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Comment by ilrwbwrkhv | Hacker News Reader

He gets wealth vs status wrong.

Status is nothing but the "bigger guns diplomacy."

Historically, the highest status person has always been the warlord.

Today, the highest status person is arguably also the biggest warlord in the world: the US president.

Wealth on the other hand is made through trade. You can buy a certain amount of status (guns) with that and climb your way up.

But it is always about guns, humans are monkeys after all. And if you have the guns, you can just take wealth from the trades-folk.

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> And if you have the guns, you can just take wealth from the trades-folk.

“In a room sit three great men, a king, a priest, and a rich man with his gold. Between them stands a sellsword, a little man of common birth and no great mind. Each of the great ones bids him slay the other two. ‘Do it,’ says the king, ‘for I am your lawful ruler.’ ‘Do it,’ says the priest, ‘for I command you in the name of the gods.’ ‘Do it,’ says the rich man, ‘and all this gold shall be yours.’ So tell me – who lives and who dies?”

The sellsword swings and chops off three heads at once and becomes the new incredibly wealthy god king.

On the other hand, the sellsword could kill just the rich man and the King, and be legitimized by the priest as the next god king. Then he could use his power to slowly delegitimize the priest.

Well spotted, you’ve read a bit on the hit story of the papacy I see :)

It probably depends on the personal values of the sellsword. Maybe the sellsword is a true religious believer. Maybe they are a true patriot. Maybe they are in it for the money.

He kills no one and they live happily ever after.

Where's that from?

Killing the rich man is the clear winner here. 10/10 would slay again.

It's from Game of Thrones, and there's no right answer. The point is that power lies where people think it lies.

> But it is always about guns, humans are monkeys after all.

That makes no sense as monkeys don't use guns. I'm not sure if it's a mixed metaphor or what, but I can't figure out what is meant here.

No, they don't use guns, but if you spend any time watching our closest primate cousins, the chimps, they sure do love their displays of domineering force and tribal violence, with throwing weapons like sticks and rocks even. So yes, the phrase makes perfect sense unless you're completely literal-minded about it.

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