ago
TIL all people in the US are complete idiots.
Mz 14y ago
Great points. But: How do you make a living while combatting this? I am torn on the question of universal medical coverage, for complex reasons that I imagine no one here wants to hear. I am wondering, though, if anyone has any ideas on how America could implement government funded, universal healthcare, what pitfalls we should look out for, etc.
- goodcanadian 14y ago
  I am a Canadian who has lived for several years in the U.S., and I now live in Australia. I can say unequivocally that despite its problems, socialized medicine (the Canadian system) is far superior to what I experienced in the U.S.. In Canada, I need health services, I go get it. Period. In the U.S., I have to make sure I go to the right doctor, deal with the insurance company, worry about weather the insurance company will actually pay, pick the right health plan in advance when I have little idea what I will need, et cetera. All of this when I am sick or injured and have bigger things to be worrying about. I am not absolutely certain that socialized medicine is better than free market medicine, but the U.S. does not have a free market, they have a complex socialized system run by private insurance companies. The easiest thing to do would be to cut out the insurance companies and fund health care on a state or federal level (i.e. make a state run insurance company the single payer). Yes, taxes will go up, but again, in my experience, the percentage of my paycheque that was withheld was exactly the same in Canada and the U.S.. In Canada, it was called taxes while in the U.S., it was called an insurance premium. There was effectively no difference. Now, I know this solution is politically difficult as it puts private companies out of business, but it is far better for the people both individually and collectively to just plain not have to worry about healthcare.
  - Mz 14y ago
    Oh, I am abundantly familiar with the good points of federally funded healthcare. I have never* had to deal with health insurance as a consumer, though I paid insurance claims for five years. My father and ex husband were both career military and are both military retirees. I have been a military dependent my entire life. Given the length of my marriage, as long as I don't remarry, I am entitled to free medical coverage for life. But: I nearly died twelve years ago. I am clear my excellent medical coverage, which helped me get good dental care, helped poison me. I have spent the last twelve years getting well instead of politely dying from my genetic disorder like the world would like me to do. I used to have an extremely good friend in Canada and I am abundantly familiar with the fact that Canadians who live along the border sometimes drive to the U.S. and pay out of pocket in order to get around the sometimes months long waiting lists common in Canada, and there is a complex relationship between the American system and the funding of drug research globally. As I understand it, in general terms, the U.S. takes the brunt of the costs of new drugs and pays crazy high brand name prices for a decade to cover the sunk cost of research and then after we have covered this essential cost, it becomes a generic and is marketed globally at much more reasonable prices. So it is possible that drug research could come to a virtual standstill if the American system changed. Furthermore, military members, military retirees, and government employees operate under a very different system from general civilians. There isn't just one American system. And military service is, from what I gather, far more common in the U.S. than in many other countries. So as I said initially: I am conflicted. I think it is far more complex than most people realize. But having worked for an insurance company, I am inclined to believe that if the world decided "health insurance" (edit: of the "major medical" variety) was the Darth Vader of our galaxy and should be hunted down and made extinct, most likely the world would be a better place. So I return to my original question: Anyone have any thoughts on how to accomplish that in the U.S.? Thanks for replying and have an upvote. * Except briefly when my husband was a recruiter and we were stationed somewhere without a base, but it was still different from what civilians live with.
orionblastar 14y ago
Only one way to make trillions of dollars, be born into the Rothschild family or marry into them. They are worth trillions and own banks and own a lot of nations' debts. Because they own a lot of debt, they charge huge interest rates on them, and profit from them a lot. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rothschild_family http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rothschild_family
- josephagoss 14y ago
  I was under the impression that a Government sells a bond, with a interest rate the Government sets. How would the Rothschild family buy bonds (Government debt) and ask for a higher interest rate than that was set in the first place?
  - Ntrails 14y ago
    Government goes to market wanting to sell ~6b of bonds at as low an interest rate as they can achieve. So if the market buys at 1% they take it, if the market only offers 7% then they take it (if it is below the rate threshold at which they won't sell) If the Gov doesn't sell enough then it defaults as most debt buys are in part to pay off old debt, we saw this within the Eurozone where Spain has to buy at a much much higher rate than it would like. Rothschild can simply refuse to buy below a set rate, and if the Gov needs their money at that rate then they buy. But it is not really demanding a higher rate? (I am not an asset manager)
fumar 14y ago
Consumerism dominates our culture. I used to think that pertained to the United States the most, but it is a global issue. I have not had a job since March of 2012. You could say I lost my consumer power. I have made very few purchases outside of utilities, food, and other basics. It has been an eye opening experience to my own habits. At first, I felt lost and out of touch with society. I could not make purchases like my friends and family. I did not have any new toys to show off or new clothing to wear this year. This past holiday season was the worst. As much as I disliked the holiday spending spree every year, being left out feels strange. The feeling that arises from lack of consumption is strange. It is as if society fixates on purchases and those purchases define your life(create milestone). I have not had any of those recently. Today, I feel normal. Sometimes, I lust for new gadgets. But, most of the time, I never think about buying "stuff." If I was not in a committed relationship, I would be happy not being an avid consumer. Maybe, it is just my brain adapting to the circumstances. *My girlfriend, buys lots of things, she works in retail. I am not completely out of the consumption sphere.
