Bitcoin Billionaires Want To Start Their Own Countries...And We Should Be Worried.

[@Ajv516]

Tech bros accidentally reinvented trains, buses, mid-day lunch breaks, public parks, and feudalism.

[@sonicgoo1121]

Or how people keep reinventing the apartment. Usually in the form of shipping containers.

[@seeleunit2000]

Not reinventing, just reinstating... Which is disturbing and sickening

[@SageWon-1aussie]

Like anyone "accidentally" institutes feudalism.

[@oldcowbb]

nonono, pods, not trains, trains are for poor people

[@kimemia_maina]

As is their wont

[@Matty002]

Sci-Fi Author: In my book I invented the Torment Nexus as a cautionary tale Tech Company: At long last, we have created the Torment Nexus from classic sci-fi novel Don't Create The Torment Nexus

[@hypothalapotamus5293]

Techbro: Don't worry. When I get rich from a modern ponzi scheme, I won't create the torment nexus. I'll create the shrike tree. It'll be a place where people can hang out, recite poetry, and share emotions while being used as living computers for the hivemind.

[@southerncyan4098]

​@@hypothalapotamus5293 Yes, there is so much potential! I've heard that the human mind can store about 300 years of memories, therefore 200 is unessential~ imagine the possibilities of further efficiency's ✨

[@transsexual_computer_faery]

here's the thing. they dont live forever. they do whatever they want to gain profit because they dont care what happens to humanity after they died.

[@timbertome2443]

@@hypothalapotamus5293 Hehe "hang out" 💀 *Hyperion mentioned*

[@acheyawachtel9409]

Cyberpunk: Billionaires owning a city is a really bad idea Billionaires: Owning a city, you say

[@keanuxu5435]

Elongated Muskrat: Cyberpunk is so cool! We all should get chips in our heads! Not me tho. Gotta watch what my wage slaves think to prevent unionization.

[@Raziel312]

Night City was supposed to be a warning, not a blueprint.

[@Bojoschannel]

Sometimes i wonder what tech bros experience when engaging with cyberpunk media, the authors basically scream to you thru the texts that "this is a bad future", yet you got Zuckerberg naming meta after Snow Crash and Musk's horrible truck. Guess they heavily identify with the villains and corporations from those universes

[@bazzfromthebackground3696]

Place you bets on which one makes AM. 😂

[@erynies7682]

​@@BojoschannelIt's not bad for them. That's what makes it extra horrifying.

[@Praisethesunson]

So company towns, but bigger and somehow even dumber.

[@WisecrackEDU]

basically that.

[@bishop186]

I feel like I'm just listening to a setting description for a new Cyberpunk game.

[@therrydicule]

​@@bishop186 Because it is... What does OCP does in RoboCop?

[@arnemyggen]

Lesson learned: never let nerds get rich

[@therrydicule]

@@arnemyggen Look, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs are also big nerds. The difference is they didn't think they can bring a mentality of bringing their idea to disturb the markets to the rest of society. Heck, they were seeing what they were doing as making tools that would change the world - then take the money, and let people figure the politics out for a long time. We got rich nerds who are way more arrogant and not representative of anyone.

[@malcire]

Didn't Bioshock already show us a free market city run by a billionaire?

[@anthonydelfino6171]

Yup... and so did Cyberpunk, though that was run by corporations as opposed to one wealthy individual

[@АлександрСоловьев-п5р]

Works of fiction are not a demonstration of anything except authorial intent

[@malcire]

@user-vb2uq1fy9x They can work as parables for conveying a moral as well. But I take it you mean that they don't prove anything about their topic. Which nope, they don't.

[@TheEverFreeKing]

And rapture was fantastic only ruined by communists. Is my ideal society we will build it.

[@malcire]

@@TheEverFreeKing ? I mean a big part of the game is mocking Ayn Rand and implying somone still needs to clean the toilets. Not really sure how communists are a major portion of rapture. Outside of Andrew Ryan being an Ayn Rand expy. I mean, the largest antagonist in the game is Fontantine with his kindly shit. And he's just a generic US crime boss. Like you get that BS 1 and 2 are openly mocking Rand and her writing, right? Like it really isn't subtle. Much in the same way that infinite is parodying patriotism, jingonism, and nationalism.

[@skyisreallyhigh3333]

"I got gene therapy to make me stronger and faster" No you didn't, you got scammed.

[@stacie1595]

Defeted with a simple "prove it"

[@SarahAndreaRoycesChannel]

Na, works like a charm as long as he gets his ADAM

[@pirateluffy01]

😂

[@pif5023]

Bro really doesn’t like the gym

[@StrongButAwkward]

He definitely seems like the type of rich rube that is so convinced he is a "very smart boy" (TM) that he would believe just about any gene therapy delivered via CRISPR Cas9 is safe and effective. I say this as a biologist that is generally more on the side of advancement in tech and science being good and cool (and probably could describe myself as a transhumanist), but with a big enough dash of 'but there could definitely be some downsides we should worry about' skepticism and hesitancy........ that the attitudes of these bio-hacking tech bros competing with each other to see who can be the earliest adopters of every single thing is eye roll and groan inducing and frustratingly infantile/naive and careless/reckless/irresponsible.

