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"Is it actually possible for people not to believe anything, in our society or any society?" "We are nihilists, Lebowski! We believe in nothing!" Sorry, could

"Is it actually possible for people not to believe anything, in our society or any society?" "We are nihilists, Lebowski! We believe in nothing!" Sorry, couldn't resist. :) With all due respect to Peter Thiel, who is much smarter and more successful than I am, I'm really baffled by the statement that "people in our society don't really believe in anything anymore." And I am especially baffled by the implication that this putative, ubiquitous nihilo-cynicism -- even if we accept it to be true, which I don't -- necessarily precludes the formation of bubbles. Did people not believe in anything back in the mid-2000s housing bubble? It seems as if they believed in housing, for one thing. The belief was "widespread and intense" enough to cause a serious freakin' problem. I'm going to give a guy like Peter Thiel the benefit of the doubt and assume that I'm missing a lot for lack of context. But that quote, at least out of its original context and so presented, is really strange.

wwweston 13y ago
> "We are nihilists, Lebowski! We believe in nothing!" :) > With all due respect to Peter Thiel, who is much smarter and more successful than I am Remember, these two things sometimes go together. Another guy who's more successful than many of us said “Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose.” > I'm going to give a guy like Peter Thiel the benefit of the doubt and assume that I'm missing a lot for lack of context I'm a little less generous; my guess is that what Thiel says is very smart indeed in the context of boosting certain business interests and/or political philosophies.
- jonnathanson 13y ago
  "my guess is that what Thiel says is very smart indeed in the context of boosting certain business interests and/or political philosophies." Well yes, there's certainly that as well. I'd be hard pressed to say that Peter Thiel has no vested interests in the status quo.

wwweston 13y ago

> "We are nihilists, Lebowski! We believe in nothing!" :) > With all due respect to Peter Thiel, who is much smarter and more successful than I am Remember, these two things sometimes go together. Another guy who's more successful than many of us said “Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose.” > I'm going to give a guy like Peter Thiel the benefit of the doubt and assume that I'm missing a lot for lack of context I'm a little less generous; my guess is that what Thiel says is very smart indeed in the context of boosting certain business interests and/or political philosophies.

jonnathanson 13y ago
"my guess is that what Thiel says is very smart indeed in the context of boosting certain business interests and/or political philosophies." Well yes, there's certainly that as well. I'd be hard pressed to say that Peter Thiel has no vested interests in the status quo.