> That is kind of like saying the purpose of human life is breathing. Yes, breathing is critical and fully integrated into existence, but there is so much more to living well.
Yeah, this is inaccurate at a systems level. It would be better to say that human life is about ensuring your genes pass on to the next generation. That's life in a nutshell, and from the POV of nature, you're either contributing to that endeavor, or a waste of resources for those who do.
All the higher things of human experience are running on top of the substrate that's self-optimizing to propagate itself further. The purpose is what we ascribe to what we see; nature has no obligation to agree, and as much as it doesn't, we can either suffer, change our understanding of purpose, or - thanks to technology - work to realign nature to our sensibilities.
> Similarly the purpose of business is to create value. Survival through flows of money comes as a result of that.
Similarly here, the importance is reversed. Money flow and profit are fundamental, they're the substrate. They're what the system will do naturally. Value creation is the meaning we ascribe to it, which is not necessary for businesses to run (this one should be plainly obvious, as a lot of well-known businesses, including many hot startups, are arguably net negative). Making the market better align with our ideals takes work, because it's counter to its natural dynamics.
Yeah, this is inaccurate at a systems level. It would be better to say that human life is about ensuring your genes pass on to the next generation. That's life in a nutshell, and from the POV of nature, you're either contributing to that endeavor, or a waste of resources for those who do.
All the higher things of human experience are running on top of the substrate that's self-optimizing to propagate itself further. The purpose is what we ascribe to what we see; nature has no obligation to agree, and as much as it doesn't, we can either suffer, change our understanding of purpose, or - thanks to technology - work to realign nature to our sensibilities.
> Similarly the purpose of business is to create value. Survival through flows of money comes as a result of that.
Similarly here, the importance is reversed. Money flow and profit are fundamental, they're the substrate. They're what the system will do naturally. Value creation is the meaning we ascribe to it, which is not necessary for businesses to run (this one should be plainly obvious, as a lot of well-known businesses, including many hot startups, are arguably net negative). Making the market better align with our ideals takes work, because it's counter to its natural dynamics.