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122 points throw0101b | 6 comments | | HN request time: 0.748s | source | bottom
1. bawana ◴[] No.44442739[source]
By his logic, he would replace most humans w machines and ai. Can you see a world of ‘bezos,musks,trumps’ types protected and provided with their machines while they despoil the flora and fauna of the earth. Economies of scale fail when scale becomes very large.
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2. ◴[] No.44442790[source]
3. roxolotl ◴[] No.44442843[source]
As a typical American teenage boy I had a bout of libertarianism in high school. Atypically however it ended with my reading of Atlas Shrugged. Somehow my take away from the book was that clearly there are limits to selfishness and there’s a point at which everyone is dependent upon the systems they live in. Real selfishness is largely selfless. It just felt so much like a childish fantasy that I took away something I suspect Rand would be upset about.

Regardless I say that to say it bewilders me how easily we, well mostly Americans, fell into this trap of believing that most humans are unnecessary and all that matters is skill at amassing capital. After a certain point not only does the economy of scale break down the whole system collapses in on itself. I’m sure they’ll have a great time pontificating and self aggrandizing in the Gulch while everyone else is doing the real work of rebuilding.

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4. 9rx ◴[] No.44443211[source]
> I say that to say it bewilders me how easily we, well mostly Americans, fell into this trap of believing that most humans are unnecessary

I suppose in hindsight they have a point. So much human effort is merely discovery that, if perfect information existed, really would have been pointless and unnecessary. Those who land into the right information, even if only by dumb luck, end up amassing capital as a natural consequence, so to the outside observer such people appear to be the "chosen ones" who have it all figured out.

This doesn't end with economics. In general, those who are deemed to not have the right information tend to be ostracized. To be wrong is the greatest sin a person, at least an American person, can make. This was particularly apparent during the high tensions of the COVID pandemic, where great friendships were lost when the parties involved couldn't agree on who had the right information.

The flaw in all that, of course, is that perfect information doesn't exist. I suspect the idea that it does was fuelled heavily by the college marketing campaigns of a several decades ago — that which also brought us the idea if you don't get a degree, you'll be forever stricken to flipping burgers at McDonald's — selling the idea that perfect information is available if only you choose to accept it. But, before you get your panties in a knot, let it be emphasized that my suspicions could be wrong and that's okay. Perfect information doesn't exist.

5. al_borland ◴[] No.44445020[source]
How did Trump get lumped in with Bezos and Musk? Trump was arguing to keep coal plants open for the jobs, and before politics was mostly in the luxury service industry where a robot server would be rejected outright.

Did I miss where he was pushing for the robots to take over?

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6. bigfishrunning ◴[] No.44445231[source]
I think you missed orange man bad, bad rich people all same bad, BAD!