Silicon Slippers

Iman Olya

23rd February 2023

Part 1: The Great Conqueror

Part 2: Greek Myths

Part 3: Philosophical Decadence

Part 4: The Conman’s Arc

Part 5: Silicon Slippers

Part-1: The Great Conqueror

Following Guagamela, the Hellenic military marched towards the crown jewel of the conquered. Wild celebrations ensued for the successful Greeks and Macedonians, where opulent feasts were held and debauchery was cheered. Rape and pillaging of Persian Royals and their extreme wealth was encouraged.

At the main feast table, among the sea of drunken men, a sole female voice took centre stage. Thais, the Athenian lover of the Macedonian commander Ptolemy, declared that their conquering King’s greatest achievement would not be capturing the greatest Empire ever seen.

Rather, as Plutarch states:

“She declared that all the hardships she had endured in wandering about Asia had been amply repaid on that day, when she found herself revelling luxuriously in the splendid palace of the Persians, but that it would be an even sweeter pleasure to end the party by going out and setting fire to the palace of Xerxes, who had laid Athens in ashes.”

— Plutarch, Life of Alexander (XXXVIII)

What Diodorus Siculus explains is by having a woman wipe the greatest architectural achievement of the most powerful empire in history, there would be no lower blow to all of Persia’s might.

Raucous applause by his men elevated the conquering King to chief arsonist, and in one fell swoop Alexander the Great threw his torch into the Palace of Persepolis. He had turned to ash the very jewel he sought since he became King. But as ancient historians declare, the end of the Persian empire started on a slope that was born of decadence a half century prior.

Part-2: Greek Myths

Herodotus, the ancient Greek historian, gives the most complete account of the Persian Wars, albeit he wrote more than two centuries after the fact and was arguably more a script writer than a historian.

What’s interesting from Herodotus’ accounts is that he paints Cyrus the Great (Cyrus II) and the Persians in stark contrast to the barbaric and bloodthirsty Assyrian predecessors who would skin alive their conquered subjects. The more pragmatic Persians would offer peaceful surrender terms ahead of invasion and allow subjects to live freely while only paying their dues to the local satrap. This perceived mercy is echoed in Cyrus’ freeing of the Jews in Babylonia after he'd conquered them. A story that Christians, Jews and Iranians today identify as why Cyrus can be seen as the father of human rights.

Herodotus goes on to describe Darius I, Cyrus' successor, as the King who expanded the organisational prowess of the Empire and created 20+ satrapies for systematising the Empire’s administration. Again, another King of Kings who expanded the Persian’s foothold to Greece, cemented the foundations for an efficient and powerful empire and laid the groundwork for his successor: Xerxes I.

It’s at this point that the arc of Persia’s fate is spun by the playwright-cum-historian, Herodotus. Modern historians agree that Xerxes took Persia to its furthest frontiers in Greece and expanded Persia’s wealth and military might to its highest levels. However, ancient historians paint his losses at Salamis, Platea and Mycale (480-479 BC) as ultimately sealing his fate as the King who halted expansion and pushed the Empire into retreat. According to historical logic, an empire that is not growing is an empire in decline.

As Voltaire writes:

“History is only the pattern of silken slippers descending the stairs to the thunder of hobnailed boots climbing upward from below”

— Voltaire

In other words, history is filled with the sound of silken slippers going downstairs and wooden shoes coming up. When power, wealth and greatness are thrust upon you, your decadent upbringing will keep you weak.

Herodotus, Plato, Xenophon, Voltaire etc. would all have you believe that as struggle breeds strength, Cyrus II and Darius I were the epitome of powerful Kings. In mythological recounts, Cyrus was born to the Median King’s daughter and ordered to death as a new-born for fear of his prowess enabling him to usurp his grandfather: a true blue-blood gunned for from birth. He was raised by the Persian King and followed a hero’s journey to become the world’s greatest conqueror in that era. Darius’ myth is even more extreme, having supposedly defeated an evil, usurping magi to the throne. But as Xerxes was born and raised in excess, he was weak; shunted to the annex of history, depicted as a sex-crazed, overindulgent brat.

*AI generated image of what Xerxes I may have looked like*

Part-3: Philosophical Decadence

It’s hard to distinguish between myth and reality. Historical records prove that Xerxes was a brilliant leader and oversaw the height of the Empire. But that is not to say decadence does not lead to decline.

We’ve already heard from Voltaire, but many philosophers have posited this connection.

Plato argued that the pursuit of pleasure and luxury can lead to a decline in moral values and a weakening of the state, while his protege Aristotle believed that excessive indulgence in pleasure and material goods could lead to a decline in virtue and a corruption of character
Our favourite TechBro philosopher, René Girard, argued that decadence and social breakdown often result from a society's inability to manage its own desires and conflicts, leading to a cycle of violence and destruction. See my essay here for more details on Girard
Similarly, Nietzsche and Jean-Paul Sartre saw decadence as a sign of cultural decline, arguing that it was caused by a lack of life-affirming values and a lack of willpower

While I agree that hardship breeds character, the extent to which an easy life breeds moral corruption is less clear. I dislike talking in absolutes, and indeed, things that make too much sense or are implicit knowns, often need greater scrutiny.