- swlkr 14y ago
  How do you afford your utilities, food and other basics without a job? Freelance?
  - fumar 14y ago
    Two big events happened before I left my job. My car was taken from me, insurance labeled it a total loss. I received money from that. I was also hit by a car while riding my bike. This also provided me with some money. This money, has run out at this point. I have done some freelancing for people, graphic design. I also help my girlfriend run her dog treat business. Arrfscarf.com But most importantly, now that I have no income, she has been a huge help. Even, when I go back to having spending power. Being jobless for over 8 months has given me a different perspective on consumption.
    - zanny 14y ago
      I'm an out of college CS grad that just hasn't been hired yet, but I didn't work some soul crushing service job in the meantime. I get what you are saying, though. Christmas was kind of awkward, I ended up spending more in a month than I did the rest of the year just to appease relations. I've done freelance IT and did some community service since I graduated, but nothing making real buck. My total income in 2012 was like $6,000.
guscost 14y ago
Fuck the police, kill your television, and Like us on Facebook.
jacques_chester 14y ago
This is a classic example of the animism fallacy. Lightning flash, terrifying thundercrack. The Invisible Skygod is mad! All bunkum, of course. But it fits how humans usually think about the world: that every event has agency, has some directing cause which involves intelligence. The idea that the world we see emerged from a massive, incomprehensible complex system? Bah. Can't be. I see the lightning and hear the thundercrack. Must be the invisible trillionaires. Incidentally, the only thing in this article that resembles classic marketing is the title. Straight out of the copywriting handbook.
- mistercow 14y ago
  I agree pretty much completely, even though the ultimate message is just fine. I found the claim that budget apartments are "designed to make you sick and impotent" particularly silly. The author brings up ROI several times, but the ROI on subtly harming someone's health by (somehow) dictating housing design is laughably negligible. It's such a preposterously long con that any expected profit is lost in the entropy. But if we take conspiracy theories as a constant, I do like this positive take on them.
- philbarr 14y ago
  Whilst the author pushes his point too far by declaring that there are "invisible millionaires" as you say, I think the general point is sound. We are continually pushed to consume, and the consumption is not necessary for us to be happy within society. It is the job of marketers and business to make us believe we need this stuff. By recognising this we are less likely to try and satisfy ourselves by buying the latest "whatever". Personally, I think that people should be taught about capitalism and the actual workings of society in school fairly early on. Like, "you know when you see an advert? That may not necessarily be the whole truth. They're trying to sell you something so they can make a profit. This is not a bad thing. You should learn to do it too. This is how things work."
- gameshot911 14y ago
  >But it fits how humans usually think about the world: that every event has agency, has some directing cause which involves intelligence. The idea that the world we see emerged from a massive, incomprehensible complex system? Bah. Can't be. The two are not mutually exclusive :)
rndmize 14y ago
Happiness, health and stability are not core objectives of our society. The production of wealth, as measured by GDP, or by the stock markets, or consumer spending, is our yardstick of success. I hope that in the remainder of the century we can can transition to better forms of society where the health and happiness of the general population is more important than the efficiency of our economic structures.
- jakerocheleau 14y ago
  strangely refreshing to read this on HN
- Glayden 14y ago
  I think we would do better to follow Bhutan's lead and start using some metrics along the lines of Gross National Happiness in our analysis of how our country (and world) is doing. Ultimately metrics like GDP are only meaningful to our interests to the extent that they indicate the quality of life and sustainability of improved quality of life for people. We lose sight of where the real underlying value lies far too often.
- jhuni 14y ago
  One feature of such a better society is that it should be classless. As long as there is there are segments of society whose happiness, health, and stability are dependent upon the whims of the ruling class rather then in their own hands then these problems will persist.
  - ruswick 14y ago
    People don't want a classless society because it removes the ability to attain the one thing that all people want: distinguishment. People usually want money not for its utility, but as an arbitrary measure of merit and a way to distinguish oneself. This is why the American Dream is so pervasive: the concept of economic mobility appeals to people. If anything, we've seen a regression from equality and an exacerbation of class segregation throughout the century. People (at least in this country) don't want to be happy and healthy. They want to be richer than everyone else because that is what success is.
btilly 14y ago
Concrete supporting example, deodorants: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/How-Advertisers-Convinced-Americans-They-Smelled-Bad-164779646.html http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/How-Advert...
- fudged71 14y ago
  Or Edward Bernay's "Torches of Freedom" campaign that made smoking cool for women.
josscrowcroft 14y ago
This is hands–down one of the best pieces I've ever read on the Internet. I love the message of not hating "The Man". I've noticed in the past years more and more energy being wasted on hating things which are beyond our control (at least, they are if we only spend our energy on hating). To focus instead on building our self-reliance (and creativity, etc.) is a brilliant take-away. This is one of those bits of writing that didn't add any knowledge but reminds me of things I forget on a day-to-day basis.
vicks711 14y ago
