In this episode of New Ideal Live, Keith Lockitch and Agustina Vergara Cid discuss the reasons why Jeff Bezos’s recent flight to space should be admired and not mocked or vilified.

Among the topics covered:

The impressive spectacle of the Blue Origin launch vs. the backlash against it in the media;How the animosity toward Bezos stems from taking Amazon’s achievements for granted;How claims about the insignificance of the Blue Origin launch ignore its long-range technological and economic purpose;How claims about the immorality of billionaires’ paying to go to space ignore the economics of the early adopter effect;How altruism permeates people’s thinking about the achievements of successful businessmen;How scapegoating and envy drive animosity toward successful businessmen;How to evaluate people and companies in light of their distinctive achievements;How Bezos built something new by using existing resources others had not used.

Mentioned in this discussion are Ayn Rand’s essays “America’s Persecuted Minority: Big Business” (available in her book Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal), “The Age of Envy”(available in the book Return of the Primitive), “Apollo 11” and “Epitaph For a Culture” (both available in the book The Voice of Reason). Also mentioned is Ayn Rand’s 1966 interview on the so-called robber barons.

Podcast audio: