Douglas Rushkoff's book, "Survival of the Richest," details a disturbing trend among tech billionaires: their preoccupation with escaping impending global catastrophes instead of addressing them. Rushkoff recounts a meeting where wealthy tech leaders discussed escape plans for a potential societal collapse, focusing on locations like New Zealand or Alaska.
The billionaires' discussions centered on "the event," a broad term encompassing various scenarios like climate change, war, or technological disasters. Their focus was on securing personal survival, not solving global challenges. Proposed escape plans ranged from underground bunkers to high-tech seafaring vessels.
Rushkoff analyzes the mindset driving this behavior, highlighting contradictions. These billionaires believe in technology's power to solve problems, yet also fear its potential to create unsolvable ones. Their actions, he argues, reveal a desire to escape the consequences of their own actions, embodying the dynamic of continuous progress that ignores resource limitations.
Rushkoff critiques the growth-oriented mindset of these individuals. He views their escape plans as a symptom of a system where elites consistently escape the negative impacts of their own actions, achieving new levels of "progress" even when such progress is unsustainable. He advocates for abandoning the pursuit of perpetual growth, suggesting a move towards a circular economy as a potential solution.
Ultimately, Rushkoff argues that there is "no escape." The pursuit of individual survival via technology is a futile attempt to outrace inevitable consequences. He concludes with a melancholic tone, reflecting on the shift from early internet ideals toward a commercially driven reality, contrasting the naive optimism of early internet enthusiasts with the cynical pragmatism of today's tech elite.