Thanks for this enlightening article. I now know hot to make my first million. Thanks again mate for posting this here on Hacker news.
BlackNapoleon 14y ago
Is this an homage to the Rothschilds?
dmor 14y ago
Where is our modern day Victor Lebow to set a new paradigm?
nazgulnarsil 14y ago
The article is a bit silly but there is an interesting tidbit. The observation that people can afford seemingly limitless trinkets that they don't really need while the necessities of life are quite expensive. Shouldn't something that literally everyone needs and thus is guaranteed a ubiquitous market and thus obscene rewards for innovation be cheap? Is there some iron rule of technology/market that says that innovations in these areas is impossible or prohibitively expensive? There are multiple answers to this question, and I think it is worth meditating on.
joebeetee 14y ago
Good article. Counter-cultural without being conspiritorialist.
josh_fyi 14y ago
Note that people who are outside the American madhouse, those who live in developing countries like the Philippines or China, very much want to adopt American customs. Few of them want to live a monastic or back-to-nature lifestyle. These people can learn from Americans' experience, yet there is no mass movement to adopt the good part while staying relaxed, centered, and happy. I'm not saying that they prefer employer-linked healthcare to single-payer, or that they want to be stressed-out and depressed, but they very much want TV, possessions, yuppie-style jobs, etc., without worrying too much about the alleged misery that we Americans experience.
- tluyben2 14y ago
  And why is that? Where I live most of the year, on a mountain in nature, I see young people moving away all the time and their parents and grandparents wanting 'something better' for them. What is that something better? If you ask them, they all, without fail, come with examples from American tv shows on how they want to live or how they want their offspring to live. Nice suits, phones, cars, houses, etc. Why do people living of fantastic fresh fish, veg, olive(s) oil, cheese and people who saw their parents/grandparents walk up the mountain every day to get groceries or work the land so desperately want to grow incredibly fat on Burger King and have as highest goal to 'not do anything every again'? I know they want this because they see it in tv shows because they tell me; it's considered 'being rich' to act and look like that. People who are complaining all the time to us that they cannot possibly pay the next month rent have huge flatscreens and DID buy another game console or phone with christmas. I don't know about the Philipines or China, but this is southern europe and it's very real. I think it's more or less the same there; you see people 'having fun' (it's a sitcom yo!) and believe that kind of wealth is something to go for. I'm not saying we have to go back to nature; internet, mobile devices etc is fine. But to think that 2 SUVs, a huge house (what's on the top floor again? yeah no-one goes there ever) or two, almost certainly living on debt (it's one of those things designed to buy perceived happiness in exchange for money for the MAN) will make you happy is a delusion which is set forth by the media. If media for some reason would not put some much positive weight in consumerism, a lot of people here would be content doing what their parents/grandparents did. Now they are not; they have a hardpush drive to 'get what Americans take for granted' without really knowing why they want that.
bnegreve 14y ago
Very good article ! I am genuinely surprised that HN's positively reacts to blog posts like this while massively reacting against ad blocking initiatives. For example this HN news thread: France’s second-largest ISP deploys ad blocking via firmware update [1]. Can someone that like this article and dislike [1] explain me. [1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5004621 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5004621
- jacques_chester 14y ago
  As much as it burns my nose hairs to admit this ... HN is not a hivemind. Different people will react to different things.
  - bnegreve 14y ago
    I agree with this, but I have the feeling that some people have mixed feelings regarding this problem. Hence my (rather precise) question: Can someone that like this article AND dislike [1] explain me.
    - smtddr 14y ago
      Well, I agree with almost everything in this article that the system is designed to keep people unhappy & unhealthy, so that they're constantly buying things to rid themselves of both issues. At the same time, I will never accept the idea of internet-content being filtered at the ISP level. I want 100% of the web-content to reach my computer. There, I will make the decision of what I want to see.
- Kliment 14y ago
  I am perfectly okay with adblocking, and run a very aggressive adblocker as well as requestpolicy and a click-to-play plugin blocker. That said, I really do not want my ISP to be making these decisions for me.
othermaciej 14y ago
This article didn't actually give useful information on how to make trillions of dollars or on how anyone else has done so.
digitalWestie 14y ago
if you liked this post I'd recommend reading Prosperity without Growth - http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/publications.php?id=914 http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/publications.php?id=914
PaulHoule 14y ago
The "culture of narcissism" wasn't invented after WWII and it's not even western. You could see the modern kind of moral decay even in Tokugawa Japan 200 years ago.
gz5 14y ago
great points on life skills, understanding marketing motivation, worthless hate. i don't believe the author is implying a conspiracy theory - but maybe i'm missing it - do we need conspiracy for each marketer to do their job?
S_A_P 14y ago
Am I the only one who finds irony in the fact that he recommends throwing out the things with a low ROI yet at the bottom of the article he recommends "liking" the blog on Facebook?
- powermeat 14y ago
  The original article on the author's blog asks for an email address at the bottom of every article. http://www.raptitude.com/2011/01/how-to-make-trillions-of-dollars/ http://www.raptitude.com/2011/01/how-to-make-trillions-of-do...
AlexeiSadeski 14y ago
Different people have different goals in life. Just because others chase GDP or work all day doesn't mean that you have to.
dreadsword 14y ago
Poster here - just to be clear, I'm not the author - I just came across it on Reddit, and figured it would resonate here.

