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by saulpw 191 days ago
The lazy and stupid but rich will out-survive the industrious and smart but poor.
1 comments

This. Technology tends to increase the value of capital and not the value of labor, at least that has been the pattern for the last 50+ years. Take that trend to its conclusion and merit is crushed under the weight of who your parents are.
I don’t agree. Technology simply amplifies your talents.
Real wages are effectively unchanged since 1970 [0]. So, either technology hasn't advanced enough to make people more productive, or technology hasn't increased the value of labor. One of the two has to be true.

[0] https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2018/08/07/for-most-...

Note on the above, be weary of data that starts ~1980 since that was a deeply recessionary period. Lots of information likes to use that period as the origin since it makes it look like real wages have increased. During 1970 to 1980 there was a steep decline in real wages.

Technology actually devalues your talents and forces you to adopt new talents.