[@CatsMeowPaw]

The one thing no one mentions about Hong Kong is a few people got fabulously wealthy while many live in literal cages. But yes, let's replicate that.

[@SpoopySquid]

​@@lightcatango8299and many more will remain in brutal poverty, while having their civil rights continuously eroded

[@boi8328]

Now that the CCP has taken over Hong Kong, they've all moved out 😂

[@whitethereal5283]

​@@boi8328it hasn't tho, China is investing in infraestructure to bettrr hong kongs conditions (the main reason their people aren't forced into even worse conditions by the brittish) but it still is a good 20+ years from being fully anexed

[@StephenLeGresley]

No thank you. We already live too much at the mercy of the rich and their greed. I feel like life on an island completely controlled by them result in either slavery or being hunted for sport. Letting the rich create their own island nations is no different then completely returning to a feudal system of Kings and Queens. Now if there was the option to move to an island without rich people on it, that might be something worth considering.

[@Femtophantom]

Yes the islands without rich people are havens 😂

[@StephenLeGresley]

@@Femtophantom Given what Rich people have done to our societies we could turn them into heavens without them.

[@haydenkirk8884]

Let them live on thier island, but they are not allowed assistants or servants. They gotta build, produce, grow food, and do everything themselves. See how that turns out

[@DankoStojanovic]

How many rich people in Cuba? I really don't know

[@TheEverFreeKing]

I wanna live Is in a society full of smart rich people with no democracy. You crazy and the rich people will make a better society Then you could ever dream. You can keep crying about it though While wise people join private societies.

[@ronokoftherainlords4184]

Libertarians will play Bioshock once and think Andrew Ryan is the good guy.

[@planzproductions2631]

Went searching for the first bioshock reference I could find

[@solk.posner7201]

Media literacy is their weakest point lol

[@zaberfang]

You always think the working man is the good guy

[@anthonydelfino6171]

You say this, but I've actually seen people argue that Rapture would have been fine if Andrew Ryan just stuck to his principles and didn't try to use the power of the state to squash Fontaine's private enterprises

[@ronokoftherainlords4184]

@anthonydelfino6171 Rapture collapsed because Ryan stuck to his principles and refused to regulate the sale of Adam.

[@kenbasil1996]

You load 16 tons, what do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt St. Peter, don't you call me 'cause I can't go I owe my soul to the company store

[@elaineb7065]

Baa baa black sheep have you any wool Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full Two for the master, one for the dame And none for the little boy who cries in the lane The sheep's wool is taken, given to the rich, & kept from the needy

[@howie624]

Helen is hosting, hooray! 👍 Billionaires are building boroughs, booo! 👎

[@charleselindberg]

9:02 "Privately-owned and for profit." So, just capitalist aristocracy.

[@TeamSoraPresents]

"The billionaires will build a utopian city, free from the shackles of government regulations and moral codes!" Yes, because that's always worked out great. Just ask the people of Rapture.

[@icantnames8533]

A billionaires utopia is everyone else's dystopia....

[@TheEverFreeKing]

Rapture was going beautifully until evil communist rose up.

[@baoquoc3710]

Is this fuc**ng sarcasm?

[@HALLish-jl5mo]

And it worked in Galt's Gluch, which Rapture is based on. Almost like fiction isn't a case study. I can write any ideology I want succeeding and failing.

[@hypothalapotamus5293]

Neocolonialism is fun until somebody drops ~$10 million worth of weapons in the village next door.

[@MrIAMNOTANOOB]

The last thing we need is to live in corporate towns where our jobs don't pay real money instead we get paid in Mickey Bucks which can be exchanged for real money if we have enough. The exchange rate however is brutal.

[@blakejwc]

Are you talking about the US dollar and landownership?

[@MrIAMNOTANOOB]

@@blakejwcYes

[@CortexNewsService]

We've already had that in the US. Look up company towns in the 19th century. It didn't turn out good.

[@a_very_distressed_fed]

Thanks for hosting Helen. We miss you

[@Monkehrawrrr]

I don't like how she talks like an annoying teacher talking to kids, the other guy is better imo

[@luisvazquez5041]

​@@Monkehrawrrrshut up troll.