237 points by dreadsword 14y ago

pippy 14y ago

I loved everything about this post. Very enlightening

rbn 14y ago
I didn't. Its a person with too many first world problems and a dash of conspiracy theories. ( high level marketers created the world we live in...ect)
- adamcadaver 14y ago
  +1 We live in a consumption economy, this is hardly a groundbreaking realisation.
- grecy 14y ago
  > dash of conspiracy theories. It doesn't matter if it's a conspiracy or not, the fact is it's a reality of the world we live in. Acknowledgement of a problem is the first step to fixing it, or at the very least minimizing it's impact.
  - jacques_chester 14y ago
    The conspiracy theory is central to the larger theory. If you believe that the world we live in has one, or a few, central intelligences directing how it has unfolded, then it's relatively easily changed. Find those people, usurp their levers of power. If it's bullshit and nobody anywhere has that kind of influence, then it's impossible to usurp the Secret Masters and use their mechanism. So. Yeah. It matters to the argument if there's a conspiracy.
    - nacker 14y ago
      > it's relatively easily changed. Find those people, usurp their levers of power. If it's so easy, could you please do us all a favor and usurp the levers of power of the Rothschilds, the Rockefellers, and Goldman-Sachs to start with? Waiting patiently, thanks!
      - jacques_chester 14y ago
        If it's unclear, I am not a supporter of the Secret Masters interpretation of history or modern society.
    - grecy 14y ago
      > It matters to the argument if there's a conspiracy. I don't believe it does. Taking the dot-points as fact (People work almost all the time, etc.), which I believe they are, then we accept that as the reality of our world, and we can make a choice to do something about it as individuals (i.e. stop buying stuff), or not (i.e. keep buying stuff). For an individual to make that choice and take action, it makes no difference why that is the current reality of our world. It only matters that it is. We don't need to usurp any powers from anybody (real or imagined), or use any kind of mechanism as you suggest, we just need to change our actions as individuals (if we decide we're not happy with the way things are) or keep doing what we're doing (if we're fine with the way things are)
- mikekij 14y ago
  While there may not be individuals out here masterminding the system the way the author describes, there are definitely people that know they are benefiting from our collective addition to consumption.
- dag11 14y ago
  > (high level marketers created the world we live in...ect) But... they did. That's the entire idea behind marketing and consumerism. They're paid to make us need a certain product or service. It's not paranoia.
  - rbn 14y ago
    God Complex. It's impossible to narrow down the cause of today's complex society to the work of marketers.
- mynameishere 14y ago
  Yep, strictly college freshman dorm room BS. The reality is, everybody working and consuming so hard makes it fairly easy for the occasional rebel to disengage, given the massive productivity of society overall. So quit complaining.

geuis 14y ago

The author makes a good introduction and really gets to the point about halfway through. Should have ended there. The rest is just repetitive.

anthonyb 14y ago
I disagree. The first half explains the situation, the second half gives you options as far as dealing with it.
- waqf 14y ago
  But the "explaining the situation" is a striking exposition of a relatively original perspective, whereas the "options for dealing with it" are the same shtick we read every week here on HN.
  - anthonyb 14y ago
    But looking at "the same schtick" given a new and original perspective is still worthwhile. You may notice aspects that weren't apparent earlier.

grecy 14y ago

It's been a long time since I read an article I agree with so much.

