Sweaty Peter Thiel is definitely going to be the name of our next drink special. "Sweaty Peter Thiel Mocked for Incoherent Answer About CEO Slaying." Thiel, drenched in sweat, struggled to form a coherent response, pausing for over 10 seconds before beginning to speak. Piers Morgan asked Antichrist Peter Thiel what he would say to people who celebrated Luigi Mangione -- who was a fan of Peter
Yeah, Douglas Rushkoff has a book about that, Survival of the Richest. For some reason, billionaires consulted him about their “shit hits the fan” plans, and he laughed at them and wrote a book about it. They had all these elaborate fantasies about how they were going to keep their security team loyal after civilization collapsed, or about how they’d avoid having any humans working for them and use robots instead. But, they hadn’t even thought about the most basic things.
Like, one guy had an underground bunker complete with a swimming pool (or at least plans for one). Rushkoff said to the guy that his neighbor had a pool and frequently had contractors over to clean it, or replace parts, etc. He asked what the guy was going to do about basic pool maintenance. The guy got out a notepad and wrote “get replacement parts for the pool” or something. He basically hadn’t even thought 1 step beyond the initial idea.
You’re right that the best plan for an apocalyptic scenario is to have useful skills that other people will appreciate, so that you can be a valuable, contributing member of their community. And no, billionaire CEOs, “leadership skills” don’t count. Or, if they do, the leaders will either be strongmen who are personally very comfortable with using violence to ensure everyone falls in line, or they’ll be very empathetic people who resolve disputes and make sure everyone works in harmony. It won’t be people who make “cut-throat decisions” but who faint at the sight of actual blood.
Thank you for posting this - I may have to add that to my reading list.
One thing that’s been in the back of my mind for a few years now, was basically this. I think we’re seeing the wealthiest going full-mask-off-kleptocracy in an effort to hoard wealth only to leave (somehow) when the physical and metaphorical heat gets to be too much. A true rich-man’s response to climate change. But I struggled to square the concept of building wealth that is ultimately based on the current economy, with how that could possibly be useful in a worst-case scenario. Now I can see that there really is a disconnect in the minds of these people, as though the medium to long-term isn’t a consideration.
Yeah, Douglas Rushkoff has a book about that, Survival of the Richest. For some reason, billionaires consulted him about their “shit hits the fan” plans, and he laughed at them and wrote a book about it. They had all these elaborate fantasies about how they were going to keep their security team loyal after civilization collapsed, or about how they’d avoid having any humans working for them and use robots instead. But, they hadn’t even thought about the most basic things.
Like, one guy had an underground bunker complete with a swimming pool (or at least plans for one). Rushkoff said to the guy that his neighbor had a pool and frequently had contractors over to clean it, or replace parts, etc. He asked what the guy was going to do about basic pool maintenance. The guy got out a notepad and wrote “get replacement parts for the pool” or something. He basically hadn’t even thought 1 step beyond the initial idea.
You’re right that the best plan for an apocalyptic scenario is to have useful skills that other people will appreciate, so that you can be a valuable, contributing member of their community. And no, billionaire CEOs, “leadership skills” don’t count. Or, if they do, the leaders will either be strongmen who are personally very comfortable with using violence to ensure everyone falls in line, or they’ll be very empathetic people who resolve disputes and make sure everyone works in harmony. It won’t be people who make “cut-throat decisions” but who faint at the sight of actual blood.
Thank you for posting this - I may have to add that to my reading list.
One thing that’s been in the back of my mind for a few years now, was basically this. I think we’re seeing the wealthiest going full-mask-off-kleptocracy in an effort to hoard wealth only to leave (somehow) when the physical and metaphorical heat gets to be too much. A true rich-man’s response to climate change. But I struggled to square the concept of building wealth that is ultimately based on the current economy, with how that could possibly be useful in a worst-case scenario. Now I can see that there really is a disconnect in the minds of these people, as though the medium to long-term isn’t a consideration.