Survival of the Richest

Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires

De: Douglas Rushkoff

Narrado por: Douglas Rushkoff

In Survival of the Richest, Rushkoff traces the origins of The Mindset in science and technology through its current expression in missions to Mars, island bunkers, AI futurism, and the metaverse. In a dozen urgent, electrifying chapters, he confronts tech utopianism, the datafication of all human interaction, and the exploitation of that data by corporations. Through fascinating characters—master programmers who want to remake the world from scratch as if redesigning a video game and bankers who return from Burning Man convinced that incentivized capitalism is the solution to environmental disasters—Rushkoff explains why those with the most power to change our current trajectory have no interest in doing so. And he shows how recent forms of anti-mainstream rebellion—QAnon, for example, or meme stocks—reinforce the same destructive order.

This mind-blowing work of social analysis shows us how to transcend the landscape The Mindset created—a world alive with algorithms and intelligences actively rewarding our most selfish tendencies—and rediscover community, mutual aid, and human interdependency. In a thundering conclusion, Survival of the Richest argues that the only way to survive the coming catastrophe is to ensure it doesn’t happen in the first place.

©2022 Douglas Rushkoff (P)2022 Recorded Books

Rushkoff's skill fades into liberal sentimentalism

I used to adore Douglas Rushkoff. I would buy his books for others as gifts. I've been along for the ride since his groundbreaking and illuminating stuff about the rave scene in the early 1990s. Somehow I feel he is slipping. Just like so many others of his intellectual and liberal bent, I think they are missing what is really going on with the world, particularly since the shake up of 2016 to present. He still clings to sneering at anything that is conservative, non-Democrat, non-egalitarian, or that doesn't jibe with his fossilized world view. In a way, I don't blame him - this is a common malady of most in his thought demographic. We have been confronted with a very specific set of world challenges that most liberals seem completely unequipped to re-address their thought systems and value systems so they can understand what is going on. In many ways, this requires a complete rewiring of many bedrock concepts that have been so stable for so many decades. Poor Douglas, once an illuminating light, now just someone who throws rocks at Google busses and mutters recriminations.

I would add one thing specifically about this book: At the core, this is a great story, but the story part is about 5 pages long, paving the way for an additional 200+ pages of his musings about how capitalists are bad people, using week & unresearched anecdote to back up his claims. Its a classic liberal bitch fest. If you can catch a podcast interview with Douglas where he describes the genesis for this book, that synopsis is wildly recommended. It is a great yarn and well worth hearing. But after that I do not believe his conclusions head even remotely in the right direction.

A Burning Criticism of Capitalism

Rushkoff leverages his insider knowledge to apply Marxist theory to current issues. If you're looking for a detailed list of all the reasons to regard those who lead and benefit from our growth dependent, broken system with contempt, you've found it (for better or worse).

A Reasonable Analysis

I liked this book a lot, and I must confess it frequently challenged, and occasionally supported my own personal orthodoxy. That said, the book suffers from the author’s personal orthodoxy as well. Where some of his challenges were in fact legitimate, he frequently delegitimized his own argument by tying it too closely to his own political perspective. As with all political perspectives, his are flawed and built upon political propaganda - essentially Progressive Democrats GOOD, everyone else? WRONG Too bad too, since much of the book could have been apolitical, and been a better read.

It’s what expected and more

this book is truly well written and researched. It will give you a whole perspective on what the highest sphere of society really thinks of the rest of the people and themselves through their endeavors.

Amazing

A must read for all! Entertaining and informative. I wish everyone would follow his advice.

Only the First Few Apply

Only the first few chapters actually discuss the premise of the book the rest of it is just the author’s thoughts on technology, economics, and environmentalism. Felt a bit cheated, but some of what author has to say is interesting. Other things felt like I was listening to the ramblings of an idealistic undergraduate. Nothing wrong with that except that the majority of the book isn’t what it’s advertised to be. Wouldn’t recommend this book unless you’re a western communist and like being the choir that’s being preached to.

Interesting point of view but oversimplifies tech and growth

A friend recommended this audiobook to me. I liked some of the insights into the kooky plans of billionaires and his critique of the “mindset” as the author dubs the thinking behind todays growth at any costs mentality.

However, where the author lost me is on his misunderstanding of ideas like those found in the “The Selfish Gene” and his efforts to tar Dawkins as some sort of amoral atheist for being associated with Jeffrey Epstein. This is an old trick and a nasty one. Discredit by association the people with whose ideas you disagree. I’m sure the author is in a ton of pictures with some unsavory people. What should we make of his ideas then?

And speaking of his ideas, early on in the book I got the feeling the author has a Marxist ideology that he was hell bent on proving to us is the right way and it seemed he was cherry picking stories, over simplifying motives, throwing around studies without footnotes, and ignoring one of the main tenants of human nature: the benefit of competition on a human scale to bring success to the species as a whole.

Listen, the author is right about some of the horrible business practices, unfair taxation, and harmful ways we treat our environment. But his “mindset”, let’s call it “new age marxism” ignores the benefits of capitalism and its ability to lift millions of people out of poverty.

Wild ride

Eye opening and informative. Could be thought of as fiction but sadly it’s real, which is scary. I enjoyed this read and it gave me much to think about. I went in thinking that rich people had all the answers and the book has convinced me that they seem to have less answers.

I’m glad someone said it.

A wonderful summation of Rushkoff’s previous perspectives on runaway tech culture brought to a timely and important subject matter.

Rushkoff overview worth reviewing, but not new

If you're familiar with Douglas Rushkoff (and I'd recommend the Team Human podcast very much), there isn't a lot of new information in his latest book. The main thing, as some recent headlines have shown, is the story of meeting tech billionaires who hope to survive the end of the world. Otherwise, this is a good summary of technology critiques from this important social writer.

There's also the chapter on Burning Man, showing how giving capitalists psychedelics doesn't really improve anything in the world when they can't escape the fundamentalist of their mindset. The part on Q-Anon and internet addiction is also very poignant. But overall, I'd recommend other of Rushkoff's older books. He's an important thinker, and I hope the world will further pay attention and think harder about what's not working in society. With a focus on humanity, perhaps we can do better.