[@-Gnarlemagne]

​@@Monkehrawrrr Michael is great, but I really urge you to ask yourself some questions. For example, when was the last time you said something nice about a woman that wasn't about appearance? Genuinely. Helen is an extremely well spoken, well educated person who communicates complex ideas really clearly, while keeping the tone fun and casual, but I often see people say things like this. I just wonder - if she was bringing a different energy than she did, what would the complaint be? Would it be naggy? Bossy? Motherly? "Trying to hard"? It's tiring seeing all the same shit over and over again. We really need to collectively examine *why* feel feel the way we do about people before publishing those feelings directly onto the internet.

[@10tailedbijuu]

@@-Gnarlemagne sorry dude we aren't robots

[@Rafathy]

@@MonkehrawrrrNah she's cool. I appreciate a break from the other dude

[@Ford_prefect_42]

Do I want to live in a city run by ego maniacs who made their money off the backs a underpaid or free labor, who see humans as items and not autonomous beings? No. No I do not. Thanks for asking though!

[@jeff35741]

Unskilled unintelligent people crying.You should take care of them, or your a meanie is basically your comment

[@AndreH-fx1pr]

We actually already live in cities like that.

[@thomasshirley318]

​@@AndreH-fx1pryes we do

[@thomasshirley318]

​@AndreH-fx1pr we live in a corporatocracy and oligarchy

[@Ford_prefect_42]

@@AndreH-fx1pr not wrong, friend. Not wrong

[@rorylynch1203]

I got the “bad” Econ professor in business school who was in his 80s, a Keynesian, and hated Milton Friedman. Loved that dude

[@Bariom_dome]

I dislike Friedman too, but also because he is not alive to see how his ideas boosted the "tech bro" crazy

[@FacterinoCommenterino]

Today's Fact: The oldest continuously inhabited city in the world is Damascus, Syria, which has been inhabited for over 11,000 years.

[@gilsimhon9251]

Jericho?

[@SamNo27]

​@@gilsimhon9251 jericho is in palestine

[@charles___]

it's a shi hole today tho

[@jackbucher2049]

@@SamNo27 Palestine is part of the world last I checked my figures

[@taipolar333]

that is a fun fact. thank you

[@roberthoople]

** Billionaire wrecks everything ** "You ain't taxin' me man! I'm outta here!"

[@danielmikula1375]

One interesting aspect about Milton Friedman's neoliberalism: he was for universal basic income in the form of a negative income tax. Interesting how that never manifests in any of the systems that claim to be inspired by his ideas. It's almost like wealthy people just adopt the parts they like and ignore all the parts that make them have any semblance of sustainability.

[@vienlacrose]

Everybody wants to rule, nobody wants to uphold noblesse oblige, and some dare act shocked when their heads roll as a result.

[@thedragonslibrary]

People understand that Cyberpunk settings are almost always dystopias...right?

[@simoneidson21]

People wanna be the ceos of the megacorps

[@jellojiei6061]

That’s from fiction, if your honesty basing you politics, about the future, based solely on what some film or game makers think who have no idea how science, economics or government works than I don’t know what that says about you. Also this video leaves out a lot, and even a child could see how biased they are.

[@randomtinypotatocried]

@@jellojiei6061All those stories are based on examples from history of this going horribly wrong (just the stories have a flasher decor)

[@jellojiei6061]

@@randomtinypotatocried there has not really been a Liberian nation ever, also wisecracks, reporting on this, is at best biased and amateur. They fail to mention, that it’s against prospera, charter to force other people, into the community without their consent. And most of the problems she raises have been concerned, such as regulations well your allowed to pick your own regulations, insurance is involved so that if you pick something with more regulations you pay more in an insurance premiums as for injuries from their treatments you can still fly back to another country to get treatment Also well prospera is suing the government of Honduras that is because the current government is blatantly breaking international law.as governments must pay massive compensation, in these situations, the reason this happens is so increase globalization as there is no way, anyone would invest in another country if said country could seize their assets

[@bkbland1626]

It's a crime against ALL OF US that billionaires exist.

[@fubar12345]

Billionaires are an inevitable result of inflation.

[@robertofagner]

No it isnt, there is nothing inherently wrong with someone being a billionaire. You are criticising accumulating capital as a private prperty, there are people that throught their lives accumulate more than others. If you want to say that this is a crime, you are essentially saying that you do not own what you own, say the government states that someone with any total patrimon above 1 million will have their assets confiscated, it means that there's a threshold to how much you can accumulate, 1 million might seem big but a lot of people will breakthrough the limit and will just travel to another country where they wont be charged. So essentialy, if you criticese billionaires cause they have too much money, you have to criticise millionares, and people who make 6 figures, and lower, because you are criticising having property over your own money, meaning you are defending that someone cant control what they own.

