Side Effects of the Growth of Wealth (1999)
nytimes.com
Side Effects of the Growth of Wealth (1999)
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Re: Side Effects of the Growth of Wealth (1999)
#2"The god of the market-worshipers that celebrate the glories of turbo-capitalism is Adam Smith, but theirs is a devotion that crucially depends on not reading him."
I found this amusing. It seems that fanatical devotion to dogmatic source texts is always predicated on not having read the source text to begin with. (Thinking the words in your head without digesting their meaning does not qualify as reading IMO.)
Re: Side Effects of the Growth of Wealth (1999)
#3"The god of the market-worshipers that celebrate the glories of turbo-capitalism is Adam Smith, but theirs is a devotion that crucially depends on not reading him." I found this amusing. It seems that fanatical devotion to dogmatic source texts is always predicated on not having read the source text to begin with. (Thinking the words in your head without digesting their meaning does not qualify as reading IMO.)
That kind of thing is the basis of a lot of crazy orthodoxies. For example Jehovah's Witnesses are often encouraged not to read the bible, but to read JW bibles or writings instead. It's incredibly easy to control people when you make insularity a virtue, and they buy into it.
Re: Side Effects of the Growth of Wealth (1999)
#4There is definitely something in it when the article links turbo-capitalism to "the destruction of authenticity".
I find that wealthy people lack authenticity and more often than not, they seem to be completely unaware of their predicament.
They've seemingly lost their ability for self-reflection (if they ever had it) - That's why many of them trust financially-motivated personal growth gurus, success coaches, high-end psychologists and advisors to guide them.
A lot of wealthy people don't seem to fully appreciate that absolutely everyone around them is constantly trying to milk them - Eventually, they get so used to it that they start to think that they're living in some pink cloud surrounded by friendly people and they forget that these so-called friends always have their skinny hands on those fat udders of theirs.
Re: Side Effects of the Growth of Wealth (1999)
#5There is definitely something in it when the article links turbo-capitalism to "the destruction of authenticity". I find that wealthy people lack authenticity and more often than not, they seem to be completely unaware of their predicament. They've seemingly lost their ability for self-reflection (if they ever had it) - That's why many of them trust financially-motivated personal growth gurus, success coaches, high-e…
How many wealthy people do you know? How do you know how much self-reflection they do?
Re: Side Effects of the Growth of Wealth (1999)
#6> In the end, he offers no prescription for turbo-capitalism, merely predicts that "the wave of the future could be populism," the essence of which is always "a revolt of the less educated against elite rule, elite opinions, elite values and the elite's consensus on how government and the economy should be run."
Published in 1999. Sounds like he got at least some things right.
Re: Side Effects of the Growth of Wealth (1999)
#7There is definitely something in it when the article links turbo-capitalism to "the destruction of authenticity". I find that wealthy people lack authenticity and more often than not, they seem to be completely unaware of their predicament. They've seemingly lost their ability for self-reflection (if they ever had it) - That's why many of them trust financially-motivated personal growth gurus, success coaches, high-e…
How many wealthy people do you know? How do you know how much self-reflection they do?
Several, including a close family member and several relatives. I've also met lots of others and the pattern looks very clear to me.
Re: Side Effects of the Growth of Wealth (1999)
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
How many wealthy people do you know? How do you know how much self-reflection they do?
Several, including a close family member and several relatives. I've also met lots of others and the pattern looks very clear to me.
The wealthy people I personally know do not follow the pattern you describe.
Re: Side Effects of the Growth of Wealth (1999)
#9"The god of the market-worshipers that celebrate the glories of turbo-capitalism is Adam Smith, but theirs is a devotion that crucially depends on not reading him." I found this amusing. It seems that fanatical devotion to dogmatic source texts is always predicated on not having read the source text to begin with. (Thinking the words in your head without digesting their meaning does not qualify as reading IMO.)
A somewhat OT anecdote: I met one of my good friends in SF serrindipitously because... he was reading Wealth of Nations next to me at the cafe bar and I struck up a conversation with him about it. And perhaps naturally, he's as far from dogmatic devotion as one can get.
Re: Side Effects of the Growth of Wealth (1999)
#10There is definitely something in it when the article links turbo-capitalism to "the destruction of authenticity". I find that wealthy people lack authenticity and more often than not, they seem to be completely unaware of their predicament. They've seemingly lost their ability for self-reflection (if they ever had it) - That's why many of them trust financially-motivated personal growth gurus, success coaches, high-e…
What do you define as "wealthy"? And what "authenticity" do these people lack? The article doesn't define what "the destruction of authenticity" means (presumably the book does), leaving readers to make up their own definitions.
> They've seemingly lost their ability for self-reflection (if they ever had it) - That's why many of them trust financially-motivated personal growth gurus, success coaches, high-end psychologists and advisors to guide them.
I'd guess that wealthier people likely engage in more self-reflection (on average) because wealth affords them the opportunity to do so. As for all the personal growth gurus, coaches, etc., most of these people make their money off the middle class. It's not millionaires buying Tony Robbins books and attending his courses.
> A lot of wealthy people don't seem to fully appreciate that absolutely everyone around them is constantly trying to milk them
You really think wealthy people don't recognize that their wealth attracts this? The rest of the world sees this but not the wealthy? Wealthy people tend to spend their time with other wealthy people because of this.