Excess exists in the system - in the sense that we have more economic goods than subsistence.

And I agree - it’s questionable how much economic progress has been made in 50 years.

But now to Thiel’s point. Most people don’t actually believe that’s true. They believe in some kind of tech progress narrative so the alarms aren’t going off.

The more radical and disaffected political segments are those that do not believe this. They have a defeatist or at least pessimistic view of future outcomes. So the question is more psychological - what happens when people no longer think the pie is growing? And I think the answer is it’s not pretty.

we have excess but we also have massive inequality. The economic conservative position is literally that this is ok because everyone’s well being is going up at the same time. So what if we stop believing that?

> even in the top 10% of earners, violence is a preposterous idea.

Have you been following the news this last week?

> Seeing my peers excelling whether financially or otherwise is not going to turn me violent.

You’re right. You don’t see yourself in competition with your neighborhood. Try to imagine a situation where you do. What are the most politically gut wrenching topics for you?