[@fastlanenigeria]

Billionaire bot. But you're absolutely right. ​@@robertofagner

[@kazmark_gl8652]

​@robertofagner Hear me out. it is impossible to earn a billion dollars. no one person is that productive. earning 1 billion dollars can ONLY be accomplished through owning a huge corporation, which needs employees and managers and does some kind of profitable business. but all profit is inherently theft because all value is derived from labor you can have all the raw materials you want but it will stay in that raw state until a worker uses their labor to manufacture it, then it becomes a finished good or component that has value. businesses only make money by charging more to buy whatever they make then it cost them to make it, and the most common way of reducing the cost to produce something is to reduce the labor cost to make it, which inevitably means reducing the wages of the workers who make it. so the worker created that value, but the capitalist reaps the profit, this is theft, even if the worker agreed to the wages, morally it's theft. ergo since the only way to make a billion dollars is to own a huge corporation, huge corporations will only generate a billion dollars through profit, and profit is Inheriently theft, you can't earn a billion dollars, you can only steal it. please do not defend the people who rob you every single day of your life.

[@cosmicclusters3255]

@@robertofagner Your wrong. There is no ethical way to become an billionaire. Dont be a bootlicker Please, Think about it for longer then a second. Capitalism is a Zero Sum game, YOU KNOW THIS. In order for there to be winners there must be losers and billionaires exaggerate that by a million! There is NO WAY possible to attain that kind of wealth without taking food out of other peoples mouths. For example There is NOOO reason in the world CEOS should be paid 200x as much as average worker. GREED. Mass Layoffs after years of record profits and free handout from Goverment/FED. GREED. There no way to make that kind of money without screwing over a ton of other people,

[@severdislike4222]

Thrown out of our cities and have all of their assets seized seems infinitely more sane.

[@10tailedbijuu]

never gonna happen no matter how much you don't like the rich.

[@taragnor]

@@10tailedbijuu I'm sure they said the same thing in France in 1780.

[@AlbatrossCommando]

​@@taragnorThe rich were the ones leading the revolution in France... The people killed were the nobility and clergy not the merchants.

[@Anne_one]

@@AlbatrossCommandothe nobility had old money which they and their mistresses threw around lavishly in a time of poverty and need.

[@Emanon...]

Any person with a personal fortune of 500+ million dollars should pay 90% in tax rate. Sure, they "earned" their wealth (a mix of talent, luck, connections and inheritance or whatever), but no one needs more than that. If we have a "minimum acceptable" poverty level, it would only be fair and rational to do the same for the top.

[@EneTheGene]

The issue is that is that case they'll just move elwhere where they don't have to pay that tax. Then they aren't paying any tax to your country.

[@michaeljebbett160]

It's times like these where I realize that cartoonish evil is all too real.

[@kidcoyoteanarchy]

And cartoonish stupidity and they are usually the same.

[@Greywind111]

This is just fucking nuts. Fuck it! Let's give the billonares an island in the middle of the pacific, but only billionaires and people like that just to see how long before money ain't worth nothing.

[@kidcoyoteanarchy]

Exactly any micronation would collapse if other countries actually treated them like real nations.

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

Aside from dumb crappy ideas it the racism these rich people put out

[@joshuacr]

Thank you for bringing up this topic. For the record, I don't want to live in a feudal state whether you have it as a king or a billionaire. And more Helen!

[@clint7094]

Honestly this stuff just makes me believe that tech bros just aren't very smart to begin with.

[@SageWon-1aussie]

Becoming insanely wealthy has always been a matter of luck. This is what you get when the insanely wealthy want to be cool, rather than powerful.

[@KalCounty]

They never were. The fact that Elon Musk was considered THE innovator of this generation for a time when the last few years have revealed that he has an IQ lower than his shoe size should make anyone skeptical of the intelligence of the rich. The only thing any of them are exceptionally skilled at is exploiting the work and intelligence of others.

[@nishidohellhillsruler6731]

G-war once gave a Ted Talk. Also, speaking of Hong Kong, if you want to see how "absolutely de-regulated free market and industry" looks like, look for "Kowloon Walled City".

[@nicolajane7389]

Yeah, people seriously overestimate where they’re gonna be in the hierarchy.

[@TheEverFreeKing]

​@@nicolajane7389 The walled city wasn't capitalist it was imposed by the state. I'm okay being in the lower to middle tier of a private city because it will still be a superior life than disgusting reprehensible evil democracy. Private cities are the future and you can keep crying about it fascist.

[@idigamstudios7463]

Really living up to the phrase 'parasite class.'

[@gibberishname]

Wisecrack: would you sign up to live in a floating community out in the ocean where no nation's laws could bring you down? Me: HELL NO! Did y'all **not** play Bioshock?????

[@TheEverFreeKing]

Beta male doesn't want to live free lololol A real Chad answers Yes and goes to help build it😌

[@truhhhhhhhokIII3]

There was actually a great TED talk posted like 4 days ago that explains how UBI is literally the answer for all of our problems. A winning presentation

[@prettyboyjeremy]

The only problem with UBI is the same we have with human nature. Some people want to be productive others much rather be high all day.

