Apparently the goal of the billionaire tech bros is not to make tech that benefits the world, but instead to make tech that they can raid for enough money to distance themselves from the apocalypse that they are helping to create and speed along by the technology they build.
Their goal is to make enough money now to create a secure place to ride out whatever apocalypse comes about which is largely of their own making.
Let me say it a little louder for those of you in the cheap seats: CORPO CEOs DONâT CARE ABOUT YOU. TO THEM, YOU ARE A VIRUS TO BE AVOIDED.
Techbros like Peter Thiel explained clearly long ago their vision of a kinda âluxury preppingâ where they build fortified mansions in âremoteâ places like New Zealand. Itâs not clear how or why these places should be safer than the rest of the world, in case of an extinction event or a societal collapse, but still.
Ironically, a societal collapse would probably get rid of the late stage capitalism that now favors said techbros, so itâs quite unlikely that they will be able to emerge from their mansions as new rulers of the world.
Of course, thnigs would be faster and better if they all will get aboard some Muskâs starship and migrate to Mars.
From what I gathered by the article, places like New Zealand are chosen for reasons like they are in a much more temperate zone and closer to the equator, theyâre not as populated as other places, and people have lived there for thousands of years. Pretty much all of the reasons that New Zealand is quickly becoming my âescape countryâ destination.
It also seems like theyâre more concerned about spending all of their billions to go and build these places so that they could live out the rest of their lives in comfort and plenty while the rest of the world burns. A lot of the questions were about how to maintain order and control of their little bunker fiefdoms, and how much to stockpile in order to keep them and their compatriots comfortable.
They know the world is nearing disaster one way or another, largely as a direct result of their actions. Thatâs why theyâre trying to figure out a way to escape the planet or find a place to hide and ride it out as long as they live.
The ultimate âlet them eat cakeâ response, if you will.
All this is largely delusional, I think. Typical techbro billionaire.
In âNotes from an Apocalypse: A Personal Journey to the End of the World and Backâ by Mark OâConnell there is something interesting about Thielâs project and about American prepping in general. The book isnât that great, but itâs worth its price (in digital forms).
Regarding how this survivalist billionaire stuff will end⌠âRadicalizedâ by Cory Doctorow has an educative short story exactly about that.
I canât tell if people here are suggesting that they have no need to prepare for disaster or that it doesnât matter how many preperations they make, they will ultimately be unsuccessful at surviving.
Iâm not sold on the idea that there will be a single event where everything escalates rapidly. It looks to me like itâll be a long series of events that are each worse than the previous. But food prices soaring is a key one and something weâve already seen a lot of in the past 4 years. When people can"t afford to eat, things go downhill quickly.
The original root of this post was specifically in regards to billionaires basically hastening the collapse and thinking that they themselves can survive the mess they make in luxury while the rest of us suffer.
I think that this discussion has been limited to the constraints of money and capitalism. I think that most of us here know that things are going to keep getting worse, but I would also wager to say that itâs hard to know how to prep when we donât know what the conditions will really be like as things get worse. Having lived through a couple of panics for things like fuel and even toilet-paper, thereâs something to be said for prepping (or over-prepping) hastening that panic state. I think that anyone that hoards things like food is going to bring a lot more trouble upon themselves than they would if society would work together to make sure that thereâs some equity in the distribution of basic necessities.
I mean what good is building a survival bunker full of food if the island that itâs built upon ends up being consumed by the sea? Or ice? Or fire? Since we really donât know how the catastrophes will play out, in my view thereâs not really any way to be totally prepared for what will happen.
That makes more sense that the assertion that these people are âdelusionalâ is about believing they wonât be able to defend against the mobs at the gates, guards who arenât loyal, etc.
Iâm not sure I agree, but I understand.
The guardian article made a pretty convincing argument that the rich will have to share if they want to reduce their odds of the guards turning on them.
It may be impossible to prepare for all disasters, but having food, water and shelter go a long way. If getting these things requires fuel, then Iâd say thatâs not very good preperation.
Most threats are known. Sea level rise, temperature rise, natural disasters getting more frequent, more intense and more difficult to forecast. Supply chain disruptions as a result of all of the above.
Point being: if theyâre willing to statt sharing with others, they could probably prepare well enough to live out their own natural lives. I agree that if the plan were to pay the guards, gardeners, cooks and others in the way theyâre being paid now, the idea of continuing to live the high life is unrealistic, but that didnât seem to be what the article was suggesting theyâd do.
The idea that theyâll probably get away with it doesnât please me, but from an engineering perspective, it doesnât seem all that outlandish.
