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People sure do “protest too much” given his obvious intellectual bankruptcy. He also seems to have more fan boys than gates, though gates is clearly a more shrewd businessman. Gates is a programmer, thiel a lawyer; quite different in terms of worldviews and ethics. Gates seems less idealistic, thiel more concerned with universal principles imho.

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Which universal principles is he concerned about exactly? The libertarian who founded a state surveillance company?

My point was that lawyers and programmers both abstract, but in different ways. I feel like gates, as an engineer, is likely to view political frameworks and other philosophical aspects of the global system as second order to economic, demographic and military realities. Money talks, bullshit walks is the mindset I ascribe to gates. I don’t think gates would be influenced much by the ideas of Rene girard, compared to thiel who has a worldview based or at least heavily influenced by girardian principles.

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