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Comment by onraglanroad | Hacker News Reader

The capitalist response to that would be that the investment in companies is better because it makes everyone richer in the long term by increasing overall wealth.

I'm not sure I buy it but it's an effect to consider.

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This sounds a lot like trickle down economy. It did not really help anyone other than capital owners.

Capitalism has spent the last 10 years burning billions on the metaverse and crypto with apparently no repercussions for those involved so I think their credibility as custodians of wealth is questionable.

Capitalism also spent the last 10 years burning billions to create affordable electric cars, reliable regular spaceflight, efficient delivery of everything everywhere, and the (well, probably) greatest technological invention in human history. This is not a complete list.

But yeah. Ugh, capitalism.

You mean the EVs and spaceflights that were funded by government subsidies?

That does sometimes happen - investment does cause development. The mistake is to assume that's always what happens, and that everybody can benefit from the development.

Oh I agree with you. I suspect it happens less than is the conventional wisdom, but I might be wrong.

The benefit is uncertain whenever anybody spends money on anything beyond survival. If you go around asking investors "are you using that money properly and beneficially", for consistency you also have to nag the poor with the same question. Should you put a bet on a horse? Is it really necessary that you visit anybody far away? What's the benefit in dyeing your hair? In both cases, you'd be enforcing arbitrary wisdom instead of acknowledging your fallibility.

Not quite. In some cases we’re certain there’s no benefit.

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