[@MrTheWeir]

As an Arizonan, let me assure you that we aren’t ALL terrifying. There are dozens of sane Arizonans, at least.

[@Eviticus-Maximus]

I think the sane ones are in Bisbee

[@justfloorit02]

There's a lot of things you'll find in Bisbee. I'm not sure sanity is one of them.

[@Eviticus-Maximus]

@@justfloorit02 Stanhope 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@xenophon1999]

As a non American that spends time in Flagstaff, I can say that there are some lovely sane people there.

[@anthonydelfino6171]

DOZENS!!

[@lebaronmarcus]

For 1000s of years, society was divided into lords and peasants. The labels have changed, but we still live in a society of 1st-class and 2nd-class citizens, and the central question of politics is whether we should entrench that division (rightwing) or try to get rid of it (leftwing). These supposedly nonpolitical groups are very rightwing: they don't move to a poor country to build a society of free and equal citizens, they do it to get more freedom and prosperity for themselves at the expense of the local exploited workforce. It's especially absurd that they call themselves anarcho-capitalists since anarchism is the most leftwing ideology!

[@neoqwerty]

They believe in the 2B2T concept of "anarchy", aka the free-for-all griefing hellhole.

[@user-dj6lj1dl1c]

theyre very political, didnt you see in the video how theyre making these cities just to keep away brown and left wing people in the literal lands of brown people? one of them literally said he was sooooooooooooooo scared after the BLM riots. these people things are so pathetic

[@gokupniak]

I played all of the BioShock games. I know how this turns out...

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

It always ends up with fascism

[@kidcoyoteanarchy]

​@@haruhisuzumiya6650no it ends with societal collapse. Fascism is just they middle part

[@darcythebandwagon]

There’s just no way that handing over civic control to shareholders whose primary concern is always going to be enriching themselves will EVER result in poorer and more vulnerable folks having any standards of living or hope for being raised out of poverty. Things are bad enough under our current Western Capitalist democracies that still have even a hint of regulation and social programming. Appreciate the Canadian Indigenous environmental shoutout!

[@Femtophantom]

You don’t think people should be allowed to live where they want and under whatever system they want?

[@han090]

​@@Femtophantom You're in favour of completely open borders?

[@southerncyan4098]

​@@han090I assume Mark is arguing for government unification, which is a much different argument admittedly.

[@just-a-purple-ork]

@@Femtophantom You think they can afford to leave once they're there?

[@Femtophantom]

@@han090 I think that if people mesh into the social fabric of a currently existing population there shouldn’t be a reason to force them to leave. If society votes to remove me then I should probably see myself out and go somewhere I am welcomed. So I’m fine w completely open borders and easy immigration processes if those conditions are met.

[@dirty_haute]

The amount of work they put in trying to sidestep age of concent is always gross.

[@Mortebianca]

"Ancap is exactly like Feudalism" episode 666

[@jpkotta]

A lot of this reminds me of the Neil Stephenson novels Snow Crash and The Diamond Age. Anarcho-libertarianism, "distributed republics", nations made up of "franchises". And yes, they're dystopias with huge underclasses that deal with all the externalities.

[@SageWon-1aussie]

Stephenson is a very clever writer.

[@sarahm7696]

I was combing through comments hoping that someone else was thinking this

[@brimestonelewis8775]

The worst of humanity always seems to be at the top.

[@TheEverFreeKing]

Factually incorrect. These private cities are a good thing and am moving to one to be part of a superior societies free from the tyranny of democracy. You can keep crying the rich will keep winning forever and ever😎 As long as there are Is people who seek freedom in this life. Private cities shall not vanish from the earth~

[@Myrgard]

@@TheEverFreeKing your statement just proved his point, just becouse you are rich you can afford to be the worst with no consequences.

[@ericcarabetta1161]

@@TheEverFreeKing, you aren’t rich, so you can cry along with all the other people. What makes you think you’ll be spared as one of “the good ones”? You think if you lick their ass enough they might throw you some money and make YOU a billionaire? 😂 Keep dreaming. You’re as useful as a piece of toilet paper to a billionaire, and disposed of just as easily. The “tyranny of democracy” is the only thing preventing these vultures from throwing you in prison or into a labor camp just for the hell of it.

[@morganangel340]

@@Myrgard that... or more probable HE is just a broke boy typing from his mom's basement and dreaming of a life he will never have...

[@HALLish-jl5mo]

No, it's just that the bottom doesn't have much power to be bad in interesting ways. A desire to oppress people isn't really noticable in someone poor with a bad job, because at best they can oppress their family, and that's behind closed doors.

[@pif5023]

The real threat is the indifference governments seem to have towards these projects. They do not seem threatened by them and that makes it eerie.

[@ShionChosa]

It’s almost like Raccon City’s relationship with Umbrella corporation

[@l0rf]

Now now, let's not overexaggerate. I don't think corporations have access to nuclear weapons in case the experimental city goes completely kaputt. At least I hope they don't...

