Ask HN: Are we in the Gilded Age II, and should it be reigned in?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39073011

12 7 3 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

Is this period of big capitalist boom, lagging legislation, billionaire playground, defined and legitimate enough to be called the Siliconized Age / Gilded Age II? (I.e. do people consider it to be a real, parallel phenomenon)

And should it be curbed with legislation, anti-competition commissions etc.? Or is the common and long term good such that we shouldn't stifle this boom period prematurely?

Just an Ask HN to see what opinions are.

pm90• 3 years ago

We’re seeing exactly that happening with the rise of unions and anti-corporate sentiments. The FTC has been pursuing antitrust actions aggressively too.

shermantanktop2• 3 years ago

Is “it” real? Sure, it’s real. You described reality as I understand it as well, and your definition seems precise enough…but you and I are inside the fishbowl. The best description of this era may end up being “advent of permanent gerontocracy” or some other phenomenon that seems ancillary right now.

Should we curb it? HN people are likely to be getting paid to support it (I am) so opinions here are not objective. For me, sure, I got mine already, burn it down. For younger people the choice is surely murkier.

My fear about curbing it is that we seem to lack a collective understanding of pernicious root causes, or even a majority viewpoint, in part because the forces you describe have so thoroughly perfected the art of influencing public discourse.

chris-orgmenta2• 3 years ago

My fear about curbing it is that we seem to lack a collective understanding of pernicious root causes, or even a majority viewpoint

It also seems to be one of the few (non-war) ways to research & kick start an industry that has an extremely high barrier to entry.

Flight, rocketry, railroads, steam, telegraph, physics breakthroughs, etc.: All arguably required big capitalist periods and/or escalating conflict in to get their start (not to entirely dismiss government initiatives, nor innovations made during lean times).

So I am equally wary, and partly because this is how we can most peacefully 'plant trees that future generations can sit under'. Those trees might just never exist if we don't go all-in at some point.

Having said that, I would support certain anti-competition breakups.

shermantanktop2• 3 years ago

This is the intense appeal of the billionaire-you-agree-with. They can use their resources to accomplish what you and they want, bypassing or defeating the forces that maintain the status quo. It’s essentially a superhero fantasy, with a bit of operatic revenge as well.

Some CEOs or VPs hold this appeal as well, telling the middle managers to stuff it while the workers cheer.

morkalork• 3 years ago

The wealth inequality we have now today hasn't been seen since the gilded age, so I think the answer is resounding yes.

smitty1e• 3 years ago

Nothing going on at the moment seems likely to do anything about the concentration of power in the hands of the few.

Not a partisan issue. The only thing--and not without risk--that seems likely to affect the collapsing political architecture is https://conventionofstates.com/

Ask HN: Are we in the Gilded Age II, and should it be reigned in?

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