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Comment by chadwickthebold | Hacker News Reader

Right. I wonder if Silicon Valley types will ever be able to move away from the faux-altruistic mindset and just acknowledge that they are interested in making more money than a single person could ever comfortably spend in 10 lifetimes. And that's not a bad thing! And maybe the world becomes a slightly better place in the process, but there's just such a disconnect right now between what they say and what they end up doing.

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There are two types of altruism:

1. The desire to perform win-win, wealth-creating transactions.

2. The desire to redistribute wealth from yourself to people who ascribe greater utility to that wealth.

I think what you're objecting to is Type 1 Altruists pretending to be Type 2 Altruists. Although I can't fault you for that, keep in mind that both types of altruism are utility-promoting, and that you can't have Type 2 without Type 1. :)

Type (1) 'altruism' has various flavours.

Two oligarchs colluding is one.

Selling out to olligarchs may be another.

Both of these seem to be increasing "perceptions"

Of Silicon Valley's ~morality.

Yeah, "win-win" does not imply "wealth-creating". Negative externalities can cancel out the wealth creation or even push it into the negative. However, a lot of people who talk about wanting to "change the world" do genuinely want to make the world wealthier.

I am interested in making more money than a single person could ever comfortably spend in 10 lifetimes.

To be fair, sama listed "It's not about the money" as SV lie #1:

https://twitter.com/sama/status/453708825250381824

I always tell people this straight up. I'm about the money, everything I do is about the money. I just really REALLY do not want to work at any company until I'm 50, life is seriously way too short. My circle of friends, most of us have already exited and are living the life, I'm trying to follow suit.

The notion of retiring before 30 fuels me entirely.

Would love to reach out, shoot me an email.

http://watsi.org

And "changing the world" sounds great/positive, but it is often relatively neutral and sometimes negative.

Post of the Year right here. Prepare to be downvoted relentlessly for commiting Hacker News sacrilege[0].

0 - http://www.paulgraham.com/say.html

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