[@LonkinPork]

Woooooo Helen! Congrats on the Some More News gig, and thanks for stopping by! 🥳

[@Clewnkaart]

What? When?

[@LonkinPork]

@@Clewnkaart a couple weeks ago, she's a Writer for them. iirc her first video was the Brain Chip one, and then they had her on the Even More News podcast when Biden dropped out

[@therealwillhunting]

I bet the rich taste so savory…

[@luunicolini]

For everyone who's wandering where the image from the thumbnail comes from, it's a small neighborhood called Vila Andrade inside Morumbi, in São Paulo city (the largest city in America). Morumbi is one of the most luxurious and expensive places to live in the city and Brazil, but it's also where the largest São Paulo slums are located. The difference between being in luxurious space and the poorest m² is (literally) a corner street.

[@aaronclift]

These guys are so clueless. Don't they know that corporations are always the villains in every story?

[@TheKingHelper639]

I knew that title was click bait 😂 because boy after listening to what this “CITY” sounds like, I’d rather go live with the Loc Ness Monster before I EVER set foot in this city.

[@joshuacr]

If the loch Ness monster offers universal healthcare, I'm in!

[@adamnemo42]

​@@joshuacr I mean it is Scottish so I think that's a given.

[@maxfli95]

It sounds conspiratorial if one reads up on this, but then when Peter Thiel starts openly speaking about this, you know its not just some gossip. Props to Wisecrack for providing a deeper dive on the documentation on this and especially referring it back to the Tech industry. a Lot of digital tech is driven by authoritative thought and it is so important to keep stressing this.

[@kzisnbkosplay3346]

This goes way further back. Dutch East India Company, British East Indian Company, Fordlandia, Disney in Florida, even mining and logging company towns all over the US. We've already tried this. It ends badly.

[@victorm2180]

Billionaires: Let me introduce you to Feudalism 2.0

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

Neo feudalism 😂

[@BarbershopBytes-ox3dr]

Dumber. Feudalism depends on Agreements between warlords. These are a bunch of jumped up merchants that think they pay enough people to keep them from mob violence. It can't. They'll concentrate their wealth into a smaller pool if people and eat each other until warlords rise up.

[@333angeleyes]

You know what is honestly so crazy! Is that for all my life when I heard someone being called a megalomaniac I just assumed it was some silly fictionalized cartoon or comic book villain... Now here we have real life versions! First their own country, then... The WORLD!!! 🤣

[@psymonthegreat]

This is straight out of Bioshock 😫

[@TheDSasterX]

"... 🎶I owe my soul to the company stoooore"

[@GennyPena-x4e]

I just don’t see how any of these problems with billionaires gets resolved peacefully they just keep taking and taking

[@southerncyan4098]

And they keep giving and giving back into the market in investment forever, providing opportunities for all of society. What is your point more specifically?

[@GennyPena-x4e]

@@southerncyan4098 what are the opportunities are these investments giving? An what are the investments your talking about?

[@aaronschultz4061]

@@southerncyan4098 They actually don't, trickle down economics has been proven to fail and not only that every corporation consistently underpays and overexploits. Economic monopolies or oligarchies as we currently live in also categorically do more damage to do local and national economics by extracting wealth and badely giving back in wayes and taxes.

[@southerncyan4098]

@@aaronschultz4061 The only way I'm aware for wealth to rise above inflation is the stock market. Does the stock market provide benefit for the working people? I'd assume so, seeing as most retirement strategies depend on 401ks, Roth IRAs, and so on. Is this a societal benefit? I think so, and I don't think this is trickle-down economics. To be fair, I may not be aware of what you're speaking?

[@maybemablemaples2144]

​@@southerncyan4098 I'm so tired of people like you who keep forgetting that rich people are greedy and don't share. Please stop licking the boot.

[@gefelice]

I swear billionaires are creating a modern form of colonialism

[@vanessamaldonado5877]

Well, time for Honduran military to be deployed in that stupid town "prospera", is time to ignore these companies demands and make it known that the people rule in a democracy, so companies either comply in good faith, or we will deploy troops, cuz I would have zero problems deploying and fighting against the interests of multi-nationals to defend my nation, and I assume most of us wouldnt have problem either.

[@bobby-and2crows]

As a honduran, am totally for a patchwork nation, monarcho-capitalist transhumanism for the win.

[@vanessamaldonado5877]

@@nectarfrost Oh yea I forgot kissing the feet of the rich is so on-brand nowadays.

[@drewgon13]

The problem is that Honduras still wants foreign investment money, and if you start breaking contracts then foreign banks put a red mark on your file and the flow of outside money dries up. Even socialist countries have to play ball, because at the end of the day globalism means we all play nice or you get left out.

