So maybe the real question is: how much of what we call capital is grounded in the material world, and how much is a collective hallucination? And when the hallucination ends, what’s left?
The bicameral mind theorizes that early humans experienced consciousness differently, as though one part of the brain “spoke” to the other in the form of auditory commands, like hearing the voice of a god. It was a system of authority and action without introspection. Now, pair that with the idea of modern capital, and things start to click.
Consider “made-up” capital—cryptocurrencies, inflated stock valuations, speculative VC bets. These are not grounded in tangible goods or production but in belief. They require masses of people to act on faith, responding to the “voice” of market forces or charismatic leaders. It’s almost a reawakening of the bicameral mind, with billionaires, algorithms, and media acting as those commanding voices, directing the collective hallucination. 1 reply
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The billionaire hallucination can only exist as long as people believe the broader system is legitimate. If institutional confidence cracks—whether through corruption scandals, financial crises, or widespread inequality—the billionaire class suddenly looks like what it often is: opportunists perched on a crumbling platform, shouting about “value” from their trash cans.
You could say billionaires are the refined product of institutional confidence—a distillation of the collective faith in capitalism, markets, and progress. But their wealth isn’t just built on the system; it’s also weaponized to perpetuate the system, creating a feedback loop of hallucinations. If one hallucination collapses, the other collapses with it, leaving nothing but chaos and a lot of useless NFTs.
In short, the billionaire’s fortune is a bubble inside the bigger bubble of institutional confidence. Once the air starts leaking out, it’s game over for both. 0 reply
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