For a long time I’ve tried to understand the psychological and moral reasoning of folks who accrue and then hoard billions of dollars. It can’t be the behavioral of emotionally balanced people – and they seem to act more like addicts (sorry if that word offends anyone – it’s a term I hear from folks in recovery often).
The behavior of Elon Musk makes it clear that he’s unwell. It feels like watching someone slowly destroying their lives and the lives of everyone around them because of an addiction.
I’m not saying that to let him or Bezos or anyone like that off the hook. On the contrary, if we see massive wealth accumulation as potential a sign of mental illness rather than an accomplishment I feel like it could influence policy in a positive direction. We have social and legal structures in place to restrict (if ineffectively, much of the time) other addictions, because we recognize them as harmful. Why not this?