Russ Nelson on Speculation WRT PG's "Mind the Gap" Essay

http://blog.russnelson.com/2008/09/17#in-defense-of-speculators

by h3h • 18 years ago

6 8 18 years ago

blog.russnelson.com

pg2• 18 years ago

I wasn't claiming speculation has no good effects, just that speculators don't create wealth. You don't have to create wealth to have good effects on the world. Good laws, for example, have good effects without creating wealth.

awt• 18 years ago

Can a law create wealth?

pg2• 18 years ago

I doubt it, but the edge cases of what counts as wealth creation and what doesn't are so hard that I'd want to think more about it before saying for sure.

mindslight• 18 years ago

By these criteria, does the internet create wealth? Do roads?

All of these things provide services that allow others to be more effective.

asdflkj• 18 years ago

What is the difference between creating wealth and having "good effects on the world"? Wealth is what people want, and people want good effects on the world, presumably.

While we're on the subject: one thing has always bothered me about that definition of wealth. What if you make people want what you're selling? According to your definition, if politicians brainwash two nations into going to war, they're creating wealth. That doesn't seem right.

For the theses of your essays this doesn't matter, of course, but it's still interesting.

Russ Nelson on Speculation WRT PG's "Mind the Gap" Essay

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