Whatever personality traits there might be in common between rich people, it’s worth bearing in mind the different potential causal relations there. Does being a certain kind of person make you rich, or does being rich make you a certain kind of person? — Pfhorrest
So perhaps more emphasis can be placed on your second point. — Xtrix
it’s not being the way that they are that made them rich, but being rich that made them the way that they are. — Pfhorrest
So you disagree with my “supporting evidence”? — Brett
So someone is given a pile of cash and then they become more extroverted, and then they become conscientious, and then they become emotionally stable, and then they become more self centred. — Brett
but being self-made is not a necessary condition of being a millionaire; — Pfhorrest
It's easier to be emotionally stable when your life is materially stable. — Pfhorrest
But dumping a pile of cash on someone who's already spent their entire life being jerked around and treated like shit probably isn't going to miraculously make them think and act like someone who grew up wealthy, no. — Pfhorrest
someone made it from scratch at some time — Brett
What goes on in a capitalist economy is exploitation and extraction of surplus value (the difference between the cost of the workers labor and the profit derived from the workers labor), It's not accidental; capitalism, and the legal systems of capitalist countries, is designed to enforce that system. — Bitter Crank
When discussing concentrations of wealth and power (.001%), there's very probably an interaction. Once you're part of the club, you've had to have internalized certain beliefs and values - mainly about capitalism and politics. That's what the scholarship seems to suggest.
So perhaps more emphasis can be placed on your second point. — Xtrix
So perhaps more emphasis can be placed on your second point.
— Xtrix
Can you support that statement with evidence? I mean it’s not a fabrication is it? — Brett
That's what the scholarship seems to suggest. — Xtrix
- Nowhere close to all entrepreneurs, even those who have those personality traits, go on to become self-made millionaires, and nowhere near all millionaires (never mind the billionaires who are the real topic of the OP) are self-made. Having those personality traits may be a necessary condition of entrepreneurship (at least in our present system), and entrepreneurship may be a necessary condition of being a self-made millionaire (at least in our present system), but being self-made is not a necessary condition of being a millionaire; and even more to the point, having those personality traits is not a sufficient condition for being an entrepreneur, nor is entrepreneurship a sufficient condition for being a self-made (m|b)illionaire. — Pfhorrest
It's having that priority already taken care of that allows the ultra-wealthy to prioritize other things instead. — Pfhorrest
What goes on in a capitalist economy is exploitation and extraction of surplus value (the difference between the cost of the workers labor and the profit derived from the workers labor), It's not accidental; capitalism, and the legal systems of capitalist countries, is designed to enforce that system. — Bitter Crank
Since they're the "masters of the universe," it's worth understanding exactly who they are.
Regardless of how the money was made, that which might be inherited by a lucky member of the elite was created from scratch by someone before him/her. — Brett
I’m trying to determine who they are. I don’t know why this is so difficult. — Brett
The 1% is not the “masters of the universe” because they do not possess the monopoly on violence. They are private citizens and are beholden to the same laws and penalties. — NOS4A2
The reason you are having so much difficulty answering the "who they are" question is that you are asking the question on a philosophy forum. What you will have to do is read history. — Bitter Crank
I think it's often forgotten that behind major corporations there are real people making the major decisions, with real thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and values. Since they're the "masters of the universe," it's worth understanding exactly who they are. — Xtrix
I am confident that you greatly exceed the necessary capacity to locate good, interesting, and economically oriented histories and read them. THEN you will know who it was that got rich and how. — Bitter Crank
o someone is given a pile of cash and then they become more extroverted, and then they become conscientious, and then they become emotionally stable, and then they become more self centred.
— Brett
Who are you arguing against? Certainly not I; I said none of those things. — Xtrix
That was in relation to my thoughts that you were putting the effect before the cause, that money makes these people what they are instead of the other way around. — Brett
Who are the "who" you want to identify? — Bitter Crank
it's worth understanding exactly who they are. — Xtrix
Get involved in philosophical discussions about knowledge, truth, language, consciousness, science, politics, religion, logic and mathematics, art, history, and lots more. No ads, no clutter, and very little agreement — just fascinating conversations.