Apparently I haven't shared this piece as an ~BooksAndArticles post, but only mention it in comments: #771574
Almost to the date, it's the anniversary (it was published 31 Dec, 2023). Today, I had occasion to look at it for an end-of-the-year project.
Most writers say this about their writing children, their literal creations: This might be the best work I've ever done.
A few weeks later, looking at some other piece of work, the sensation strikes again: No, this certainly is the best I've ever written.
But "On Monetary Premia," I think I really nailed something. I cited Lyn Alden and Parker Lewis, recounted an incredible story from Paul Seabright's The Company of Strangers, and took a dig at the absurd hoops that our broken money makes us jump through.
We may laugh at that needlessly complicated dance in stories from post-communist Russia, while we diligently max out our 401(k) contributions, buy second homes and fill them with expensive art, research which mutual fund or stocks to entrust our surplus cash, and hire managers to look after everything — in a word, storing economic value in everything but money. My friend has recently pitched me whisky as a fun thing for us to “invest” in rather than drink (talk about wasted opportunity!).
This ending is my favorite passage:
Available via Authory here
https://authory.com/JoakimBook/On-Monetary-Premia-ad184322e21454768b8d9c5257615d912