Currency was invented to make trade happen faster. That’s the use of currency.
Most of our current living standards are brought by inventions. The Haber–Bosch process. Electrical computers.
At present day, the above two items still hold true, so I can only understand the affinity for “economic growth” as “personal economic growth”?
Thanks to the presentation commissioned by 日本財務省, I now know the general idea of wealth circulation.
flow in a graph can be decomposed into two components: cycles and extra non-zero paths; solution not unique. Let’s name the extra paths transfer.
The blue part is transfer. The arrows at the edge denotes foreign investment and reclaimation.
If transfer patterns are like oceanic waves, I’m not worried about that. If it goes one way year round, it changes the distribution of wealth among the vertices in the graph.
Water flow in a pipe creates water hammer when block. Will circulation of currency do the same? It should do something in the economy. I’m not sure what it is.
Now look at largest company by market cap, this time without truncation.
Apple: shiny hardware
Microsoft: garbage, except Typescript and Lean and VSCode and-
Nvidia: graphics cards
Google: search engine, Chrome, Android
Amazon: retail platform
Saudi Aramco: fossil fuel (national company)
Meta: “connect with friends” social networking platform
Berkshire Hathaway: a bit of everything by Warren Buffett
Eli Lilly: overpriced insulin
TSMC: chips
Let’s say the companies vaporize independently for no reason whatsoever. What does this mean for the masses?
Apple: no more shiny hardware. no app store.
Microsoft: forced to use Linux or whatever, or give up using puters
Nvidia: no more graphics cards
Google: search engine is a bit hard to recreate; software is free anyway
Amazon: no more Amazon
Saudi Aramco: I have concerns over geopolitics
Meta: loss of friends made there
Berkshire Hathaway: management chaos. then, no idea. i’m not expert on tangible stuff.
Eli Lilly: medicine shortage for awhile
TSMC: no more chips
So like, Google’s retracted motto “do no evil” has some merit to it.
Now, consider if nobody invested in those companies from the very beginning, right after the respective invention is invented. Outcomes stated below does not consider exogenous innovation in the company’s absence.
Apple: no phones with touch screen.
Microsoft: other personal PC.
Nvidia: idk
Google: no. maybe released as freeware.
I should stop writing these and be confidently wrong.
How much living standards did the companies and their failed competitors raise?
search for info online
socializing online
play video games with better graphics
desktop and pocket-sized computers (not sure if this is a raise in living standard by itself or not. certainly more attention grabbing than TV)
These are the companies where the general public need. 算是應運而生
The rest are unnecessary, including medicine research. The humanitarian model of medical research worked. Young people volunteer to be the test subjects of new COVID-19 vaccines. There is no reason why they can’t make the medicine themselves.