I previously wrote about Boots theory, the idea that "the rich are so rich because they spend less money". My one-sentence take is: I'm pretty sure rich people spend more money than poor people, and an observation can't be explained by a falsehood.
The popular explanation of the theory comes from Sam Vimes, a resident of Ankh-Morpork on the Discworld (which is carried on the backs of four elephants, who themselves stand on a giant turtle swimming through space). I claim that Sam Vimes doesn't have a solid understanding of 21st Century Earth Anglosphere1 economics, but we can hardly hold that against him. Maybe he understands Ankh-Morpork economics?
To be clear, this is beside the point of my previous essay. I was talking about 21st Century Earth Anglosphere because that's what I know; and whenever I see someone bring up boots theory, they're talking about Earth (usually [...]
The original text contained 4 footnotes which were omitted from this narration.
---
First published:
March 18th, 2025
Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/KZrp5tJeLvoSbDryF/boots-theory-and-sybil-ramkin
Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.