Warning: This post is highly critical of a really popular NFT project - World of Women (Wow). If you're a WoW collector, investor, team member or supporter - yngli (you're not gonna like it).
Up until last week I had 3 WoW's including one rare one. After seeing this I sold them all:
World of Women
WoW made a big deal that they're collaborating with an initiative of The World Economic Forum (WEF). WEF is the who's who of shitty companies. Nothing gets done. Hell if anything things get worse. It's ground zero for the celebration of neoliberalism.
Some say neoliberlism isn't a thing. I disagree. Neoliberalism is best thought of as what Mark Bittman wrote - "anti-unionism, deregulation, market fundamentalism, and intensified, unconscionable greed". It's the principle that money solves everything. It's the belief that to fix the problems, you hire the people that created the problems.
Here's just a few of the shitty companies WEF lists as Our Partners:
American Heart Association - they still promote meat and dairy, both of which are directly tied to, heart disease.
Bain Capital - Bain's model is to buy companies for pennies on the dollar, layoff everyone and cut benefits to make the financials look better, then sell the company.
Coca Cola - HBC – They make the plastic bottles that are killing sea life, they bottle the poisons that are killing people world wide.
I had to stop at C. Just writing about these corporate scoundrels is infuriating. There's at least 100 more. Probably triple that.
So what WoW is doing is what Anand Giridharadas writes in his seminal book, Winners Take All - The Elite Charade of Changing the World. They're practicing what Anand says is doing well by doing good - "they're doing well by doing good, stand on someone's back while saying you're helping them". I've read the book twice, I think it's well researched. Lately I think Anand has kind of become part of what he says he's against. But other than that I think he's right on.
What most infuriates me about WoW is I think they're poisoning the well. Because when a project does come along that's trying to make a difference, people could be skeptical. Now this assumes someone else besides yours truly will take a hard look at WoW. Right now I seem to be the only one calling bullshit.
If WoW reads this it's my hope they'll respond. I'd like to hear why they're not philanthrocapitalism and what they think will change with their collaboration.
