5 ms·

"Technology is an enabler. It also enables the nasty stuff. And the elites while more powerful than ever will also be more fragile and vulnerable." I'm trying

"Technology is an enabler. It also enables the nasty stuff. And the elites while more powerful than ever will also be more fragile and vulnerable." I'm trying to imagine the risk exposure with and without technology regarding the benefit for one's safety. In the past the rich people have always been exposed to robbery and other kind of crimes, and the only real solutions have been keeping a low profile or employing protecting forces. The technology worked well in reducing the risks of exposure. There doesn't make much sense now to be attacked for robbery as wealth isn't carried much around with you. I admit though that being attacked out of personal reasons wasn't brushed off by technology, but I didn't quite understood why would anyone be "hell bent on eating the rich"?

venomsnake 13y ago
Why would anyone be? I don't know - ask Lenin, Robespierre ... if we live in a world where there is only the 0.1% and all the rest - some people will try out of desperation, spite or just for the thrill. The middle class is the great buffer - the promise that keeps the poor invested in the system. If it disappears - the future will be darker for everyone.
steven777400 13y ago
This statement surprises me. I'll admit to being a little bit unstable perhaps, but when I look at people I know who have succeeded and don't need to work anymore, I struggle a lot with feelings of anger and rage. The "story" we're told is: work hard and you will succeed. But these successful people aren't working. They're just rich. Isn't that the whole idea? Passive income? But then I look and see, my labor is supporting their passive income. That makes me angry. Not out of some altruistic desire for equality, but out of jealousy. Why can't I be the one with the passive income? Class structure has only a little to do with absolutes and a lot to do with relative comparisons. You could tell me that, worldwide, I'm the 1%. I have a place to sleep (heated), food to eat (cooked), and the safety of a policed city. Boom, that's more than most of the world will ever dream. But does that help? No, it doesn't. Because we always compare upwards. It's miserable. I'm miserable every day. I'm angry, I'm rageful, I'm scared. I'm a broken person. I try to fix these things by focusing on amazingly lucky and well off I actually am in the global scheme, by focusing on how my Maslow needs actually are being met, by focusing on pride in my work and professional accomplishments, and by ignoring both the horrors below me in the world and the lavish luxury above me. But can I understand how someone could lash out, could become violent, at such perceived injustice? Absolutely I understand!
- userulluipeste 13y ago
  Now I understand this too. In time the humanity worked to combat the causes of more crude crimes which now are relatively rare. I guess the next step is to work out the remaining causes of violence, which is exactly what the article mentions - socioeconomic acceptance and being happy with beans.
- eli_gottlieb 13y ago
  > You could tell me that, worldwide, I'm the 1%. I have a place to sleep (heated), food to eat (cooked), and the safety of a policed city. Boom, that's more than most of the world will ever dream. Oh for God's sake. I'm fairly sure you're not actually in the worldwide top 1% just for having food, housing, and safety. Those things have actually been reasonably common throughout history.

venomsnake 13y ago

Why would anyone be? I don't know - ask Lenin, Robespierre ... if we live in a world where there is only the 0.1% and all the rest - some people will try out of desperation, spite or just for the thrill. The middle class is the great buffer - the promise that keeps the poor invested in the system. If it disappears - the future will be darker for everyone.

steven777400 13y ago

This statement surprises me. I'll admit to being a little bit unstable perhaps, but when I look at people I know who have succeeded and don't need to work anymore, I struggle a lot with feelings of anger and rage. The "story" we're told is: work hard and you will succeed. But these successful people aren't working. They're just rich. Isn't that the whole idea? Passive income? But then I look and see, my labor is supporting their passive income. That makes me angry. Not out of some altruistic desire for equality, but out of jealousy. Why can't I be the one with the passive income? Class structure has only a little to do with absolutes and a lot to do with relative comparisons. You could tell me that, worldwide, I'm the 1%. I have a place to sleep (heated), food to eat (cooked), and the safety of a policed city. Boom, that's more than most of the world will ever dream. But does that help? No, it doesn't. Because we always compare upwards. It's miserable. I'm miserable every day. I'm angry, I'm rageful, I'm scared. I'm a broken person. I try to fix these things by focusing on amazingly lucky and well off I actually am in the global scheme, by focusing on how my Maslow needs actually are being met, by focusing on pride in my work and professional accomplishments, and by ignoring both the horrors below me in the world and the lavish luxury above me. But can I understand how someone could lash out, could become violent, at such perceived injustice? Absolutely I understand!

userulluipeste 13y ago
Now I understand this too. In time the humanity worked to combat the causes of more crude crimes which now are relatively rare. I guess the next step is to work out the remaining causes of violence, which is exactly what the article mentions - socioeconomic acceptance and being happy with beans.
eli_gottlieb 13y ago
> You could tell me that, worldwide, I'm the 1%. I have a place to sleep (heated), food to eat (cooked), and the safety of a policed city. Boom, that's more than most of the world will ever dream. Oh for God's sake. I'm fairly sure you're not actually in the worldwide top 1% just for having food, housing, and safety. Those things have actually been reasonably common throughout history.