Charles Johnson writes:
Netflix’s stock price decline is the latest example that the Johnson dollar diversity dilemma hypothesis in full swing. We previously noted it in connection with Twitter.
The Johnson dollar diversity dilemma hypothesis is that you can tell how badly a company is doing by how much its CEO and board signal progressive causes–and that you can use that information to short a company stock.
The best example is how Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein laughably announced his support for marriage equality. Rolling Stone Magazine — when it isn’t busy faking rapes — pooh poohed Blankfein’s support but the Human Right$ Campaign didn’t exactly turn down the support. Another good one is how soon-to-be-felon? Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos hosted a Clinton fundraiser. Here’s a stat I had crunched: Of the 150 unicorns, 148 of them are led by men and only two are led by husband and wife teams (hardly the modern feminist archetype).
Enter Reed Hastings, the CEO of Netflix, who announced a $100 million effort to use Netflix to teach blacks and Hispanics. Oh boy. Are we really back to thinking MOOCs will save the world?
Naturally it came at the apogee of Netflix’s stock price. So we advised shorting the stock. You’re welcome. Today’s stock price is down 13%.
Hastings’s charity is useful because Hastings, a former Peace Corps member, hasn’t taken seriously human biodiversity, that is the study of how humans are biologically different from one another.
The insights from human biodiversity are relevant because Netflix’s stock price rests on the stupid assumption that the rest of the world will consume Netflix like America.
Hastings has long not understand this phenomenon, as an article in his school newspaper about his pathological white altruism shows.
Note how he tries to improve upon his beloved Africa.
At the Hhelehhele School in Swaziland, Hastings remembered his students as “super motivated.” However, his routine there was much slower than the fast-paced life he was used to. He enjoyed the routine of being fully immersed in the community but at times felt he was stagnating. He recalled occasionally thinking, “I would never dribble away my days at home like this.”
Hastings wrote in a letter to his “friends, enemies, Grandmothers, siblings and assorted no-goods” that though his days were full, they had acquired a monotony and “the strong feeling persisted that I wasn’t very challenged.”
Hastings countered this by taking on challenges outside of teaching.
“The answer to my boredom and under-utilization was to get involved with the community as a whole instead of limiting myself to the school compound,” he said.
In Ntonjeni, the small rural town in which Hastings lived, he began noticing opportunities to increase efficiency and add convenience to everyday life. For example, villagers struggled transporting water to the schoolhouse located on top of a hill. He wrote, “Great view, cool breezes, but getting water up there is a real bitch.”
Here, Hastings recognized an opportunity to innovate. Instead of spending money on water pumps that are “expensive and notorious for breaking down,” he developed a plan to build tanks to collect rain water on top of the hill. Hastings made his contribution sustainable by involving community members in the process, writing, “the parable about teaching someone to fish vs. catching fish for them is a big philosophy here.”
Hastings also got involved in the business behind harvesting honey from African killer bees, a project he described as an “escape valve.” Despite the peace the work gave Hastings, the actual work was far from peaceful.
“The ‘killer’ bees approaching America are the diluted descendants of our bees. Smaller, slower livestock (chickens, rabbits, etc.) are not infrequently stung into paralysis and death,” wrote Hastings. “Faster creatures, like me, can sprint out of harm’s reach with only a few bees giving spirited chase.”
For this project Hastings wrote a proposal requesting U.S. aid for Swazis to start their own safe and productive beekeeping businesses. The aid was granted, and Hastings, with the help of an agriculture teacher, taught an introductory course “covering how to build hives, manage bees, and market honey.”
Hastings’ systematic tendencies didn’t stop his time in Africa from being adventurous. He returned to the States feeling uncertain that he would ever experience the same freedom he had in Swaziland. In one of his letters he wondered “Will I ever again race across the hot savannah, bare chested, motorcycle purring, admiring the acacia trees heralding ‘this is Africa?’ I hope so.”
