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Comment by danieltillett | Hacker News Reader

There won’t a revolution as the 1% are smart enough to decapitate the 99% by “inviting” the smartest 0.1% into the club (they make great son- and daughter-in-laws).

Meritocracy is hard to fight.

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It's silly to say that the 1% are there from hard work, family fortunes apparently don't exist in that fantasy. Also you're forgetting that the armies of the 1% are made up of the 99%, all the money in the world has done nothing to stop the most powerful people in the world in history once the 99% have revolted, by definition there's no power stronger than that. See every revolution in history.

Too bad the 1% is protected by police forces, and courts, in pretty much every major Western jurisdiction? This isn't changing any time soon.

That's kind of the point though, even if the army and police didn't revolt, they're crippled by the lack of services produced by the civilians. Major upheaval like this hypothetical have multiple times in history crippled even the most well equipped amred forces because of the nature of the revolt. Guns are only 1 part of defence, and every time there has been a populace under the rule of a government/system that they refuse to exist under it has either been overthrown or in the process of being so. This is an easily verified fact by looking through history, governance requires at least a majority of the populace to consent to it.

I do think capitalism has issues (mostly excessive compound interest'ing on massive wealth) but I don’t think there ever will be another round of redistribution of wealth. A global wealth tax I could see happening in the next 50 years, but then again, seems like it would be a hugely unpopular thing to do.

I think that automation is going to contribute massively to wealth inequality in the next few decades, and I think that not considering the destabilising risks of such centralisation of wealth is short sighted. People will only for so long tolerate getting the short end of the stick whilst the massive amounts of wealth for the wealthy balloons.

I don't know if a "redistribution of wealth" will ever be seen, but I do think the fundamental system we operate on in this day and age will need to be radically altered to prevent discontent

Where did I say the 1% got there by hard work?

Previous revolutions have been led by very smart people who were excluded from the 1% club. There has not been a revolution in a society where the poor or middle class very smart are admitted into the ruling class.

"Meritocracy is hard to fight."

If think we live in a meritocracy you are delusional.

We do for the 0.1%. The current system is very good at identify the smartest people whatever their background and bring them into the 1% club.

As for everyone else, well...

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