Here is my note for “Mind the Gap” by Paul Graham.
Most economic fallacies derive from the tendency to assume that there is a fixed pie, that one party can gain only at the expense of another.
– Milton Friedman, Free to Choose
For most of human history the usual way to accumulate a fortune was steal it.
But it was not till the Industrial Revolution that wealth creation definitively replaced corruption as the best way to get rich.
The extraordinary skills and determination are root causes of variation in income.
I’d like to propose an alternative idea: that in a modern society, increasing variation in income is a sign of health. Technology seems to increase the variation in productivity at faster than linear rates. If we don’t see corresponding variation in income, there are three possible explanations: (a) that technical innovation has stopped, (b) that the people who would create the most wealth aren’t doing it, or (c) that they aren’t getting paid for it.
The only thing technology can’t cheapen is brand. Which is precisely why we hear ever more about it. Brand is the residue left as the substantive differences between rich and poor evaporate.
It’s absolute poverty you want to avoid, not relative poverty.
You need rich people in your society not so much because in spending their money they create jobs, but because of what they have to do to get rich. I’m not talking about the trickle-down effect here. I’m not saying that if you let Henry Ford get rich, he’ll hire you as a waiter at his next party. I’m saying that he’ll make you a tractor to replace your horse.
Further reading
- “Economic Inequality” by Paul Graham.
- “The Refragmentation” by Paul Graham.
以下是個人閱讀保羅．葛拉漢所撰寫之〈关注贫富分化〉(阮一峰譯) 的筆記。
大部分的經濟謬誤都源自於人們傾向將所有人的利益總和假設為大小固定的餡餅，也就是說其中一方所獲得的利益必須以另一方的犧牲作為代價。
– 米爾頓．傅利曼《選擇的自由》
在大部分的人类历史中，积累财富最常见的方法其实是偷窃。
但是，创造财富真正取代掠夺和贪污成为致富的最佳方式，并不是发生在中世纪，而是发生在工业革命时代。
超凡的技能和決心是個人所得差異的根源。
我想提出一种相反的观点：现代社会的收入差距扩大是一种健康的信号。技术使得生产率的差异加速扩大，如果这种扩大没有反映在收入上面，只有三种可能的解释：(a) 技术革新停顿了；(b) 那些创造大部分财富的人停止工作了；(c) 创造财富的人没有获得报酬。
技术无法使其变得更便宜的唯一东西，就是品牌。这正是为什么我们现在越来越多地听到品牌的原因。富人与穷人之间生活差异的鸿沟正在缩小，品牌是这种差距的遗留物。
但是，总的来说，你要避免的是绝对贫穷，而不是相对贫穷。
一个社会需要有富人，这主要不是因为你需要富人的支出创造就业机会，而是因为他们在致富过程做出的事情。我在这里谈的不是财富从富人流向穷人的那种扩散效应，也不是说如果你让亨利·福特致富，他就会在下一场宴会雇用你当服务员，而是说如果你让他致富，他就会造出一台拖拉机，使你不再需要使用马匹耕田了。