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Comment by gleezard | Hacker News Reader

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And this is the ideology that got us to where we are now. There is no problem with making money but bending politics/society to your will, and even voting for destructive parties, only for the good of personal interest is abhorrent, antisocial behavior.

One would think that these "geniuses" would understand that living in a society where lower class people do not live with constant existential threats would be a positive for them too...but I guess they find it easier to be hated by everyone and be forced to hire bodyguards, private armies, and live in gated communities and bunkers in fear of getting in touch with the real world.

I don't particularly agree with Ezra Klein or Francis Fukuyama, often vehemently disagree. But on the latest episode of Klein's NYT show it was interesting to hear Francis mention this coupling of wealth and political power being one of the core problems the US is grappling with.

Separate the nouveau robber barons from political power like we did the clergy?

In the United States, clergy never had formal political power. Religious movements did play major roles in the abolition of slavery and Prohibition of alcohol.

The United States had campaign-finance laws to limit the political influence money can buy. The McCain–Feingold Act restricted “dark money”. The Supreme Court struck it down in Citizens United v. FEC.

I think he’s referring to the separation of church and state that was codified at the founding of the US based on experience of how things went in Europe prior to that

Indeed. If you hold your duty to your net worth above your duty to civil society, you can't be trusted with civil society. To paraphrase Patrick Henry.

It won’t be the first or hundredth society to falter due to the hubris of leaders. At this point it’s just a race to see if AI or climate disaster gets us first, with the former accelerating the latter.

I'd love to have some first hand experience.

ethnographies of the rich and the famous

Back of the line, buddy!

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