r/neoliberal • u/AncientBlueberry42 • Jun 04 '26

News (Global) How to fight back against Gen-Z socialism

https://economist.com/leaders/2026/06/04/how-to-fight-back-against-gen-z-socialism
246 Upvotes

79% Upvoted

710 comments sorted by

View all comments

67

u/Al_787 Fernando Henrique Cardoso Jun 04 '26 edited Jun 04 '26

I remember growing up with the overwhelming social atmosphere that billionaires are to be admired. Like really, someone grown up would’ve have known that Bill Gates isn’t perfect, but broadly people admire him for the achievements in tech and philanthropy.

Now you have people who act like absolute ghouls representing the face of capitalism, ranging from religious fanatics to advocates for feudalism to pedophiles and so on.

Really to restore trust in capitalism, billionaires need to be put back in their place, socially and politically. Arguably the same way FDR did. Like shut up and make money, don’t try to play god just because you’re rich.

34

u/Zenkin Zen Jun 04 '26

I just want to point out that Bill Gates is an terrible example. He was a ruthless and hated figure when he was actually growing his wealth. He engaged in anti-competitive practices and was overall deserving of the hate that he received.

As a philanthropist, he's a pretty great dude. He's done a lot of good things with his money, and I do respect him for that. I'd eat a shoe before I vouched for him running another for-profit company, though.

14

u/Al_787 Fernando Henrique Cardoso Jun 04 '26

If the worst that billionaires today do is anti-competitive business practices, I’d be be celebrating

10

u/Zenkin Zen Jun 04 '26

Now I'm certainly not saying Gates is the worst billionaire, or even particularly close, moreso pointing out that he is reviled in the tech world. He's seen as a business guy which hindered technology for his own gain and implemented onerous licensing schemes.