The capitalist theories proposed by Adam Smith and Karl Marx have diverged significantly from the current practices of capitalism. Moreover, the pervasive “exploitation” policies of various governments have deviated from the normative principles of capitalism. Economically, we no longer reside in a “great machine“ as Smith described. The distribution of wealth does not seem to be as crucial as many economists or politicians believe; creating and producing wealth is equally important. Because the capitalist market has already compromised with governmental rules, we have entered an era of “Emergency Socialism“.
To overcome the current economic difficulties of the world, we must return to the true nature of the monetary system, one that is not influenced by bankers’ variables, but rather is a physical constant of the universe. Time itself, endowed with thermodynamic entropy, carries a directional quality. Time is the purest reference point for all value!
From George Gilder’s book 《After Capitalism: The Meaning of Wealth, the Future of the Economy, and the Time Theory of Money》 in the chapter on Bitcoin capitalism, we seem to gain some insights from another points.
- The Chinese government’s venture capital funds have so far failed to successfully develop the domestic chip industry. This is because the people behind the Chinese Communist Party believe that the high failure rate of American venture capitalists is the result of random operations on a large scale.
They incorrectly concluded that more investment would lead to more success. As a result, the Chinese government used strong incentives to stimulate a large number of nascent venture capital funds, most of which are managed by people with limited industry experience.
Unlike Silicon Valley venture capitalists with decades of experience, these newly established companies are mostly managed by bankers rather than industry insiders. The result is that these new companies have not produced a single chip.
China missed an important point: the first Silicon Valley venture capitalists were not ahead of the semiconductor industry, but rather came from this industry. Their capital was their knowledge.
The Chinese government did not realize that innovation requires knowledge, not just money. They believed that sufficient funding would lead to success, ignoring the knowledge factor in venture capital. This reflects a materialistic superstition—the belief that wealth consists of material rather than knowledge.
In summary, the document argues that a significant reason for the Chinese government’s failure in developing the domestic chip industry is their failure to recognize that innovation requires an accumulation of knowledge, not just financial capital. They overlooked the importance of knowledge in venture capital.
Why we can’t do it?
The Chinese government’s venture capital fund has not yet succeeded in developing the domestic chip industry. The primary reason is that the fund has overlooked the importance of knowledge in venture capital and has relied too heavily on financial capital.
The first batch of Silicon Valley venture capitalists succeeded because they had accumulated extensive knowledge and experience in the semiconductor industry. In contrast, China’s newly established venture capital funds are predominantly managed by bankers, with little to no involvement from industry professionals.
This reflects a materialistic superstition, which assumes that wealth is made up of material assets rather than knowledge!
So what the Materialistic Superstition and features?
Materialistic Superstition refers to the belief that the essence of wealth and economic activity lies in material substances and their quantities. Its main characteristics include:
The belief that wealth comes from scarce natural resources and material assets, such as land, precious metals, oil, etc.
The belief that the purpose of economic activity is to allocate limited material resources.
The belief that human needs and desires are constantly growing while resources are limited, thus creating perpetual scarcity.
The attempt to explain and predict economic activity using the quantity of materials and resources.The disregard for the role of creativity, knowledge, information, and other non-material resources in the economy.
The belief that material determines the economy and that the economy can be described using physical laws.
The emphasis on material capital over human capital and knowledge capital in production.
The focus on wealth distribution rather than wealth creation.
In summary, materialistic superstition is an economic view that overly values material substances while neglecting knowledge. It fails to accurately explain the economic principles of the information age. The text points out that this notion has hindered China’s development.
In a word,its ez to take our montey!