Part-4: The Conman’s Arc

The human mind tends to latch onto circular narratives that take characters on a story arc, often emerging from a great struggle into a transformational climax and resolution.

We like comfortable endings because we become connected to protagonists emotionally. Disney’s made a huge business by exploiting this. Equally its why we continue to fall for the traps laid by con men and women in Silicon Valley.

Storytellers tend to raise the most capital in startup land. In fact, accelerators like Y Combinator preach storytelling to their founders. It’s not just enough to create product-market fit, you need to be able to sell it to investors.

There is nothing inherently wrong with this. It’s a powerful tool that manipulates human psychology. ‘Supergiant’ seed rounds of $10M+ are common and had been increasing up until 2023 (understandable given the current funding climate).

Before you truly have PMF or even a locked-down product, go-to-market and in some cases a fully formed team, how do you raise $10M+? Well, you need to sell the right story to the right investors.

Adam Neumann raised $350M for Flow using this method. He did this without a clear product, team or plan, in a bear market… after the WeWork catastrophe. The guy literally had no right to raise the largest single check in a16z history, but did so through his insane storytelling skills.

Sam Bankman-Fried, the now hapless, depressed TweetBoi who basically got outed as our era’s Bernie (or was that Elizabeth Holmes? I lose track with all the frauds in this space), played this game insanely well.

Don’t let his appearance fool you. Rags and frazzled hair were moral, utilitarian disguises dangled in front of so-called Silicon Valley ‘expert’ investors. He was born in elite-ville (Stanford, Cali), raised in a progressive household and lacked the strife necessary in early life to build a noble legacy. You can easily point to his decadence.

He obviously has mental issues (exacerbated by insane drug use) but he believed his own aura. Raised in silk slippers, he was able to tap into his inner Xerxes. Indeed, tales of his wild sexual exploits, engaged in polycules with his equally fucked-up colleagues, do not even compare to Xerxes and his 360 concubine-ridden harem.

But there was something more sinister at play with SBF, and many other conmen: the ability to tell stories.

John Millen explains that SBF used 3 storytelling tactics to basically create one of the largest cons in US history:

This origin story of a bright “nerdy boy genius” in crypto served him well. News outlets wanted all the scoops on him and it helps that his parents were high profile Stanford Law professors too - geniuses who supposedly raised a super genius.
Result: This origin story established SBF as having made the “hero’s journey.” This term was used by author Joseph Campbell to describe our most powerful cultural myth: the journey from humble beginnings to extraordinary success. History is always written by the winner and they build a narrative arc after the fact.
Leveraging “effective altruism” to highlight a greater purpose.
Saying he wanted to make as much money as possible, so he could give away 99% of it to charity sounds great on paper, until you find out it’s by any means necessary…
Result: This purpose-story disarmed suspicion.
Pioneering the future of finance.
By giving shit tons of donations to politicians and advocating in front of Congress for more regulation in crypto, he built a faux aura of legitimacy.
Result: This vision-story established SBF as the thought leader with a clear vision of the evolving industry of crypto and blockchain. Basically made people think he was another Elon, Jobs etc.

Part-5: Silicon Slippers

silicon valley has reached decadence -- its blood boys have grown fat and wealthy enough to have their own blood boys
— roon (@tszzl) April 4, 2022

An insatiable vampiric thirst has clearly spread through the Valley, creating a decadent culture: from sinking their gnashers into the excessive pay and benefits, to Gen-Z’s bloodlust for TikTokers posting their minimally work-focused days at… well… work. This exuberant lifestyle inflation was clearly not sustainable. And with huge job cuts at major tech firms and startups, I’d expect this culture of surplus to wane.

Every economic cycle experiences this. In down times, belt-tightening always exposes the excess belly fat. But clearly the winners quickly trim themselves down on a diet of 10x engineers and elite salespeople.

What’s more powerful and, in equal measure dangerous, is the story-telling ability of Silicon Valley. Wielding the ability to spin stories as interesting as science-fiction about startups that can change the world through technology, is very attractive. It perks the ears of politicians, investors and the Twittersphere. The danger lies in having psychopaths manipulate this phenomenon, but it is an absolute cornerstone of startup sales and fundraising.

Even at a geopolitical level, US adversaries paint a picture of a plump, decadent America that will soon be forced to slip down the ladder of leadership in its silk slippers. But the US sports a different kind of kick: a Silicon Slipper.

This is again seductive storytelling on the side of competitors, aiming to shift public sentiment through relatable story arcs we’re used to.

However, economic prowess, coupled with military might and technological imperialism mean the US is still top dog amongst the pack of adversarial wolves. The Inflation Reduction Act, Chips Act and a host of bi-partisan approaches are clearly aiming to develop US hegemony and self-sufficiency. In other words, short-term hardship is self-imposed to secure long-term strength. Indeed, Silicon Valley represents the jewel in the US crown, forcing the Chinese CCP to adopt a policy of intellectual property theft just to keep up.

The power of the Silicon Slipper is still unmatched. While decadence does play a role in Western moral decline, technological prowess is proving to be a buffer against absolute Persepolis-like destruction. Albeit, the Disney-trained Herodotus in all of us wants to believe that this arc of Western supremacy is nearing its end. I suspect the US is just another misunderstood Xerxes.