This is why the rich stay rich. Baked in time preferences that were learned unconsciously.
Discussion
Well, I point this out, because at the bottom of a lot of AnCap arguments, is this belief that once we hand people tools like bitcoin, they're going to realize the wisdom of low time preference living, and have a spiritual awakening about the importance of self-reliance and responsibly.
I think that's about the most hilariously wrong read of the malleability of human behavioral incentives, I see around these parts.
I think you’re straw-manning a bit there. Really what people are getting at is the changing of time preference broadly distributed across society. Both of our grandfathers likely bought craftsman tools that were meant to last a lifetime and we both likely buy cheap crap that we don’t care for or take care of.
There's quite a few studies on this. From what I saw, it suggests that both learned and long-cultural (genetic factors play a role).
Ref: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167268122002438
Yes. People aren't going to want to hear this, but the reason there's so many bitcoin-libertarian-Austrian types talking about how wine people learn about bitcoin, they will awaken to the possibility of self-sufficiency and personal responsibility stems from a selection effect and echo chamber effect.
They will. But not as fast as we might think.
Ever heard the phrase “Shirt sleeves to shirt sleeves in 3 generations”? It’s an anomaly to have multigenerational wealth sustain.
Mainly it’s divorce that destroys family wealth. Many rich families have clued into this and now beat the idea of prenups into the heads of their children. There are even rich kid camps where they go to learn how not to marry someone who will ruin the family fortune.
That’s not actually true when you look at large multigenerational wealth. Mainly because divorce has only been more common in more recent generations. While divorce can significantly impact a couples finances when you’re looking at sustaining multigenerational wealth other factors come into play. Frequently one generation was able to make the wealth and successive generations do not know how to protect, grow, and sustain their wealth and end up squandering it. There’s also a comfort factor in successive generations who have the expectation of wealth and do not account for the work involved to maintain it.
If you look purely at numbers I would bet that more wealth is lost through bad business decisions by successive generations and repeated lavish overspending rather than a one off financial crisis like divorce. In preserving intergenerational wealth who you marry is one small piece of the puzzle. Many of these rich kid camps you speak spend much more time trying to teach business acumen and knowledge about managing money. Though I hear they also spend time discussing how all the relationships in your life affect your bottom line.
Who you marry can be a big indicator of whether a couple will accrue wealth in a lifetime. The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley has some interesting insight into that.
If you look purely at numbers I would bet that more wealth is lost through bad business decisions by successive generations and repeated lavish overspending rather than a one off financial crisis like divorce. In preserving intergenerational wealth who you marry is one small piece of the puzzle. Many of these rich kid camps you speak spend much more time trying to teach business acumen and knowledge about managing money. Though I hear they also spend time discussing how all the relationships in your life affect your bottom line.
Who you marry can be a big indicator of whether a couple will accrue wealth in a lifetime. The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley has some interesting insight into that.
not to make everything about bitcoin but pretty sure the rich stay rich because they can recycle their surplus into endlessly monetising assets rather than needing to create any real value …