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The cleverest people around have gone into finance to invent instruments that are ever more abstract, specifically to avoid tying finance to inconvenient, falli
by Applejinx 5y ago
The cleverest people around have gone into finance to invent instruments that are ever more abstract, specifically to avoid tying finance to inconvenient, fallible things like… business.
It all has to perform way better than anything tangible could hope to do, and this starves out the type of investing to which you refer.
Newest example: crypto. Like burying capital in pure abstractions, except they pollute (which gold doesn't)
- ianai 5y agoGold does pollute-but it’s probably a lot less polluting once it’s out of the ground. You make an excellent point about modern finance. Increasingly to me it seems modern finance should be considered for its affects on money supply and finance not dissimilar to actions of central banks and certain government spending. It’s probably gone unnoticed largely exactly because the corporate finance machinations are not anywhere near as visible and widely disclosed at a Fed decision.
- thinkcontext 5y ago> Gold does pollute-but it’s probably a lot less polluting once it’s out of the ground. How could you possibly think that? Most gold today is produced through hard rock mining, which involves either enormous pits or tunnels. Many tons of ore is crushed and processed with either cyanide or mercury to get a few grams of gold.
- ianai 5y agoYou’re arguing over definition. “Out of the ground” implies processing/refinement. Once it’s truly out of the ground it’s stored in a vault in elemental form or something similar. Look it’s the internet. I know we all want to pretend that we’re super pedantic lawyers. Oh wait. I never agreed to those terms.
- p_l 5y agoThe very point of capitalism is to separate as much the act of making money from anything that isn't money itself.