 But this is what, you know, kind of the showtime releases, so I'm trying to play by their rules. But I think this is a good clip, it illustrates the point. The whole thing is worth watching, because the whole interview between them, the interplay between them, and the difference philosophically between them is definitely, definitely worth seeing in its full, but you'll get a sense of it right here. Mike Prince is very much on the, you know, Juan Buffett, Bill Gates, Theory of Justice, John Walls. You're successful because you're lucky, and you'll see that and see Bobby's response to that. All right, let's roll the clip. It's wrong, but I do it. All right, here we go, we'll roll it again. I don't like everyone in this room, but I do respect everyone in this room, because I know each and every one of you has a portfolio of accomplishments that sets you apart, proves your exceptional qualities. So he's basically complimenting everybody there for being successful. He says, I don't like all of you, but you've all been successful, and I respect that, and that's good. That's a good way to approach other people. Now here's Mike Prince's response. Zoom, that goes for you too. Unlike you, I'm not embarrassed to say it. As I'd expect, because I know your story as much as you know mine, how you came from nothing. Yeah, it's true. Your dad was an insurance salesman. You ate dinner with him every night. My dad was gone, though. I ate dinner wherever I could. And yet you were still in the wealthiest state and the wealthiest country in the world with access to the best health care, schools, infrastructure, and you were born white and male. At a time that was a huge advantage. In the greatest capital market in the history of mankind. Now note, that's the general's line. You had the right genes. You might have been poor. Okay. But you were poor in the right country. You were poor in the right century. Juan Buffett says this a lot. You were poor in the right city. You were poor in the right period of time. And you were white. You were male. You had every opportunity lined up for you. You were basically Bobby Axelrod, he tells him. You're basically lucky. Your success is a product of luck. Your success is not your own achievement. Your success is not what you did. Your success is a product of luck. This is John Rawls. This is what Juan Buffett says. This is what Bill Gates says sometimes, although I don't think he believes it. This is the line out there. It's like this is what Thomas Piketty of the inequality debate. This is what all the people in inequality, if you watch my inequality debates, this is what they often, often argue. You didn't build that. This is Obama. You didn't earn that. You didn't make that. You lived in a society. You lived in a place and a time that made it all possible. You benefited from all those things. So don't take credit for it. Say thank you and share and give back. And that's the argument Mike Pence is doing. He does it very particularly quick. Again, the whole interview between the two reflects this difference in attitude. Now notice Axel's response. When we listen to it and then I'll tell you what I would have said and what's good about this and what's bad about it. The roads were paved for you, Bobby, which is why you were able to move so quickly across them. Wow. I knew you were racked with guilt, but this takes it to a whole different... Now that's great. The fact that he identifies the guilt that motivates Mike Pence. Mike Pence, this is the attitude so many American businessmen have. It's an attitude of guilt. It's on the perspective of guilt. I was successful. I can't get credit for that. That would be prideful. That would be sinful. So you must reflect that credit in everybody else. I must not be too proud. I must be humble. That's what Christianity teaches them. That's what John Rawls teaches them. So they come up with a fancy excuse about luck and the roads were paved for you, Bobby. And it's good that Axe identifies the fact that he feels guilty. But let's see what he says next. Sure, the roads were paved, but I didn't even have a goddamn car. Now, you see, this is where we are different. I don't pretend I'm an ordinary guy who got lucky. I am a monster. A carnivorous fucking monster. Now this is the problem, right? So he says, I don't pretend I got lucky. I don't pretend I got lucky. I know who I am. In a sense, I know where my success comes from. I caused my success. My success is mine. And, you know, if it was me or if it was maybe some of you would say, no, I use my mind. I focused. I worked hard. I took that energy and focused it on being successful. I didn't exploit anybody. But I achieved success using my mind, my focus. And you know what? There are a million kids who grew up just like me. There are a million kids, a billion kids, who grew up in the century with this capital market, with these opportunities, maybe with even better opportunities than mine. And they didn't succeed and I did. Why? Here are the characteristics that made me successful. But what are the characteristics that Bobby Axelrod