Why don’t we live in a world where wealth can buy a society defenses against such egregores?
I would point to the non-experts can’t distinguish true from fake experts problem. That does seem to be a central phenomenon which most parasitic egregores exploit. More generally, as wealth becomes more abundant (and therefore lots of constraints become more slack), inability to get grounded feedback becomes a more taut constraint.
That said… do you remember any particular evidence or argument which led you toward the story at top of thread (as opposed to away from your previous understanding)?
I would point to the non-experts can’t distinguish true from fake experts problem. That does seem to be a central phenomenon which most parasitic egregores exploit. More generally, as wealth becomes more abundant (and therefore lots of constraints become more slack), inability to get grounded feedback becomes a more taut constraint.
That said… do you remember any particular evidence or argument which led you toward the story at top of thread (as opposed to away from your previous understanding)?