"We end up all working for the smooth-talkers selling trivial ideas because they've been overriding the "why you?" objections since college..." This is a very

"We end up all working for the smooth-talkers selling trivial ideas because they've been overriding the "why you?" objections since college..." This is a very interesting take on the issue, and not one I see discussed often on HN. The reality is that evolutionary psychology is the ultimate motive force in all human societies. The power imbalances in the work world that you have so thoroughly elucidated in your writings is but a mere symptom of the most basic evolutionary impulse: extract dominance from all. Why do pointy haired bosses exist? Why do smooth-talkers like Steve Jobs always get the glory over technocrats like Steve Wozniak? Why do people so willingly submit to injustice? Weakness. People submit to those who they fear are powerful enough to harm them. Most often, even a weak bluff vaguely threatening future harm is enough to extract complete submission. The root of this is based on the evolutionary psychology of mammal behavior. Mammals exert dominance by challenging their peers: submit to me or pay the price. In the context of artisans (Technocrats), we can go back to the Feudal era, where artisans and farmers owed their lives to the Feudal lords, and could lose it any instant by not submitting some or all of their surplus value created when commanded to do so. Although the artisans created all the value in society, the lords were free to help themselves to it at will, because they were the ones who were willing to use force if their demands were not met. Although this strategy comes with risk, the rewards are disproportionately high, which is why history follows the story of one conqueror after another. The only way artisans can gain control of their lives is if they beat the Feudal lords at their own game, ruthlessly and without mercy. This means playing as dirty as necessary to win, but still keeping your ideals intact. That is the true challenge of the Technocrat: defeat the Psychopaths using their own tools without becoming one of them. But make no mistake, they won’t go down easy. Look at Julian Assange, Noam Chomsky, and countless others who know this and have tried, in vain, to change the status quo. The choice is simple: submit to the psychopaths and live in their world, or risk everything and attempt to change the dynamic to your favor. P.S. You made references to psychopaths and their success with females. This is well documented, and I would recommend reading about the Dark Triad personality traits.