[martin-t]

Yesterday I had a very similar argument. Maybe I haven't been paying attention until now but this is the first time I see somebody else summarize it so clearly.

I've come to the conclusion that value (you call it wealth) is created by work. Yet the fastest way to get rich is to own already created value (a fixed amount) and use that to buy power/influence (e.g. buy a company) to take a cut from value created by other people over time (an unbounded amount).

IMO this one-time vs indefinite distinction is the core of inequality.

Currently, reward is based on capital invested, it should be based on work invested.

[ninetyninenine]

There’s a famous book on it called Capital by Thomas Picketty. It’s one of the first economic books to approach a subject utilizing a data driven approach. It’s actually published not as a text book but as popular non fiction.

The story is more complicated than just rewarding people for work. You must make them work togetheron public works that don’t directly benefit them. But people usually tend to work together only when they’re paid a salary and this can only happen if there’s a leader and huge incentives for someone to take that leadership role.

The incentive for that leadership role is the ownership of human capital.

It’s the idea of becoming dirt rich is what drives people to do startups and form corporations.

[borski]

Reminds me of this famous tweetstorm: https://x.com/naval/status/1002103360646823936?s=46&t=WBeGlu...