I think the store should probably deemphasize merch that focuses on individual thought leaders or their words, such as quotes from Jeremy Bentham. Hero worship, especially of current thought leaders in the EA movement, is not healthy for our community. This is a weakly held view, so I leave it to you guys and the community to think about what kinds of merch promote unhealthy forms of hero worship.
Hero worship is useful for building institutional loyalty. Dead heroes like Bentham are ideal because they can’t abuse their cult status or do anything embarrassing.
I think the store should probably deemphasize merch that focuses on individual thought leaders or their words, such as quotes from Jeremy Bentham. Hero worship, especially of current thought leaders in the EA movement, is not healthy for our community. This is a weakly held view, so I leave it to you guys and the community to think about what kinds of merch promote unhealthy forms of hero worship.
Hero worship is useful for building institutional loyalty. Dead heroes like Bentham are ideal because they can’t abuse their cult status or do anything embarrassing.