@davidrevoy I remember seeing a French comedian called Paul Cabannes talking about the time he met the Brazilian president and the French president at the G20 summit, and he wondered how presidents manage to stay sane when they're always surrounded by sycophants. I guess not all of them manage it, and neither do the billionaires.
As @pluralistic says, the billionaires aren't OK.
@ygor @davidrevoy @pluralistic
Perhaps this is the reason why money and power almost always seem to structurally delete morality from otherwise ordinary humans' brains.
@davidrevoy @space_cadet @pluralistic
I think it is a bit of both. There are plenty of awful people who aren't rich or powerful. And many of those people desperately want power, and some of them end up getting it. But even for those who have a moral compass to begin with, becoming too powerful creates a disconnect with the rest of humanity, which can be dehumanizing in both directions.
This is sometimes explored more metaphorically in fantasy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbwJyXnlMes
@ygor @davidrevoy @space_cadet @pluralistic Indeed. If you've ever discovered that someone else had it worse than you thought, or has issues you don't, then you know how hard it is to be objective in practice. The key is to be curious and always check assumptions before forging a long lasting opinion. Or at least be open to changing that opinion when you realize the assumptions were false.
I believe that the whirlwind of politics and money can easily make even good people forget about this.
David Revoy
Ygor
Wannabe Astronaut
Moni
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