[@vanessamaldonado5877]

@@drewgon13 Except you gotta understand how do foreign banks obtained their capital in the first place? Exploitation and literal slavery, not to mention the deaths of hundreds of thousands in pointless resource wars like oil in the middle east, it would be better if these banks were forced to pay reparations to the nations they have taken advantage of, if not then they should be starved of further resources, like denying them entry to other countries, simple as that.

[@drewgon13]

@@vanessamaldonado5877 And world revolution followed by post scarcity space communism! Yeah, no, we live in the real world and even the commies do neo-colonialism. If Honduras wants belt and road money the Chinese are still going to want a return on investment, they’d have to sign away rights to mineral resources and land for given allotments of time. Foreign investment isn’t just from Europe, that Eurocentric thinking completely dismisses the powerful and wide reaching economies of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa.

[@homemademarmalade]

"I am Andrew Ryan, and I'm here to ask you a question. Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow? 'No!' says the man in Washington, 'It belongs to the poor.' 'No!' says the man in the Vatican, 'It belongs to God.' 'No!' says the man in Moscow, 'It belongs to everyone.' I rejected those answers; instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose... Rapture. A city where the artist would not fear the censor. Where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality. Where the great would not be constrained by the small! And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well."

[@TheEverFreeKing]

My personal hero I will be moving to one.

[@willardSpirit]

So this is basically a dystopian HOA neighborhood?

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

Literally Epcot 😂

[@jacoporegini8841]

"Men outnumber women 4 to 1" Well, I'm out.

[@zaczane]

OH…WOW….Their Racists…. Who could have seen that COMING!!!! Not me……..GASP!!!!

[@Gamer8585]

Me: 1984 wasnt an instruction manual. Billionaires: Don't worry we're making a city based on Bioshock. That Andrew Ryan really has some good ideas. Me: (facepalm)

[@sophia-helenemeesdetricht1957]

A _bilge pump malfunction_ caused the pod to collapse??? As a former sailor, so you have any idea how common bilge pump malfunctions are? Pumps break, that's what they do. Seemingly all they do. If your design can't handle a pump breaking down, your design was not seaworthy.

[@jaybearbabycake]

My algorithmmic sacrifice

[@bailey12321]

Give us the Moldbug episode we desire!!!! (or a stream segment). Maybe there could be a series of episodes/segments on goofy “thinkers” like Moldbug, Nick Land, etc.

[@chujiwu68]

Yes. I'd also like a Moldbug episode from you, Wisecrack... at least if it doesn't make you spontaneously combust. Moldbug ain't worth all that.

[@adamnemo42]

Behind the Bastards is doing a two part episode on him currently. First came out Wednesday and the second comes out Friday.

[@miscaccount9438]

Billionaires shouldn't exist 🤷🏻‍♂️ amassing that much wealth should be punishable by law

[@kayrienhart8346]

I agree, because there's no way one can get that extremely rich without using any underhanded method.

[@elaineb7065]

That law should be a tax law which never lets your earnings get that high, & your country of birth as well as current residence have a say here, oh billionaires who move to tax havens!!!

[@cliffordjames4462]

​​@@kayrienhart8346Tell me you don't know how corporations and finance work without telling me you don't.

[@cliffordjames4462]

​@@elaineb7065most billionaires don't have "earnings" dummy.

[@southerncyan4098]

Haha Now, that is an interesting idea. In my opinion, billionaires are not new, they are simply aristocracy. It is, however, a new development that they have become eternal [by the anointing of capitalism]. They are by definition special beings whose generations will be superior by birth. They are eternal because they, and their children will never again need to benefit society. In feudalism, kings had to spread their name in their domains so that their works of administrative contribution were known, lest the people rebel. But billionaires? They're higher than kings. By our current system, they are gods. What's so wrong with becoming a god? [Not about religion] Or is it, as someone put it, a problem of ascension?

[@skyisreallyhigh3333]

"Is there some society that doesn't run on greed?" Well, there are the Indigenous tribes around the world that still exist that dont run on greed, and before the Europeans did their bloody expansion of capitalism, there were countless others that weren't run on greed. But then the greedy Europeans came and killed them all off. For a very specific society right now that doesn't run on greed, we can just look at the Zapatistas. The problem with people like Milton Freedman is they base their entire philosophies on complete myths made up by people like Adam Smith, while completely ignoring all the evidence provided by modern Anthropology.

[@thumper84]

Yea funny because you and your type wouldn't last a week living like the primitive savages that we now call indigenous people. You want to know why so many people living on the Indian reservation in US are alcohol and have generational poverty? No ownership of land by individuals. No respect for how the concept of individual property rights and autonomy is how a society is able to create the conditions for people to grow their wealth. Even the reservation that have casinos the tribe might be rich but individual and family poverty is still sky high. News flash you are not poor because I am rich.

