Douglas Rushkoff’s Keynote at re:publica 2023
Douglas Rushkoff, a renowned author, was invited to speak at the re:publica 2023 event virtually. In his presentation, he talked about the themes from his latest book, “Survival of the Richest.” The book is about the challenges that multi-billionaires face after an apocalypse, where money is worth nothing. One of the main issues that Rushkoff highlighted was how they will pay their employees.
Rushkoff has positioned himself as a creative thinker after his book “Media Virus” about the concept and functionality of memes on the internet. In 2017, he was invited to an exclusive meeting of multi-billionaires as a speaker and advisor. However, their “Mindset” left him astounded. They were only interested in practical survival tips, unique ways to prep, and wanted to know how they would continue living on their islands or luxury liners after the apocalypse.
The super-rich needed to find ways to keep their service personnel loyal and how they would pay their bodyguards that would protect them from gangs. Moreover, they wanted to know how to upload their consciousness to a crisis-proof platform in case of the worst circumstances. Rushkoff noted that the future of society and technology, for the super-rich, was about escaping the rest of us.
During his interview with Geraldine de Bastion, Rushkoff compared the mindset of the super-rich with that of the pharaohs who were dedicated to pyramids and embalmed bodies for eternity. However, he suggested that the super-rich take care of issues such as climate change and pandemics now. His advice for them was to practice solidarity with each other. He emphasized that borrowing a drill from a neighbor, instead of buying another one from Walmart, could lead to a “spiral of charity” that would help everyone survive in the end.
In conclusion, Rushkoff’s keynote presentation at re:publica 2023 offered insightful perspectives on the challenges that multi-billionaires would face after an apocalypse. His suggestion for them to be more considerate of others and work together to solve global problems is a refreshing approach that could benefit everyone in the long run.
