One deity asked another “How is capitalism fair? Why are some people allowed to have billions of dollars (that they don’t even need) while others who work harder can’t afford houses?”
“… It’s to promote success, innovation, progress. In truth, the rich work super hard in ways you can’t imagine and they are unbelievably persistent while also working smart. The rich deserve to be rich. If you’re not rich, you can only blame yourself.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
The two deities don’t agree so with the help of other supernatural entities, they devise a game involving real mortals to try and prove their respective worldviews.
A small world in an alternate dimension is created for the game. It is populated by ten medieval teched towns, there’s a total population of 100,000 under the reign of a singular queen. They speak modern English.
Two teams will play against each other. They comprise of individuals teleported in from this world.
The winning team goes back to the real world, each 1 billion dollars richer (legally and state-recognized), the losing team is stuck in the medieval world forever.
One team consists of the worlds top 10 billionaires (people the default system reveres and considers unassailable “successes” to the point where life goes on while it’s okay and right that they have billions of dollars):
Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet etc…
The other team is comprised of NSG posters. All of NSG will meet before the game begins and through whatever mechanism they deem fit, choose 10 individuals to form the team that will play against the billionaires. If the NS team cannot work it out (democratically or otherwise), then the supernatural entities will choose 10 people randomly to form the team. If the NS team ends up running, the players on the team are each 1 billion dollars richer while every other NS poster is 5 million dollars richer.
As for the game itself, it’s very simple.
Both teams of 10 are teleported to opposite sides of the medieval world in two different towns where they legally own a large house with beds, a jug of magically regenerating water (for your own use), furniture, basic tools, and some wooden carts and boxes for making sales.
The towns buys and sells primitive goods using a gold coin system.
Every individual in the game starts with a small device that can magically generate 100 bananas every day (so each team of 10 can make 1000 bananas if they want daily).
The people in the medieval world legally recognize your existence and your right to the house but… they have never seen a banana before. They don’t need it, they don’t know that they should want to try it, it might terrify them.
The competition is to see over a period of three months, which team of 10 (the NSG team or the billionaire team) can sell the bananas for maximum coin profit. Only money made from the sale of bananas counts.
You need to set up a business enterprise, you need to talk to the town, you can try and hire people, you can come up with advertising strategies, the whole capitalist game. You set the prices (the only competition being the other team who supplied the exact same thing). You need to pay for all expenditures (unless you’re eating your own bananas for food). All characters in the scenario are disease-proof.
The sale of the bananas is viewed as legal and the authorities won’t interfere with the sale of the bananas or execute/imprison anyone for the sales.
Who will probably make the most $$$ from the bananas?
Please predict and justify using your understanding of human nature, capitalism, sales dynamics etc. Your predictions:
1. The billionaire team will win and by a large margin because they have prior business experience/are self-selected by meritocratic capitalism and so are more resourceful, intelligent, hard-working, outgoing, street smart etc
2. The billionaire team will win but not by that much. It will be closer than people think.
3. The NS team will win by a large margin because capitalism doesn’t work in selecting the people who in fact have the greatest chance to be productive. Also, the NS team has advantages (explain)
4. The NS team will win but by a close margin.
5. It’s a complete 50-50. Everyone is more equal in reality. Capitalism is just luck/this situation doesn’t fairly test salesmanship. NSG has a chance to win vs the top 10 billionaires.
I’m going with option 5. The NS team has a chance though I wouldn’t necessarily bank on them. We could pick 10 business savyy people from this group and have a shot. Three months is going to involve luck and if we’re motivated, why not? In general, capitalism is not a great system for selecting/rewarding who actually has the potential to contribute the most. Given a “blank slate,” many of the structural advantages given to people like Gates and Zuckerberg would mean less, equalizing the playing field more.
