We’re deep into another Trumpian election season, and the country is choosing between an expansion of the welfare and administrative state on the one hand, and a post-truth mound of entertaining bullshit on the other. Bullshitting is, of course, a technical term. In his aptly titled On Bullshit, Harry Frankfurt describes the idea: “bullshitters seek to convey a certain impression of themselves without being concerned about whether anything at all is true.” 1
Trump’s success is somewhat explained by a unique ability to unleash a torrent of entertaining bullshit on whichever audience is currently listening to him 2 . But it’s more tied to his entitlement, a characteristic he shares with every other successful founder, executive, and politician. So why do entitled people keep winning?
Successful operators are single-minded. They assume their worldview is the most correct. They collect every undefended resource that they encounter. Then they put every resources they control towards making things happen. At every stage, Entitlement helps minimize waffling and distractions.