> Global shipping isn't at the mercy of the economy, it's part of what fundamentally drives the economy.

I would say global shipping depends _and_ drives the economy.

It's a complex system where some outputs can be inputs again (feedback loops). 

bitcoin

Rethinking Lightning

benthecarman

I'm answering specifically on the framing as Lightning being at the whims of the economics instead on Lightning being what determines the economics. 

Let's take the example of global container shipping. Sure you can say the shipping industry is at the mercy of freight rates of the market economy. But that's undercomplex perspective at best and dishonest at worst. Global shipping isn't at the mercy of the economy, it's part of what fundamentally drives the economy.