Re:Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth: Ingrid Ro...
by alkonaut on Saturday February 03, 2024 @09:44AM
(#39240771)
> If you pay someone to do X, and then stop paying them they will stop doing X even if they enjoyed it
That's because for 99.999% of people, being paid money has utility. So the payment provides some benefit for them. But for someone with $2B, my argument is precisely this: whatever it is that drove them to make $2B (inveting the best product, or whatever) is NOT what drives them to make the NEXT $1B.
> you can't just take all their future wealth and expect them to continue
> they will stop the instant they stop making money, just like any other person.
You cabsolutely can, and they absoluteluy will not.
That's the whole point again: assuming a high enough "cap", we are talking about people who will never not be extremely wealthy. Whether the cap is $100M; $1B or $10B can be argued, but the central point is that the utility of more wealth is diminishing. That's why me giving you $1B would make a massive difference, but then me giving you another $1B would make almost no difference to your lifestyle/happniess/whatever measure you choose.
That's because for 99.999% of people, being paid money has utility. So the payment provides some benefit for them. But for someone with $2B, my argument is precisely this: whatever it is that drove them to make $2B (inveting the best product, or whatever) is NOT what drives them to make the NEXT $1B.
> you can't just take all their future wealth and expect them to continue > they will stop the instant they stop making money, just like any other person.
You cabsolutely can, and they absoluteluy will not.
That's the whole point again: assuming a high enough "cap", we are talking about people who will never not be extremely wealthy. Whether the cap is $100M; $1B or $10B can be argued, but the central point is that the utility of more wealth is diminishing. That's why me giving you $1B would make a massive difference, but then me giving you another $1B would make almost no difference to your lifestyle/happniess/whatever measure you choose.