Niall Ferguson: The 6 killer apps of prosperity - YouTube:
This should be entitled the "End of the Great Divergence" but oh well. I thought I had shared this before, but I do not see it on the blog and even if I had, oh well. It is that important. I used it in class this semester and it actually was the basis of an essay question. It is not strictly finance, but it is more finance than anyone probably wants to admit. Watch it. Yes it is 20 minutes. But I bet you remember it 10 years from now more than anything else you will do today.
Over the past few centuries, Western cultures have been very good at creating general prosperity for themselves. Historian Niall Ferguson asks: Why the West, and less so the rest? He suggests half a dozen big ideas from Western culture -- call them the 6 killer apps -- that promote wealth, stability and innovation. And in this new century, he says, these apps are all shareable.
2 comments:
1/ Competition - for quality is a good thing: competition for $,€, £ etc profit is the biggest source of our problems as a society.
2/ The Scientific Revolution is fine....but what have we lost through scientism? We need an Intuition Revolution, and move from a system where psychopathic behaviour is rewarded to one where empathetic and altruistic behaviour is rewarded.
3/ Property Rights
Absolute 'divine right of capital' property rights over Commons such as land, non-renewables and knowledge are disastrous.
'Free' limited liability has killed thousands, if not millions
The conflict between absolute owners and temporary users (eg freehold/leasehold; debt/equity) of productive assets is disastrous
4/ Modern Medicine is absolutely bloody lethal in its 'for profit'; petroproduct centric, and technocratic mode.
Making people well is not profitable.
5/ The consumer society is literally consuming the planet
6/The Work ethic
is a complete killer.
How many people work themselves into an early grave?
If the fruits of land and capital were shared more equitably ,there'd be no problem at all in people working a relatively short amount of time and on maningful work.
Almost all of these killer applications have killed thousands, if not millions, over the centuries
So yes, I agree with Niall Ferguson that they are killer applications, but not in the way he thinks.
1/ Competition - for quality is a good thing: competition for $,€, £ etc profit is the biggest source of our problems as a society.
2/ The Scientific Revolution is fine....but what have we lost through scientism? We need an Intuition Revolution, and move from a system where psychopathic behaviour is rewarded to one where empathetic and altruistic behaviour is rewarded.
3/ Property Rights
Absolute 'divine right of capital' property rights over Commons such as land, non-renewables and knowledge are disastrous.
'Free' limited liability has killed thousands, if not millions
The conflict between absolute owners and temporary users (eg freehold/leasehold; debt/equity) of productive assets is disastrous
4/ Modern Medicine is absolutely bloody lethal in its 'for profit'; petroproduct centric, and technocratic mode.
Making people well is not profitable.
5/ The consumer society is literally consuming the planet
6/The Work ethic
is a complete killer.
How many people work themselves into an early grave?
If the fruits of land and capital were shared more equitably ,there'd be no problem at all in people working a relatively short amount of time and on maningful work.
Almost all of these killer applications have killed thousands, if not millions, over the centuries
So yes, I agree with Niall Ferguson that they are killer applications, but not in the way he thinks.
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