[@simonkruse4453]

If this project reaches a successful outcome, and a new state is formed. What would stop the US/Russia/China/Japan from declaring war, with a nation with no allies and no army? Would such a state exist for more than 14 days? Puerto Rico was independent from Spain, in circa 24 hours before the US took the territory.

[@AlexeiIgnavich]

Shit I don’t even think another state would have to get directly involved; the local population would have motivation to fight, their state can always provide them with support

[@TheAllSeeingEye2468]

Isn't this the plot of BioShock?

[@ashutoshsethi6150]

Without any of that cool tech.

[@itsgusgusmeow]

The old line of "socialism or barbarism" comes to mind again. Yanis calls it technofeudalism where were currently at. If he's wrong as we're still living under old capitalism, then its not too late. If he is right, then its really only a matter of time before these become major power players. And they already are in so many ways. It also kinda reminds me of the Chaebols in SK, or fictional companies from Alien, Cyberpunk or any of these other future tech dystopias. States that remain will either completely disconnect from the global capitalist system, or go entirely authoritarian, taking neoliberalism til its ultimate conclusion, leaving whatever remaining companies to fight it out for whatever remains before getting crushed by other companies. Will be weird.

[@filthymcnasty7960]

"Hello? Thanos? Yeah, these guys right here."

[@nermanus]

There's always a lighthouse, there's always a techbro, there's always an SEZ.

[@seilaoquemvc2]

Billionaires shouldn't run anything.... Billionaires should not exist at all.

[@southerncyan4098]

Why not? They're inefficient? They have not contributed enough during their ascension to capitalist godhood? -this is a neat discussion imo, I am curious what y'all think about it.

[@indigosnow_]

Fascinating topic. Love these deep dives.

[@sparkydoodle696]

“Should they” No. “Will they” Probably

[@dasarpagrud]

Auroville, near Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu, India is an example of something close to an Utopian City, it started as an experimental township in 1968 with people from all over the world free from greed and is still going strong even after 50+ years of existence. please make a video about it.

[@JSuper7]

In at the start of the video - hoping to see mention of Walt Disney & Epcot here - only reason he didn’t do it is cuz Florida law would’ve given workers/residents legal rights after living there for a few months.

[@blackdragontv2937]

Uhm, colonials with extra steps ? Utopia base on nostalgia ?

[@michaelregis1015]

From the makers of trucks: but worse, cars: but worse, and trains: but worse, we bring to you....feudalism: but techy?

[@Eroamagorath]

Always nice to see my dear Sâo Paulo featured, even if not for the most meritorius reasons.

[@danielnemesio3388]

I saw the thumbnail picture everysingle day of middle school. Sometimes the banner was be on the stairs walls, sometimes they would put it in a random hallway, but this image is cindged to my memory. This was 15 years ago by the way, that photo is old

[@philswift1]

So just doing colonialism

[@ashutoshsethi6150]

Just don't use the c word.

[@Armendicus]

it's like they all watched scifi movies then played bioshock and thought it was a good Idea to copy all the villains.

[@twilitezn]

To paraphrase Morty : “Prospera Zede in Honduras just sounds like Chile with extra steps!”

[@AFox739]

...I'm pretty sure Bioshock pointed out the big, big problems with people trying this shit out.

[@betawolfhd]

The centralization around unregulated individuals is what makes me not care about bitcoin

[@victoraugustinedaniel8907]

its a ponzi scheme

[@melikwalker296]

So in other words neo Feudalism

[@DanielGarcia-rx3kt]

*Aliens guy*: BIOSHOCK

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

YAY! helen is back 🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@ATRStormUnit]

Rich people: Things I want just happen. I sure can live autonomous. Normal people: We are doing the things that you think just "happen".

[@the_quadracorn]

The sea setting reminds me of the vaults from Fallout

[@whatevr99]

If Final Fantasy 7, The Outer Worlds, and Bioshock taught us anything, it’s that company towns are a terrible idea.

[@mittenslopez]

anyone else want to see more of that interview with the guy who put a tesla key in his hand and his saliva replaced with anti cavity saliva? I feel like there's a laundry list of even more insane things he's done

[@baylaurel7546]

They are literally trying to recreate Bioshock. But because it’s reality, all the fantastical elements are a bit shit

[@rhynoklein7]

Good googly moogly, Ive played this video game before. This is Bioshock island edition.

[@clydejohngeorge4535]

Ahhhh... Corporate Feudalism. Ayn Rand would be DELIGHTED

[@BaldAndCurious]

REading the title: It's like asking, do we want Kings running our nation?

[@SiaAbderezai]

Yes a video shining light on Curtis Yarvin would be great.

[@aaroncornerslicegaming]

If the billionaire is Seto Kaiba and he's doing another Battle CIty tournament

[@KaleidoscopeMan67]

Why do we live in Bioshock now?