Hacker News Reader

Comment by stcredzero | Hacker News Reader

I think one of the problems in the world, and maybe this is contributing to the high income inequality, is that people want to be billionaires.

This is a "problem in the world" in the same way that sex out of wedlock is a "problem." It's just one of the many facets of human nature. Historically, institutions and policies that take human nature into account fare better than those railing against it. The United States is one of the biggest examples.

View on HN

I wouldn't compare it to sex out of wedlock. I'd compare it to someone instead of saying "I want to be in great shape", saying "I want to be so muscular that I can't physically scratch my own chin".

Sex is actually more apt. People who find it easy to attain sex and let themselves indulge often outperform the average population by orders of magnitude. The drive for sex is operating at a fairly basic level, as is greed. Both are probably supported by evolutionary biology, which made both drives somewhat 'open ended,' driving people to want more than they actually need. Getting more sex has a synergistic effect, often enabling people to get even more sex, in a way analogous to money.

institutions and policies that take human nature into account fare better than those railing against it

This is one of those statements that should go up on a billboard that the more idealistic members of HN are forced to read frequently.

Biggest examples in what way?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com