3/ you wouldn’t expect a r*pist to tell you he’s r*ping you, so when he does, you say “well I’m sure he has good reasons, or he wouldn’t be so honest about it.” THAT is how desperate we are to feel connected, trust other people, and grasp something real.

2/ we are so alienated that there is now something seemingly more trustworthy about a robber telling me he’s robbing me, than a vendor telling me I’m getting a deal. We’re so starved of honesty and connection that we actually prefer honest abuse to the dishonest status quo.

E.g. the most important and future-proof skill someone can get from a social science degree is the ability to read societal body language. And the fact that that skill can’t be quantified is what makes it impossible for AI to fully replace. But you’ll never see it listed as an “outcome” of a program

The importance of getting big money out of politics is not just about reducing explicit/implicit corruption, but changing who is close to power when the measures of "success" are set. (For example: this is why GDP is ubiquitous despite failing to capture much of anything about human flourishing).