Billionaires Build
This essay uses a weak straw-man: <i>the only way to become a billionaire is by exploiting people</i><p>I think the &quot;principle of charity&quot; or &quot;steel-man&quot; criticism of billionaires isn&#x27;t that every single billionaire is directly exploiting people. It would be closer to something like this:<p>The problem is that our society has feedback loops that make it hard to escape poverty, and feedback loops that let the wealthy amass more wealth and power. It doesn&#x27;t have to be this way, it&#x27;s a product of our laws and can be changed.<p>Warren Buffet doesn&#x27;t directly exploit anyone. However he does pay less taxes than his secretary. To the extent that Uber drivers and Amazon warehouse workers are exploited, it&#x27;s because our society has millions of desperate people struggling to get by. What&#x27;s the point of being the wealthiest nation ever on paper, if there&#x27;s terrible schools, high infant mortality, and lead in the drinking pipes?