A recent article by Mihir A. Desai in the New York Times will likely resonate with most people of a certain age. I loved it. Likely, it was the comfortable and familiar tunes of old ideals that seem to be fading like a Polaroid photo. This article used the recent imaginative and creative enveloping-pushing of the past five to ten years to illustrate how “the more things change, the more they remain the same.”
Some comforting verses:
“Facebook and Google reconceived themselves as technological powerhouses, rebranding as Meta and Alphabet, respectively. [and] sought broad capabilities that they could flex at will in the metaverse or with their “moonshot projects” when, in fact, they are prosaic (if extremely effective) advertising businesses.”
“What comes next? Hopefully, a revitalization of that great American tradition of pragmatism will follow. Speculative assets without any economic function should be worth nothing. Existing institutions, flawed as they are, should be improved upon rather than being displaced. Risk and return are inevitably linked.”
“Corporations are valuable socially because they solve problems and generate wealth. But they should not be trusted as arbiters of progress and should be balanced by a state that mediates political questions. “
“Embracing novelty and ambition in the face of huge problems is to be lauded, but the unhinged variety of these admirable traits that we have seen so much of in recent years is counterproductive. The fundamentals of business have not changed merely because of new technologies or low interest rates. The way to prosper is still by solving problems in new ways that sustainably deliver value to employees, capital providers and customers.” (Emphasis added)