The Awesome Science of Chinonomics

The search for a new social and economic world order continues in the middle of all this madness. At least in my head. Growth and its power-law dynamics brought us to a place where the losers can't hold it together any longer. Rage engulfs  the developed world. Irrationality  reigns supreme . Capitalism (coupled with rule of law and property rights ) had provided the avenue to exercise our self-determination. The principle that material success is entirely (or at least mostly) dependent on our effort had proven a quasi-religious mantra for many. And it was alluring. More than that: self-vindicating . The idea that I'm the architect of my destiny and that nothing can hold me back can be an inebriating, hypnotizing force that arms us with untold amounts of discipline and resolve to over-perform. Forget for now about the fact that that over-performance can be easier to achieve in the fast lane   of that avenue. Or that a government has to build the actual ave...

It appears that "hacking" is in the news  lately. Often . And I mean,  big time . The meaning of the word is almost unanimously attached to an act of law-breaking with the clear, malicious intent of stealing someone else's property. But not everyone  grants this buzzword a bad meaning, no. The Zuck is famous for turning its meaning around to make it appear something idealistic --grandiose even. "Hacking," he says, is the trade of heroic, altruistic visionaries who are doggedly determined to make the world a better place --for example, by attempting to  bring internet to the entire Saharan Africa. Forget about the fact that starving people in poor countries and desolate refuge camps can't sustain on a kilobyte diet. Internet, the wacky  technorati  elite trumpets, is to become the end-all-be-all of human prosperity. Hacking, the way I understand it, is gaining access to the inner workings ("the code") of something to be able to manipulate it fo...

How important is it to feel like you belong? To many of us, very important. We are social animals that constantly feel the need to be accepted . Religion, sports teams fan clubs, political parties. All examples of groups of people that share something in common. Networks of people. The concept goes beyond human association based on interests or values. Networks are formed around the use of common instruments: languages, gadgets, credit cards. Why join a network? Because you benefit from the fact that other people belong to that very same club. As a non-native English speaker, you learn English because the world of international business speaks English, not Russian, Greek or Arabic. You get a Visa Card instead of a Discover or Diners Club because you want to have access to the biggest network of POS in the world (87% of merchants worldwide accept it). You buy a gasoline-powered vehicle instead of one using Natural Gas because you want access to the well-established network of gas...