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naraburns  nihil supernum  2yr ago (text post)   31479 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of November 7, 2022

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350k/yr?! Christ, no wonder we have a glut of shitty writers! Why on earth would anyone pay that much for their thoughts?

Twain, Asimov, etc didn't command such a price. Are these people the defining voices of culture? No. Unequivocally no. So what, de Boer writes a half-decent thinkpiece twice a year - and what difference does it make? Three hundred and fifty thousand dollars should require at least a little impact. The same amount for preaching to the choir (which it seems like he's doing, given that I only find his sticks through the Motte, under the "omg look at this semi-outgroup fellow using our talking points" section) seems quite excessive.

Eh, this is like saying "Why should someone be paid millions of dollars a year for being good at throwing a ball?" Why does the lady who turned her shitty fanfic into Fifty Shades of Gray deserve to be rich? For that matter, how much is the average software engineer working on new and better ways to serve you monetized content actually contributing to society?

People are worth what someone is willing to pay them.

Well, yes, people are worth whatever the market will bear. But the prices talked about are a little absurd, aren't they? The fact that you can make this much money from putting pen to paper means that there a demand that is unmet, clearly - I'm just questioning the quality of the product. And (myself obviously excepted), we've seen better writing even here. How much is great writing worth? I'll grant that it's worth a living, perhaps, depending on market conditions, but why should wannabe authors not be subject to the same economic pressures as the rest of the world?

Well, yes, people are worth whatever the market will bear. But the prices talked about are a little absurd, aren't they?

Why?

Point at any of my examples, or any other career, and explain to me the objective measurement of how much their work "should" be worth.

why should wannabe authors not be subject to the same economic pressures as the rest of the world?

I don't understand where you're getting the idea that they're not. Do you think anyone who starts a substack is making Scott or Freddie numbers? Even if they are actually good writers? The vast majority are not.

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