Wealth is Uncreated

Submitted by Raul Marks (United States), Dec 14, 2019 at 03:24

Dr Pipes,

Wealth is similar to energy or matter in that it is uncreated. I would argue, It exists only in the imagination of people. As an example, take the stock market. Trillions of dollars worth of shares are traded on stock markets around the globe. Is that not a representation of wealth? Say a particular stock's value rises from $100 to $105 dollars in the course of a day. Where does that $5 dollars come from, and where does it go?

Bezos has indeed created efficiencies and services, and concentrated wealth in the process. Not created wealth. The wealth that was spread out amongst 100 retailers, is now concentrated in the hands of Bezos. This is not to argue the merits of Bezos' career, but rather the fact that he has concentrated wealth and not actually created it.

At the same time, many (if not most or all) of Bezos' innovations aren't even all that novel. For example Whole Foods had delivery service in Manhattan years before Amazon bought them. Bezos has simply expanded the service...he didn't invent it.

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