mikekij 14y ago

This is a great post. My only disagreement is with the insinuation that the lack of universal healthcare in the US is there to intentionally trap people in unfulfilling jobs. While I agree that it sometimes has this affect, I think universal healthcare may actually make people even more dependent on the system the author is writing against, all while decreasing the quality of the health care we receive. Great article though. --Written from my budget apartment, while working on stuff I love

grecy 14y ago
From my experience living and working in multiple countries, some with and some without universal healthcare - I'm shocked that a person's health can be tied to their employment. It's a disgrace, and it absolutely, 100% has the impact of trapping people to their job. After 7 years in a country where health care is tied to employer, my brother moved to the other side of the world to a country with universal healthcare and within 3 days said "the biggest cultural difference I've noticed is how employees are treated... so much better here"
- waqf 14y ago
  Without further information, your second paragraph sounds like a straightforward correlation/causation fallacy. Can you add context which might dispel that impression?
  - grecy 14y ago
    Sure. The more we talk about it, the more he notices the differences when an employer has to actually compete for employees, not the other way around. People in that country get the same level of care if they have been employed full time for 10 years, or have never had a job, or whatever. Because of this, people are free to move between jobs, or even outright quit if they want, because they know their health will not suffer. Nobody in that country discusses health or healthcare like it's an issue, because it's something they take for granted. It's a given. With that in mind, imagine how differently the conversation goes when someone says something like "I'm thinking about working for a non-profit" or "I'm thinking about taking 2 years off to explore my creative talents", etc.

firefoxman1 14y ago

Amazing article. The most powerful method of marketing I've seen is that which blurs the line between "want" and "need", or between pain and discomfort. Then they put their product on the "need" side, or categorise your discomfort as real pain. "You don't want a cell phone, you need it. Look, everyone around you has one, so it must be necessary!" "Hey, that minor discomfort you have with [whatever]? You have every right to be in pain from it. Heck, you should go out right now and get diagnosed with a disorder we invented/coined last year. Oh by the way, we also have a drug that relieves the symptoms."

michaelochurch 14y ago

It's amazing to me how much expense comes out of fear. For example, one of the reasons why Manhattan real estate is so expensive is that people feel a need to live here in order to keep up their professional status. Not to limit their commutes, but because the really evil law and financial firms stop promoting you as soon as you move off the island. So they spend $5 million on a house, as opposed to, for example, not working for douchebags. Where this is worst in New York is in the private school industry. $40,000 per year is market now, and it starts in nursery school. On no data whatsoever, parents now spend half a million out of fear that if their kids go to public schools, they won't be able to get into the top colleges and get good jobs. New Yorkers, take note that people in the rest of the country think you're a giant douchebag if you spend $40,000 on a nursery school. The Bush years were awful for political reasons-- curtailment of civil liberties, illegal wars, disastrous morale-- but, economically, this past decade would actually be a fairly good time for the U.S. if the Satanic Trinity-- healthcare, housing, and tuition-- of costs were better controlled.

grecy 14y ago
> It's amazing to me how much expense comes out of fear. If you are amazed by that, I suggest you spend a chunk of time outside America. The rest of the world is not run by fear. I spent last week in America, and was amazed by how pervasive that culture is there.
- tlb 14y ago
  The distinction is unclear to me. What test can I apply when observing someone taking an action to determine whether or not they did it out of fear?
  - grecy 14y ago
    You can monitor the inputs to their decision making to see if fear is a factor. In the rest of the developed world the news, TV, radio and media in general do not talk of things that create fear. Advertising is not based on fear. People do not talk of losing their job. People do not talk of going bankrupt (or financial trouble) because of health care/university loans. People do not talk about home invasions or terrorist attacks like they are a real thing. In short, fear is not an input to the decision making process in developed countries. It is an extremely strong input in America.

Evgeny 14y ago

Originally posted on the author's blog, about 2 years ago http://www.raptitude.com/2011/01/how-to-make-trillions-of-dollars/ http://www.raptitude.com/2011/01/how-to-make-trillions-of-do...

rdudekul 14y ago
Great resource. Thank you for sharing.

nicetrick 14y ago

TIL all people in the US are complete idiots.

Mz 14y ago

Great points. But: How do you make a living while combatting this? I am torn on the question of universal medical coverage, for complex reasons that I imagine no one here wants to hear. I am wondering, though, if anyone has any ideas on how America could implement government funded, universal healthcare, what pitfalls we should look out for, etc.

