How We Got Here

This book was written by Andy Kessler and published in 2005

He says:

Lower prices drive wealth

Intelligence moves to the edge of the network

Horizontal beats vertical

Capital sloshes around seeking its highest return

The military drives commerce and vice versa 

Industrialization was not some master plan to move workers from their century old tasks, but a complete re engineering of life based on the ability to lower the costs of daily staples. This price drop would repeat itself through history as a sign of big change, increased standard of living and turmoil. 

The ability to trade in and out of holdings is the key to capital markets. Value comes from liquidity. Land, animals, and equipment are hard to sell. Money is a conduit credit is the value of work to be done. 

In times of peace, banknotes are not trustworthy and must be backed with gold. In times of war, banknotes are pure fiat, trust out of thin air. 

Money is a stand in for work already done. Credit is a promise of work to be done. Trading in commodities is worth more than pillaging gold. 

The need for precision weapons led to the digital revolution, transistors in 1948, lasers and integrated circuits in 1958, packet switching in 1964, and micro processing in 1970. 

Make intellectual property, not the end product. This was Intel’s lesson when it got into the market for a product like expensive watches. 

Risks are often socialized (fire fighting or law enforcement) but profits are not. This is a profound argument. 

Health insurance became a tax efficient way to pay workers, that is how it got tied to work. I also think the link stays because it gives businesses leverage over workers. 

Critics say that SS was a bribe from younger workers to older workers to retire.