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0 sats \ 9 replies \ @Solomonsatoshi 5h \ on: Artificial Intelligence Needs Electricity, and Electricity Needs Freedom AI
China recognises the strategic nature of power generation.
They have used a simple policy of building more electricity generation capacity to trigger the building of new factories and productivity by private enterprise.
This is a classic example of how a government can drive economic growth and improve a nations competitive advantage.
Cheap electricity does incentivise the building of factories and downstream productivity.
Private ownership of power generation does not have the same overarching incentives- it is much more likely to limit investment in new power generation within its coverage area in order to charge the maximum possible price and thus profit it can extract from its catchment area.
A government has the mandate and incentive to build strategic assets like power generation that can trigger downstream investment in multiple productive enterprises. Private enterprise does not have such a broad mandate and incentive as it is only focused upon maximisation of its profits.
In the Western world, we want less government and more freedom for people. The state should only regulate.
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I am not against freedom but I am against cartels and monopolies and crony capitalism.
That is my point- there are areas of economic development and strategy which private enterprise does not deliver the best result on.
For example- rare earths- Chinas government has directed capital investment into making China the dominant refiner of rare earths because they represent a raw material that is of huge strategic importance.
Private enterprise in the west has been and is unable to compete on price with the Chinese state sponsors rare earths supply chains.
Now belatedly western governments are directing capital toward the mining and refining of rare earths so that China cannot hold the west to ransom- but it will take years, perhaps decades with huge government subsidies to come anywhere near the west having its own rare earths supply chains.
This is but one example of the many where government involvement in supply chains and infrastructure is essential to supporting the competitive advantage of economies....pure free markets simply cannot achieve the required results...instead they will leave you vulnerable as has happened with rare earths.
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The biggest cartel out there is the government, and that same government keeps total control over its own people. We don't want that. What we do want is the state to just regulate stuff. If they even do that right, that's already a huge win.
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The government can be a negative force and it can be a positive force as my argument above details.
You have not responded to the points I have raised regarding where governments can have huge effects on markets where they act or fail to act.
Good government certainly does not keep total control over its people- good government works with its people and markets to maximise their wealth and security....as I have pointed out above that sometimes involves participating in strategic markets...
You have failed to respond to the examples and points I have raised showing where government involvement is essential and government lack of involvement is pure negligence.
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You must've misread that. I already answered everything, just used less words. The government should regulate and let the private sector handle the rest. The government is the main reason stuff is so inefficient with money.
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You have not read and understood let alone responded to the points I raise.
Here it is again for you-
For example- rare earths- Chinas government has directed capital investment into making China the dominant refiner of rare earths because they represent a raw material that is of huge strategic importance.
Private enterprise in the west has been and is unable to compete on price with the Chinese state sponsors rare earths supply chains.
Now belatedly western governments are directing capital toward the mining and refining of rare earths so that China cannot hold the west to ransom- but it will take years, perhaps decades with huge government subsidies to come anywhere near the west having its own rare earths supply chains.
This is but one example of the many where government involvement in supply chains and infrastructure is essential to supporting the competitive advantage of economies....pure free markets simply cannot achieve the required results...instead they will leave you vulnerable as has happened with rare earths.
reply