goodcanadian 14y ago
I am a Canadian who has lived for several years in the U.S., and I now live in Australia. I can say unequivocally that despite its problems, socialized medicine (the Canadian system) is far superior to what I experienced in the U.S.. In Canada, I need health services, I go get it. Period. In the U.S., I have to make sure I go to the right doctor, deal with the insurance company, worry about weather the insurance company will actually pay, pick the right health plan in advance when I have little idea what I will need, et cetera. All of this when I am sick or injured and have bigger things to be worrying about. I am not absolutely certain that socialized medicine is better than free market medicine, but the U.S. does not have a free market, they have a complex socialized system run by private insurance companies. The easiest thing to do would be to cut out the insurance companies and fund health care on a state or federal level (i.e. make a state run insurance company the single payer). Yes, taxes will go up, but again, in my experience, the percentage of my paycheque that was withheld was exactly the same in Canada and the U.S.. In Canada, it was called taxes while in the U.S., it was called an insurance premium. There was effectively no difference. Now, I know this solution is politically difficult as it puts private companies out of business, but it is far better for the people both individually and collectively to just plain not have to worry about healthcare.
- Mz 14y ago
  Oh, I am abundantly familiar with the good points of federally funded healthcare. I have never* had to deal with health insurance as a consumer, though I paid insurance claims for five years. My father and ex husband were both career military and are both military retirees. I have been a military dependent my entire life. Given the length of my marriage, as long as I don't remarry, I am entitled to free medical coverage for life. But: I nearly died twelve years ago. I am clear my excellent medical coverage, which helped me get good dental care, helped poison me. I have spent the last twelve years getting well instead of politely dying from my genetic disorder like the world would like me to do. I used to have an extremely good friend in Canada and I am abundantly familiar with the fact that Canadians who live along the border sometimes drive to the U.S. and pay out of pocket in order to get around the sometimes months long waiting lists common in Canada, and there is a complex relationship between the American system and the funding of drug research globally. As I understand it, in general terms, the U.S. takes the brunt of the costs of new drugs and pays crazy high brand name prices for a decade to cover the sunk cost of research and then after we have covered this essential cost, it becomes a generic and is marketed globally at much more reasonable prices. So it is possible that drug research could come to a virtual standstill if the American system changed. Furthermore, military members, military retirees, and government employees operate under a very different system from general civilians. There isn't just one American system. And military service is, from what I gather, far more common in the U.S. than in many other countries. So as I said initially: I am conflicted. I think it is far more complex than most people realize. But having worked for an insurance company, I am inclined to believe that if the world decided "health insurance" (edit: of the "major medical" variety) was the Darth Vader of our galaxy and should be hunted down and made extinct, most likely the world would be a better place. So I return to my original question: Anyone have any thoughts on how to accomplish that in the U.S.? Thanks for replying and have an upvote. * Except briefly when my husband was a recruiter and we were stationed somewhere without a base, but it was still different from what civilians live with.

orionblastar 14y ago

Only one way to make trillions of dollars, be born into the Rothschild family or marry into them. They are worth trillions and own banks and own a lot of nations' debts. Because they own a lot of debt, they charge huge interest rates on them, and profit from them a lot. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rothschild_family http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rothschild_family

josephagoss 14y ago
I was under the impression that a Government sells a bond, with a interest rate the Government sets. How would the Rothschild family buy bonds (Government debt) and ask for a higher interest rate than that was set in the first place?
- Ntrails 14y ago
  Government goes to market wanting to sell ~6b of bonds at as low an interest rate as they can achieve. So if the market buys at 1% they take it, if the market only offers 7% then they take it (if it is below the rate threshold at which they won't sell) If the Gov doesn't sell enough then it defaults as most debt buys are in part to pay off old debt, we saw this within the Eurozone where Spain has to buy at a much much higher rate than it would like. Rothschild can simply refuse to buy below a set rate, and if the Gov needs their money at that rate then they buy. But it is not really demanding a higher rate? (I am not an asset manager)

fumar 14y ago

Consumerism dominates our culture. I used to think that pertained to the United States the most, but it is a global issue. I have not had a job since March of 2012. You could say I lost my consumer power. I have made very few purchases outside of utilities, food, and other basics. It has been an eye opening experience to my own habits. At first, I felt lost and out of touch with society. I could not make purchases like my friends and family. I did not have any new toys to show off or new clothing to wear this year. This past holiday season was the worst. As much as I disliked the holiday spending spree every year, being left out feels strange. The feeling that arises from lack of consumption is strange. It is as if society fixates on purchases and those purchases define your life(create milestone). I have not had any of those recently. Today, I feel normal. Sometimes, I lust for new gadgets. But, most of the time, I never think about buying "stuff." If I was not in a committed relationship, I would be happy not being an avid consumer. Maybe, it is just my brain adapting to the circumstances. *My girlfriend, buys lots of things, she works in retail. I am not completely out of the consumption sphere.

swlkr 14y ago
How do you afford your utilities, food and other basics without a job? Freelance?
- fumar 14y ago
  Two big events happened before I left my job. My car was taken from me, insurance labeled it a total loss. I received money from that. I was also hit by a car while riding my bike. This also provided me with some money. This money, has run out at this point. I have done some freelancing for people, graphic design. I also help my girlfriend run her dog treat business. Arrfscarf.com But most importantly, now that I have no income, she has been a huge help. Even, when I go back to having spending power. Being jobless for over 8 months has given me a different perspective on consumption.
  - zanny 14y ago
    I'm an out of college CS grad that just hasn't been hired yet, but I didn't work some soul crushing service job in the meantime. I get what you are saying, though. Christmas was kind of awkward, I ended up spending more in a month than I did the rest of the year just to appease relations. I've done freelance IT and did some community service since I graduated, but nothing making real buck. My total income in 2012 was like $6,000.

