Cory DoctorowMar 9

Even if rich people were no more likely to believe stupid shit than you or me, it'd still be a problem. After all, I believe my share of stupid shit (and if you think that none of the shit you believe in is stupid, then I'm afraid we've just identified at least one kind of stupid shit you believe in).

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If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2026/03/09/autocrats-of-trade/#witness-the-firepower-of-this-fully-armed-and-operational-battle-station

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Show threadDavid Knuffke
@pluralistic Billionaireism should be seen as a mental illness.
Mar 10 at 9:21pmWeb
Show threadSusanna the Artist 🌻Mar 11
@Dknuffke When you hoard cats, they call the police. When you hoard money, they let you rule the world.
Show threadZhi Zhu 🕸️Mar 11

@superflippy @Dknuffke

Yep, I've always thought of the uber-rich as hoarders.

Show threadWulfy—Speaker to the machinesMar 11

@pluralistic @Dknuffke

Hoarding

Show threadCM ThiedeMar 11
@Dknuffke @pluralistic a crime against humanity
Show threadkaliMar 11
@Dknuffke @pluralistic as an OCD owner of 300 shower gels and 500 eyeshadow palettes: if you own that much of anything something isn't working right up there.
Show threadkaliMar 11
@Dknuffke @pluralistic if you have one billion - you are basically a hoarder at this point.
Show threadDavid KnuffkeMar 14
@pluralistic @kali I don’t understand why no one proposes a 100% tax on anything over some random, wildly high number like 500 million in accessible assets.
Show threadcondret   Mar 11
@Dknuffke @pluralistic if you were offered a billion usd, would you say no?
Show threadDavid KnuffkeMar 14

@condret @pluralistic I would keep the amount I need to live comfortably and donate the rest. I figure that’s about 5-10 million wisely invested. So that’s about 1% of a billion dollars.

Would you do something different? What’s the utility in more than that?