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I think this is a psychological thing. Humans during evolution were highly rewarded for seeking and keeping powerful allies. So by imagining that Elon is my friend (because I'm his friend) and Elon is really intrinsically powerful (instead of just a lucky, well positioned grifter that can fall from grace at any moment) I can feel better about my own safety. I can feel more powerful by extension and the indirection somehow muddles that fact that it's all made up. The same mechanism works in religious people.

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openrisk 7 hours ago | parent [-]

You might be onto something but we need a proper "evolutionary theory of bootlicking" before we get carried away.

Its pretty clear that the all-too-common in space and time hierarchies, oligarchies, command-and-control pyramids etc. rely on trickle-down privilege to sustain.

But the feeligs of disgust and disbelief at how a person can diminish themselves in the hope of some crumbs falling their way must also have strong evolutionary basis?

	▲	refurb 4 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I’m not sure I understand your viewpoint. The OP said “the most successful businessman in the world”. Sure one can argue about how OP came to that conclusion, by what measure, etc, but the man produced a highly successful car company, in a field nobody has really been able to do it, under terms where everyone was counting down the days until it went bankrupt. That alone is an amazing feat. Then he went on to create a rocket company that broke barriers of space travel no one has been able to do. Then he started a satellite company that pushed the boundaries of communication for the average person. I’d say all those feats are worthy of praise and make him a person who stands out significantly from any other businessman in recent history. So saying he’s the “most successful businessman” doesn’t seem like an absurd or overly hyperbolic statement. And how you got “stroking off” or the even more absurd “bootlicking” from that statement is just bizarre. I saw zero evidence of either. I’d say your comments are the odd ones here and say more about you than the OP.