guscost 14y ago

Fuck the police, kill your television, and Like us on Facebook.

jacques_chester 14y ago

This is a classic example of the animism fallacy. Lightning flash, terrifying thundercrack. The Invisible Skygod is mad! All bunkum, of course. But it fits how humans usually think about the world: that every event has agency, has some directing cause which involves intelligence. The idea that the world we see emerged from a massive, incomprehensible complex system? Bah. Can't be. I see the lightning and hear the thundercrack. Must be the invisible trillionaires. Incidentally, the only thing in this article that resembles classic marketing is the title. Straight out of the copywriting handbook.

mistercow 14y ago
I agree pretty much completely, even though the ultimate message is just fine. I found the claim that budget apartments are "designed to make you sick and impotent" particularly silly. The author brings up ROI several times, but the ROI on subtly harming someone's health by (somehow) dictating housing design is laughably negligible. It's such a preposterously long con that any expected profit is lost in the entropy. But if we take conspiracy theories as a constant, I do like this positive take on them.
philbarr 14y ago
Whilst the author pushes his point too far by declaring that there are "invisible millionaires" as you say, I think the general point is sound. We are continually pushed to consume, and the consumption is not necessary for us to be happy within society. It is the job of marketers and business to make us believe we need this stuff. By recognising this we are less likely to try and satisfy ourselves by buying the latest "whatever". Personally, I think that people should be taught about capitalism and the actual workings of society in school fairly early on. Like, "you know when you see an advert? That may not necessarily be the whole truth. They're trying to sell you something so they can make a profit. This is not a bad thing. You should learn to do it too. This is how things work."
gameshot911 14y ago
>But it fits how humans usually think about the world: that every event has agency, has some directing cause which involves intelligence. The idea that the world we see emerged from a massive, incomprehensible complex system? Bah. Can't be. The two are not mutually exclusive :)

rndmize 14y ago

Happiness, health and stability are not core objectives of our society. The production of wealth, as measured by GDP, or by the stock markets, or consumer spending, is our yardstick of success. I hope that in the remainder of the century we can can transition to better forms of society where the health and happiness of the general population is more important than the efficiency of our economic structures.

jakerocheleau 14y ago
strangely refreshing to read this on HN
Glayden 14y ago
I think we would do better to follow Bhutan's lead and start using some metrics along the lines of Gross National Happiness in our analysis of how our country (and world) is doing. Ultimately metrics like GDP are only meaningful to our interests to the extent that they indicate the quality of life and sustainability of improved quality of life for people. We lose sight of where the real underlying value lies far too often.
jhuni 14y ago
One feature of such a better society is that it should be classless. As long as there is there are segments of society whose happiness, health, and stability are dependent upon the whims of the ruling class rather then in their own hands then these problems will persist.
- ruswick 14y ago
  People don't want a classless society because it removes the ability to attain the one thing that all people want: distinguishment. People usually want money not for its utility, but as an arbitrary measure of merit and a way to distinguish oneself. This is why the American Dream is so pervasive: the concept of economic mobility appeals to people. If anything, we've seen a regression from equality and an exacerbation of class segregation throughout the century. People (at least in this country) don't want to be happy and healthy. They want to be richer than everyone else because that is what success is.

btilly 14y ago

Concrete supporting example, deodorants: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/How-Advertisers-Convinced-Americans-They-Smelled-Bad-164779646.html http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/How-Advert...

fudged71 14y ago
Or Edward Bernay's "Torches of Freedom" campaign that made smoking cool for women.

josscrowcroft 14y ago

This is hands–down one of the best pieces I've ever read on the Internet. I love the message of not hating "The Man". I've noticed in the past years more and more energy being wasted on hating things which are beyond our control (at least, they are if we only spend our energy on hating). To focus instead on building our self-reliance (and creativity, etc.) is a brilliant take-away. This is one of those bits of writing that didn't add any knowledge but reminds me of things I forget on a day-to-day basis.

vicks711 14y ago

Thanks for this enlightening article. I now know hot to make my first million. Thanks again mate for posting this here on Hacker news.

