Thread by @thdxr

Imagine a world with 100 people who each produce and consume one apple every year. If someone invents a way to double output and takes half of everyone's second apple they become obscenely wealthy (50 apples a year). Still, everyone is much better off

This is wealth creation

Now that it's easier to produce the one apple needed, everyone can spend a portion of their time working on something else. Maybe even faster apple production methods or something unrelated to apples, like medicine or entertainment

This is how wealth creation compounds

There is another way to get rich. Someone can lobby the apple government to limit the number of apple grower licenses. They gain control of a once decentralized apple market and enrich themselves without creating any new apples.

These are the rent seekers we should destroy

The world is more complex than this but these are basic building blocks to build on top of. Filter out any ideas that require rejecting these fundamentals