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Culture War Roundup for the week of August 17, 2026

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How do you know that?

Because you wouldn't be in a position to, not even if Musk stole no money.

What do I need to clarify for you? It seemed quite simple to me.

How, specifically, would you purchase Twitter, even if Elon Musk stole absolutely no money from you.

Because you wouldn't be in a position to, not even if Musk stole no money.

The premise is if I did have that money. Otherwise we ought to talk about the making of money and not the buying things with it. Do you remember the breakfast question by the way?

The premise is if I did have that money

No, the only premise was that Musk is not given any money at your expense. So outside of a tax reduction equal to you contribution to the subsidies he received, you'd have no extra money regardless of how much he received.

Otherwise we ought to talk about the making of money and not the buying things with it.

Why? Lots of billionaires could have ought Twitter, and didn't.

Why? Lots of billionaires could have ought Twitter, and didn't.

Are those billionaires me?

No, the only premise was that Musk is not given any money at your expense.

That was not the premise.

So outside of a tax reduction equal to you contribution to the subsidies he received, you'd have no extra money regardless of how much he received.

If he behaved fully justly some philosopher-king would have the money and we'd have cool things with it instead of a buggy social media website, increasingly censored.

Are those billionaires me?

That's not relevant, the question shows the flaw in the general logic of "Otherwise we ought to talk about the making of money and not the buying things with it."

That was not the premise.

If you didn't mean "if he hadn't stolen that money from me", maybe you should say that other thing you actually meant.

If he behaved fully justly some philosopher-king would have the money and we'd have cool things with it instead of a buggy social media website, increasingly censored.

We were talking about whether or not he's a great man of history, not whether or not he behaved fully justly. Genghis Khan was a great man of history. Stalin was a great man of history. Hitler was a great man of history. They are not what I'd describe as behaving fully justly.

Elon Musk's web app from the 90s that was merged and acquired and never seen again just wasn't impressive to me. He's a lucky upper-mediocre man and it's clear as day on his Twitter account. I think people only find him impressive because they wish they had the money, have just world bias and construct a narrative where he's a better man than them so he deserves the money. Meanwhile they undervalue more impressive things like brilliant philosophy because there's no sex or money to be jealous of there.

"Impressive" is an adjective that implies someone is impressed. If no one is impressed, it's not impressive. If you are the only one who is impressed, it's fairly cheap as impressions go.

I'm in the cohort who are quick to say (or at least think) that Musk is cringe, a salesman, and doesn't deserve the money in any cosmic sense. Unfortunately for those who grasp at the label of greatness, greatness is not about just deserts.

I just generally am not impressed by the making of money. It's almost always lowly and spending money is like prompting Claude. It's not great.

What is great? I find that you spend a lot of words hedging who gets to judge what great is, but so far I don't recall any specific examples of virtues you envision a great man should have, as well as some guidelines on how those virtues be measured.

I'll try to construct an image of a great man as per dailydogma, based on my total impressions of what you value, and you tell me where I'm wrong. A great man deals in ideas rather than actions; aesthetic rather than practical; refined rather than pedestrian; symbols rather than images; recognized by elites rather than masses; gains success in the spiritual rather than the material; has innate worth rather than gained worth; is rather than does.

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Elon Musk's web app from the 90s that was merged and acquired and never seen again just wasn't impressive to me.

I don't recall ever bringing up his app from the 90's.

I think people only find him impressive because they wish they had the money, have just world bias and construct a narrative where he's a better man than them so he deserves the money.

I don't find him impressive at all, and I don't think he deserves the money. I'm saying that because of how he chose to spend it, he's had a massive impact on the shape of the world we're living in. That's all we've been arguing over.

Meanwhile they undervalue more impressive things like brilliant philosophy because there's no sex or money to be jealous of there.

Brilliant philosophy is brilliant. It's been a while since anyone has come up with any, but far be it for me to diss the one that's already produced.