BlackNapoleon 14y ago

Is this an homage to the Rothschilds?

dmor 14y ago

Where is our modern day Victor Lebow to set a new paradigm?

nazgulnarsil 14y ago

The article is a bit silly but there is an interesting tidbit. The observation that people can afford seemingly limitless trinkets that they don't really need while the necessities of life are quite expensive. Shouldn't something that literally everyone needs and thus is guaranteed a ubiquitous market and thus obscene rewards for innovation be cheap? Is there some iron rule of technology/market that says that innovations in these areas is impossible or prohibitively expensive? There are multiple answers to this question, and I think it is worth meditating on.

joebeetee 14y ago

Good article. Counter-cultural without being conspiritorialist.

josh_fyi 14y ago

Note that people who are outside the American madhouse, those who live in developing countries like the Philippines or China, very much want to adopt American customs. Few of them want to live a monastic or back-to-nature lifestyle. These people can learn from Americans' experience, yet there is no mass movement to adopt the good part while staying relaxed, centered, and happy. I'm not saying that they prefer employer-linked healthcare to single-payer, or that they want to be stressed-out and depressed, but they very much want TV, possessions, yuppie-style jobs, etc., without worrying too much about the alleged misery that we Americans experience.

tluyben2 14y ago
And why is that? Where I live most of the year, on a mountain in nature, I see young people moving away all the time and their parents and grandparents wanting 'something better' for them. What is that something better? If you ask them, they all, without fail, come with examples from American tv shows on how they want to live or how they want their offspring to live. Nice suits, phones, cars, houses, etc. Why do people living of fantastic fresh fish, veg, olive(s) oil, cheese and people who saw their parents/grandparents walk up the mountain every day to get groceries or work the land so desperately want to grow incredibly fat on Burger King and have as highest goal to 'not do anything every again'? I know they want this because they see it in tv shows because they tell me; it's considered 'being rich' to act and look like that. People who are complaining all the time to us that they cannot possibly pay the next month rent have huge flatscreens and DID buy another game console or phone with christmas. I don't know about the Philipines or China, but this is southern europe and it's very real. I think it's more or less the same there; you see people 'having fun' (it's a sitcom yo!) and believe that kind of wealth is something to go for. I'm not saying we have to go back to nature; internet, mobile devices etc is fine. But to think that 2 SUVs, a huge house (what's on the top floor again? yeah no-one goes there ever) or two, almost certainly living on debt (it's one of those things designed to buy perceived happiness in exchange for money for the MAN) will make you happy is a delusion which is set forth by the media. If media for some reason would not put some much positive weight in consumerism, a lot of people here would be content doing what their parents/grandparents did. Now they are not; they have a hardpush drive to 'get what Americans take for granted' without really knowing why they want that.

bnegreve 14y ago

Very good article ! I am genuinely surprised that HN's positively reacts to blog posts like this while massively reacting against ad blocking initiatives. For example this HN news thread: France’s second-largest ISP deploys ad blocking via firmware update [1]. Can someone that like this article and dislike [1] explain me. [1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5004621 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5004621

jacques_chester 14y ago
As much as it burns my nose hairs to admit this ... HN is not a hivemind. Different people will react to different things.
- bnegreve 14y ago
  I agree with this, but I have the feeling that some people have mixed feelings regarding this problem. Hence my (rather precise) question: Can someone that like this article AND dislike [1] explain me.
  - smtddr 14y ago
    Well, I agree with almost everything in this article that the system is designed to keep people unhappy & unhealthy, so that they're constantly buying things to rid themselves of both issues. At the same time, I will never accept the idea of internet-content being filtered at the ISP level. I want 100% of the web-content to reach my computer. There, I will make the decision of what I want to see.
Kliment 14y ago
I am perfectly okay with adblocking, and run a very aggressive adblocker as well as requestpolicy and a click-to-play plugin blocker. That said, I really do not want my ISP to be making these decisions for me.

othermaciej 14y ago

This article didn't actually give useful information on how to make trillions of dollars or on how anyone else has done so.

digitalWestie 14y ago

if you liked this post I'd recommend reading Prosperity without Growth - http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/publications.php?id=914 http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/publications.php?id=914

PaulHoule 14y ago

The "culture of narcissism" wasn't invented after WWII and it's not even western. You could see the modern kind of moral decay even in Tokugawa Japan 200 years ago.

gz5 14y ago

great points on life skills, understanding marketing motivation, worthless hate. i don't believe the author is implying a conspiracy theory - but maybe i'm missing it - do we need conspiracy for each marketer to do their job?

S_A_P 14y ago

Am I the only one who finds irony in the fact that he recommends throwing out the things with a low ROI yet at the bottom of the article he recommends "liking" the blog on Facebook?

powermeat 14y ago
The original article on the author's blog asks for an email address at the bottom of every article. http://www.raptitude.com/2011/01/how-to-make-trillions-of-dollars/ http://www.raptitude.com/2011/01/how-to-make-trillions-of-do...

AlexeiSadeski 14y ago

Different people have different goals in life. Just because others chase GDP or work all day doesn't mean that you have to.

dreadsword 14y ago

Poster here - just to be clear, I'm not the author - I just came across it on Reddit, and figured it would resonate here.