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How much of that "real value" correlates with currently held value? By your metric Bell Labs should be worth more than any other company in existence. Having l

How much of that "real value" correlates with currently held value? By your metric Bell Labs should be worth more than any other company in existence. Having loads of money isn't just about generating value. It's about extracting value.

alex_sf 4y ago
> How much of that "real value" correlates with currently held value? It might lag a bit, but almost exactly. That's the whole idea. Real household incomes in the US from 1950 to 2000 very nearly doubled, and purchasing power increased even more. The 'rich get richer' is irrelevant if everyone else is, too. > By your metric Bell Labs should be worth more than any other company in existence. The fact that they aren't means that no, they shouldn't be. It's the capitalism equivalent of "the guy with a great idea for an app". If you aren't actually delivering that value to people that need it, you aren't getting paid for it. > Having loads of money isn't just about generating value. It's about extracting value. Generating and extracting value are the same thing, ignoring the connotation. If you create a device where, with one press of a big red button, you can cure cancer/world hunger/war/disease, but you never actually press that button? You haven't actually created any value. You haven't done anything.
- squeaky-clean 4y ago
  The argument here feels like only tangible things are actually valuable. Without the transistor, none of these other increases in value would exist. How much would the world agree to pay if some genie came out of a lamp and someone could wish us back to 1946 and prevent the invention of the transistor forever? > If you create a device where, with one press of a big red button, you can cure cancer/world hunger/war/disease, but you never actually press that button? What if you create such a device and decide to publicly share the design, with no plans to monopolize it? You'd probably be the lose financially, but did you not create the most value? Have Linux or Git created no real value except for the companies that can build service models around them?
docandrew 4y ago
Extracting it from where?
- gentoo 4y ago
  advertisers, mostly, displacing the print media who used to do that
  - alex_sf 4y ago
    If I can pay your company $5 to get a customer with an LTV of $10, that's a deal I will take all day. I am not being exploited.
- squeaky-clean 4y ago
  From any and every place where they gain or lose money. If Amazon gave 10% coupons on every single product and raised their minimum wage by $10, they wouldn't become negative profit and would arguably be creating more "real value" by paying workers more and allowing people to buy more. But the overall company profits would decrease.

alex_sf 4y ago

> How much of that "real value" correlates with currently held value? It might lag a bit, but almost exactly. That's the whole idea. Real household incomes in the US from 1950 to 2000 very nearly doubled, and purchasing power increased even more. The 'rich get richer' is irrelevant if everyone else is, too. > By your metric Bell Labs should be worth more than any other company in existence. The fact that they aren't means that no, they shouldn't be. It's the capitalism equivalent of "the guy with a great idea for an app". If you aren't actually delivering that value to people that need it, you aren't getting paid for it. > Having loads of money isn't just about generating value. It's about extracting value. Generating and extracting value are the same thing, ignoring the connotation. If you create a device where, with one press of a big red button, you can cure cancer/world hunger/war/disease, but you never actually press that button? You haven't actually created any value. You haven't done anything.

squeaky-clean 4y ago
The argument here feels like only tangible things are actually valuable. Without the transistor, none of these other increases in value would exist. How much would the world agree to pay if some genie came out of a lamp and someone could wish us back to 1946 and prevent the invention of the transistor forever? > If you create a device where, with one press of a big red button, you can cure cancer/world hunger/war/disease, but you never actually press that button? What if you create such a device and decide to publicly share the design, with no plans to monopolize it? You'd probably be the lose financially, but did you not create the most value? Have Linux or Git created no real value except for the companies that can build service models around them?

docandrew 4y ago

Extracting it from where?

gentoo 4y ago
advertisers, mostly, displacing the print media who used to do that
- alex_sf 4y ago
  If I can pay your company $5 to get a customer with an LTV of $10, that's a deal I will take all day. I am not being exploited.
squeaky-clean 4y ago
From any and every place where they gain or lose money. If Amazon gave 10% coupons on every single product and raised their minimum wage by $10, they wouldn't become negative profit and would arguably be creating more "real value" by paying workers more and allowing people to buy more. But the overall company profits would decrease.