I’m quoting this part of your message because it made me ponder the nature of things.
Indeed, one person’s debt is another’s asset, and the interest on that debt is what allows the owner of the fixed-income security to increase their economic power. In some circles, billionaires are hated because their wealth is so many times greater than that of the average person. I think this is a kind of misunderstanding.
What ultimately matters are opportunities. It would be wrong to deprive another of an opportunity. That would be called cornering the market. What would that require? Imagine a malicious tycoon wanting to cause trouble for others. He goes to the candy aisle in a store and grabs all the Mars bars on the shelf into his cart. Then the next customer cannot buy them until the shelf shortage is noticed. The cost? Maybe a maximum of 100 euros. So, one doesn’t even need to be a very rich tycoon.
More goods are brought to the shelf. As the activity continues, the purchasing manager orders more bars. The import of bars increases. Production grows. Markets are benevolent – they increase what is in demand. The wrongdoer is left with vast amounts of perishable goods. Even though billionaires exist, things still seem to be quite good in the world.
What should billionaires be blamed for, if anything? They have power over the company they own. Is Tesla’s power greater if its market value increases by 10 billion and lesser if it decreases by the same amount? I argue that it is not, because the true value of a share is only in the cash flows produced by the company. A growing market value scares away sensible investors – they don’t get to enjoy Tesla’s cash flows. On the other hand, all money is of equal value. A dollar earned by Tesla is just as good as a dollar earned by a hairdresser entrepreneur.
If the goal were to maliciously prevent others from investment opportunities, it would be easier to take the company private, off the stock exchange. The stock exchange is a market and therefore benevolent. You don’t always get your money out of a fund, but in the stock market, trading happens. It seems that a bad outcome cannot be achieved through market mechanisms.
So what is economic power? We call someone rich who owns something we covet. This also explains company market values. An expensive company is one about which beautiful words are spoken. One that is held in high esteem. A stock you dare to say you own at dinner parties. Luxury is something for which an unnecessarily large amount of labor has been used. A hotel room where every surface is polished to a shine and the fringed rug is combed straight. Whatever the wealthy desire. The desire for money of others gives the rich power.
Alongside money, there are many other power systems. Few respect a person simply because they are rich. We focus on qualities that give control. Does he keep his word? Where does his loyalty lie? Economics ignores things that do not involve transactions. Depending on their educational background, a learner can form a very different conception of human nature.