identifies in himself as success? He's a monster. Now monster, he'll reflect, carnivorous monster, not just a monster. A monster that eats others. A monster that exploits. A monster that takes advantage of. There are two views of human behavior in the world out there. You can be an altruist, sacrifice, give to others, pretend that your success is luck, be guilt-ridden, give back, contribute, be humble. Or you can be a greedy, exploiting SOB. There is selfishness is. So you can either sacrifice to others or sacrifice others to you. Now it's not like Mike Prince, the other hedge fund manager, sacrifices much. But he's on that side as that is virtue. Bobby Axelrod says to hell with virtue. To hell with that morality. I'm going to sacrifice anybody I need to sacrifice for my success as needed, as necessary. Now neither one of them completely takes that philosophy seriously. So Mike Prince is not Mother Teresa and Bobby Axelrod is not a murdering, you know, lying, stealing, cheating SOB. But that is the underlying premise, that vision of what is right, that vision of what is good underlies both of them. So Bobby believes that even though he doesn't lie and cheat and steal, he manipulates. He does things he shouldn't probably do. He shouldn't do morally. But he doesn't go all out. He doesn't really exploit other people that he pretends. He's not that carnivorous. But that's his only explanation. That's to him what self-interest means. That to him what is the best that he can do to explain himself. He's a, he's a carnivorous monster. He won't give in to this bogus idea that it's luck. He won't give in to this bogus idea that he didn't earn it. He earned it. He worked hard for it. He deserves credit for it. But what was that work like? Well, it is the work of a monster. A carnivorous monster. It's so sad. The sadness is for both of these guys. They're both incredibly successful. They're both really, really good at what they do. And neither one has the right ethic, neither one has the right morality, neither one has the right view of the world, view of life that allows him to have the happiness, allows him to have the pride, the proper pride, and allows him to really embrace their own success. I mean, to me, the fact that they have billions and billions of dollars, still, I feel sorry for them. Still, I feel the injustice because these should be incredibly happy people. They're incredibly successful. They've done good, particularly Bobby, who's come up from nothing, had nothing, and been incredibly successful. And why he can't enjoy that? Why he can't embrace that? Because of the morality of altruism, the guilt that eats at them, and that they've never been provided with guidance. Bobby needs to read Atlas Shrugged. He needs the objective as philosophy in order to be able to live up, live up morally, live up in terms of his life to what he's achieved financially. Now, note, too, that Bobby throughout all the seasons is constantly looking for himself. He's looking for a purpose. He's looking, he's not happy. Actually, this season starts with him and his number two guy in a tent in some Indian Reservation in Canada doing some drug with some Indian thing, some psychedelic, trying to find himself, trying to achieve happiness. To his credit, he says, it didn't do it for me. The only thing that would do it for him is a philosophy. It's a morality. A morality that says that, yes, you should pursue your own self-interest, Bobby. And that's good that you pursue your own self-interest, Bobby. Here's some principles that help you pursue your own self-interest, Bobby. Stop pretending that you're a monster, you're not a monster. You're a benefactor. You're a hero. You're one of the good guys. And part of what undercuts your happiness, Bobby, is that you're constantly competing with others. Instead of competing, be the best that you can be. Stop trying to destroy other people. Think about how you can achieve more for you. Giving somebody like Bobby Axel that moral thumbs up is revolutionary. It would change his life if he could really integrate that. He would be happy. What we need today, what I call the new intellectual, would be any man or woman who is willing to think. Meaning, any man or woman who knows that man's life must be guided by reason, by the intellect. Not by feelings, wishes, whims or mystic revelations. Any man or woman who values his life and who does not want to give in to today's cult of despair, cynicism and impotence and does not intend to give up the world to the Dark Ages and to the role of the collectivist broods. I'm using the Super Chat and I noticed yesterday when I appealed for support for the show, many of you step forward and actually supported the show for the first time, so I'll do it again. Maybe we'll get some more today. If you like what you're hearing, if you appreciate what I'm doing, then I appreciate your support. Those of you who don't yet support the show, please take this opportunity, go to youronbrookshow.com slash support and make a kind of a monthly contribution to keep this going. I'm not sure when the next