Growth is a funny thing. Without growth, that is without change, we are, by definition, dead. As such, for most of human history, growth has been considered to be a good thing – growth and flourishing were synonymous. Politicians promised it, citizens demanded it, economies and investment bankers grew fat on it, and living standards … Continue reading What is growth?
Tag: economics
The great divide -and the Disappearing Co-Dependant Class
This essay was first published in the book, Aftershocks and Opportunites. It was written in 2020. I think it aged fairly well. Is COVID-19 a great equalizer or a great divider? COVID-19 is by no means an equalizing crisis. Indeed, one of the most significant lasting socio-economic effects of the crisis will be the opening … Continue reading The great divide -and the Disappearing Co-Dependant Class
Of Markets, Money and Monopolies
Sometimes a picture gets the point across quicker. Money is a necessary evil for allocating real scarcity - therefore it needs to be definitively scarce itself. Markets make more (good for maximising and allocating goods, bad). Monopolies make less (good for limiting bads; evil for limiting goods). Artificial abundance has unintended consequences (artificial goods can … Continue reading Of Markets, Money and Monopolies
Assets to Liabilities
Demographic dividend, or demographic disaster? As India is about to overtake China as the world's most populous country, it's worth considering if holding that title is still the win it once was. Not so long ago, more people meant more growth, more productivity, more progress. Hence the term: demographic dividend. If your working age population … Continue reading Assets to Liabilities
Real Scarcity
There is lots to celebrate about creating abundance out of scarcity. Creating scarcity out of abundance, however, is not a fantastic look for any society. And yet here we are - trying to do just that - to create legal monopolies out of thin air. Patents, copyrights, and now, NFTs all fall into this bastard … Continue reading Real Scarcity
On cults, climate and culture
Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood - based, of course (loosely) on the infamous, real-life story of the Manson Family's murder of Sharon Tait and her friends story gives us a glimpse of the dark side of happy hippie culture - and how counter-culture-culture can turn into a cult. Recently, I was asked to co-author … Continue reading On cults, climate and culture
Trend retrospective, a decade in the rearview mirror
At the end of last year, I was asked to write a few thoughts on the most important, most disruptive technological milestones for each year of the last decade that will continue to have an impact in the future of the decade to come. Here follows the original version of that article, before it was edited … Continue reading Trend retrospective, a decade in the rearview mirror
The Lottery
Shirley Jackson's collection of dystopian short-form fiction The Lottery (and other stories) is a stark reminder of the fragility, banality and horror of the un-scrutinised human condition. It's all too easy to slip into group-think that priorities the "greater good" over the individual life. And once we have accepted that, it is a slippery slope to treating people … Continue reading The Lottery
Facial Justice
Facial Justice by LP Hartley is not a good book. In fact, I would say it is a pretty terrible book. Bad plot, bad characters, badly written. Yet, I am still featuring it here because the book's big idea is brilliant. Facial Justice imagines a not too distant future where women are forced to have … Continue reading Facial Justice
Evil is the Root of all Money
Banks, central banks, reserve banks - and Bitcoin. They all exist because human beings - individuals like you and me - cannot be trusted. (And because we are greedy, envious and have no self control or patience.) Money is not so much the root of all evil, as evil is the root of all money. … Continue reading Evil is the Root of all Money