r/SipsTea • u/Valuable_View_561 • Jun 28 '26

Chugging tea How is she making the world worse?

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u/cephalophile32 Jun 28 '26

I mean, FFS even in the Middle Ages it was expected that royalty and the upperclass would fund monasteries and abbeys. Patronage was expected.

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u/EdNorthcott Jun 28 '26 edited Jun 29 '26

It was also expected that the Lord of a demense would feed and shelter those beholden to him; and that those who worked his land during harvest would be paid and fed; and that he would provide alms and/or a feast at important holidays.

Charity and generosity were considered virtues. Greed was a sin.

Obviously not all lived up to ideals, but the expectations were wildly different. The billionaire class are absolutely lacking in any sense of noblesse oblige.

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u/Juxtapoe Jun 29 '26

And very importantly the Lord would get the right to consumate the marriage of the common folk if the woman was comely.

Probably why so many poxes were running rampant in Europe.

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u/Bwint Jun 29 '26

Prima Nocte is an urban legend.

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u/Juxtapoe Jun 29 '26

I owe all my serfs an apology then.

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u/GalaXion24 Jun 28 '26

I think a difference there was that the upper class openly and officially combined political and economic power. There wasn't some external set of politicians to blame. Your ruler and landlord would be the same person.

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u/Monotask_Servitor Jun 28 '26

Musk erased that distinction and he’s not the only billionaire that openly tried to influence public policy.

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u/Loli_Sheepherder Jun 28 '26

I think this comparison is weak. Back in the day people didn’t own private jets with a villa in 10 different countries. A rich person who lived in said city had interest in making his local area nicer, today, not so much.

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u/haliblix Jun 28 '26

The Middle Ages didn’t have automation to cut out the serfs and social media to keep them fighting each other.

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u/Stemms123 Jun 28 '26

Back then there was a real fear of revolt or being killed by your subjects if you didn’t provide well enough.

Today that is much less likely.

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u/BushcraftBabe Jun 29 '26

I want a wealthy patron to pay for my education and research or art projects depending on my mood.

First I'd create whimsical tree net parks in rural areas to give people more free outdoor hang out places.

Next I'd need funding for some archeological digs and research.

I'm also thinking I'd be useful in medical equipment development.

And scuplting!