this post was submitted on 31 Aug 2023
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Antiwork
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You're not wrong, but the context here makes this statement entirely different. The billionaire expects to continue to be a billionaire, but it is we who need to expect less and be happy for it. We wouldn't need to accept less in the first place if he weren't so greedily hoarding the fruits of exploited labor. But that's not negotiable for him. The idea itself is absurd to him on the same level as unicorns propelling their way across the sky by way of rocket-farting fairy dust.
All the more reason for him to stop hoarding the fruits of exploited labor that he won't live to enjoy anyway. He has the power to change the world such that we don't need to expect less and have a tougher world. Rather than actually doing anything about what he's predicting, he's just telling the future of humanity to deal with it. He's a selfish prick and I hope his death is painful with proportion to the pain his existence upon us is, has been, and will be for generations to come.
These people won't get it. They're literally defending his statement and it's fkin crazy!
But he apparently do since he still move his mouth, and it's not the kind of worry that let him do a final conscience audit followed by finally doing something good, but the one where he tells us the stereotypical "eat less peasant".
Unless you're a billionaire, like this guy literally is.
-Naval Ravikant
I think that's pretty spot on. We imagine that we can't be happy because we don't have certain things while in reality we already have many of the things we used to think would make us happy. As buddhists say; "life is unsatisfactory". It's almost impossible to be satisfied with what you got because of hedonic adaptation. You'll just start wanting the next thing.
I truly belive the key to true life satisfaction is to realize how lucky we are to even be able to complain about billionaires online. Millions of people would consider their prayers answered if they could switch places with us.
It's possible to both recognize how fortunate we are to be in the position we're in and criticize an asshole billionaire who seemingly understands that the world is getting shittier over time but refuses to do anything about it despite having the power and resource necessary to do anything about it. I refuse to forgive his dragon sickness just because I have internet access in 2023, and it's fucking ridiculous for you to suggest anything of the sort.
It's possible to agree with a point someone is making while not liking the person saying it. Personally I find discussion about the topic itself more interesting than talking about billionaires.
The context of who said it and what their situation is matters immensely though. Do you not question the motive of a billionaire telling 99% of the planet that the world is gonna get tougher and that we need to expect less in order to be happy? It's like somebody driving a water truck through a desert telling the thirsty masses that they will be happier if they expect no rain. What qualifies him to tell us what to expect when he has no such challenge? Why is he even talking about this?
Sure and millions would be immediately suffering if they switched places with us, including people you'd least expect. The truth of the matter is most people are not ambitious. They don't want much, they desire even less. Every single person aged 20-50 that I know just wants their rent to be less than half their income, access to healthcare, and enough money left over to do something in their free time. Yeah, it's great we aren't spend our mornings tending to the fields and flocks and don't have to worry about pickling and canning every single food item we get our hands on. It'd be nicer if that didn't cost me more than half of my waking hours and 90% of my physical and emotional energy. I'd be willing to give up so much 'modernity' for just more free time, and it really sucks the guy that has never suffered in his life is telling me I need to give up both so his heirs can never know suffering.