… Because TED is for, and by, unbelievably rich people, they tiptoe around questions of the justness of a society that rewards TED attendees so much for what usually amounts to a series of lucky breaks.
… The people at Davos and in Aspen also think they’re saving the world, and the majority of them are also deeply involved in making it much worse for people who can’t afford to go to Davos and Aspen. It is no wonder at all that a talk on how their voluntary charity can better the lives of the unwashed is received with much more enthusiasm than one on how a better use for their money would be for them to have much less of it and everyone else a little more.
—
Don’t mention income inequality please, we’re entrepreneurs - Media Criticism - Salon.com
I really don’t give a shit about TED, but reading a truly glorious Alex Pareene takedown can always lighten my mood a bit.
this puts into smart-sounding words how I’ve felt about TED for a while: it’s just ultra-wealthy techno-utopian capitalists preaching feel-good smarm to each other. viva meritocracy! the article’s subheadline: “At this point, TED is a massive, money-soaked orgy of self-congratulatory futurism”
(via champagnecandy)
