How could they? People living an average lifestyle need to work full time, transport the kids around, cook, do their household chores, file their taxes, queue everywhere. That's why people who no longer need to work for living mostly spend time with others who no longer need to work for living.

Billionaires have so much power that they 1) start asking themselves questions like “how can I change society?” and 2) are surrounded by sycophants waiting for crumbs. Besides that they are free to effectively decide the fates of others without their own skin in the game - think Alex Karp vs the immigrants being rounded up in concentration camps. What we have is a potent cocktail that engenders anti-human policies with no brakes whatsoever.

I think the biggest problem for those that make it is being surrounded by people who just say yes, and not realizing when that transition happens. If you come from middle- to upper-middle-class and become 1% of the 1%, this switch has to be subtle, I would imagine.

When you're worth billions, it's easy to see how correct you were about business (or just assume you were correct, whether it was luck, inheritance, or whatever). And weirdly, the people in your life tend to agree with you about everything else outside of business (because they want access to that billionaire lifestyle, or are also so disconnected from average life that they naturally share your views already). You never hear a dissenting opinion, unless it's from some weirdo on the internet who is plainly just jealous of your wealth.

Jesters need to be a thing again. Somebody that follows around the wealthy and powerful and just absolutely blasts their bullshit every chance they get. Someone to say 'no' when all of the hangers-on say nothing but 'yes'.

Can you define some terms? Without unambiguous definition this isn't very clear.

What is "technological progress"? And how does right-leaning politics support it?

What do you mean by "unfettered conversations"?