Saturday, August 19, 2017
A more precise thought
Earlier I placed cults and bubbles in the same category. Inaccurate. Somewhat more refined thought:
A cult always has ONE highly visible leader, who is the required object of religious and sexual desire. A cult always evangelizes to gather more power and money and sex for the leader.
Not all bubbles are cults. Real estate bubbles have no leaders, no personality at all. Earlier bubbles in railroads or automobiles or tulips were often spawned and planned by identifiable leaders like JP Morgan or Billy Durant, but Morgan and Durant were NOT the object of intense admiration and obedience. Nobody tried to live and dress like JP.
The modern tech industry is a group of cults. Its leaders (Jobs, Musk, Zuckerberg, Bezos) are worshipped personally, and their sayings and styles are copied and ferociously defended by the members. Jobs is still worshipped after death, like other historical cult leaders. Evangelism is explicit and organized. Tech generates bubbles, but it isn't primarily a bubble. 
Labels: defensible spaces
¶ 1:58 AM
