Perhaps because technology is a new religion and it's "leaders"
genuinely see themselves as prophets?
If you look at the history of capitalism and industrialisation, the old
"captains of industry" were a different breed.
Sure we had "celebrity" industrialists, Isambard Brunel and Henry Ford
come to mind. But they kept their place, largely in the background of
boardrooms and factories.
Digital technology has created a new kind of cargo cult, with cult
leaders. So I think it's a product of the culture rather than a fault
of individual "worship".
In this episode Helen singles out Bill Gates as counter-example (much
to my disagreement): ( UK Cybershow #011 | S1 | On The Go | Episode 3
- Money, Personality and Technology Dictatorships)
Your question is a little loaded. I'm not sure "worship" is the right term. But a lot of people in tech respect anyone who can win the game like they have. It's like that expression hate the game not the player. Capitalism for all its flaws, we have no better system yet, and Elon and Jeff get a "wow, well done" from other people trying to do the same.
3 comments
[ 4.4 ms ] story [ 25.1 ms ] threadIf you look at the history of capitalism and industrialisation, the old "captains of industry" were a different breed.
Sure we had "celebrity" industrialists, Isambard Brunel and Henry Ford come to mind. But they kept their place, largely in the background of boardrooms and factories.
Digital technology has created a new kind of cargo cult, with cult leaders. So I think it's a product of the culture rather than a fault of individual "worship".
In this episode Helen singles out Bill Gates as counter-example (much to my disagreement): ( UK Cybershow #011 | S1 | On The Go | Episode 3 - Money, Personality and Technology Dictatorships)
https://cybershow.uk/media/episodes/otg-03_r2_session_2023-0...
P.S. https://vimeo.com/635476080 (Spiral Dynamics talks about what comes next after capitalism.)