"A market economy cannot flourish by relying on market mechanisms alone; an effective functioning system of regulation is also needed to ensure that an elaborate division of labor can operate smoothly."So writes C.J. Wu (吳啟禎) in an editorial published today in the Taipei Times well over a week after my letters and refuting arguments were steadfastedly... ignored. Perhaps I should apply for a position at "Taiwan Thinktank"? I should be easy to get along with since, after all, I've got a good sense of humour...
Saturday 11 June 2011
Qualifications
12 comments:
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Oh wow, there are a lot of typos in that first comment. It should definitely be deleted.
ReplyDelete-----------------------------------------------
Maybe you should revisit your precepts. Why focus so much energy on the Taipei Times when you could talk to the Taiwanese directly? And more to the point, how much influence can an English blog in Taiwan really have? I think you should consider creating a Chinese counterpart to this blog, assuming you don't already have one hidden away somewhere.
I deleted it.
ReplyDelete"Why focus so much energy on the Taipei Times when you could talk to the Taiwanese directly?"
Leverage. For every 1 person I talk to personally (and I do), I can reach 1000 with a published letter.
"And more to the point, how much influence can an English blog in Taiwan really have?"
Not much if that "influence" is measured against numbers of readers, but possibly quite a bit more if it is measured against *who* is reading it.
"I think you should consider creating a Chinese counterpart to this blog..."
I've often thought of that; what deters me is the time costs as I would find it extremely difficult to write even remotely well in Chinese. That, and trying to find a sympathetic editor to correct the inevitable grammatical tangles.
Bt yes, maybe it's time to man up and do it in Chinese...
A bit off topic, but of interest: Bitcoin
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYTqvYqXRbY
I also agree a blog in Chinese might gain more influence as long as you add pics of food.
Virtual currencies? Without even thinking about it I'm immediately skeptical:
ReplyDelete1) Unlike commodities, it has no value other than as a medium of exchange.
2) Legal tender laws.
I'm not sure the people who designed this "bitcoin" lark understand what they're doing.
Food pics? More chinese? We'll see...
ReplyDeleteIt gets much better. I actually like the idea of bitcoin though it will probably be regulated out of existence.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.betabeat.com/2011/06/06/chuck-schumer-silk-road-bitcoin-drugs/
http://techliberation.com/2011/06/03/bitcoin-silk-road-and-lulzsec-oh-my/
Arguments made by Chinese people almost never make sense to me unless there about the most basic of shit and even then they often don't make sense with the person hedging or using circular logic so much that you really can't make heads or tails of it. That's even before you get to the apathy.
Food pics was a joke, but food blogs are popular here and every Taiwanese person I know prominently displays food pics on their facebook acct no matter how bland the food as long as its ke-ai.
I will need to go away and read about this Bitcoin lark - the problem is the "built in code" for an expansion of the monetary base. That's what would make me nervous about it.
ReplyDeleteBoth expansion and contraction of the money supply may be necessary at different times and different amounts and this must be decided against a reference point. But Bitcoin has no reference point, since its' value is not attached to the market value of any commodities.
However, that might be fixable. It makes more sense to me as a proof-of-concept operation: i.e. the people running it are primarily concerned with testing the technology first (against the possibility of Soviets like Schumer trying to get it shut down), and then perhaps modifying it before getting ready to launch a proper currency.
The real thing will have to be backed by commodities or other goods - plural intended - otherwise it will eventually crash. There will also have to be competition, which does seem to be an inherent possibility.
"Arguments made by Chinese people almost never make sense... using circular logic..."
I had that precise experience on Friday gone, and forever... But in fairness, it depends on the intelligence of the person you're talking to. In my experience that usually means the middle-to-high engineers, managers or military officers. People in the universities (the institutions) usually don't count.
"...but food blogs are popular here and every Taiwanese person I know prominently displays food pics on their..."
I've been here long enough to know the score with food. I can cook and I could probably do some fair essays on diet and agriculture in general. Food for thought...
Actually, the more I read and think about this Bitcoin thing, the more it seems they have anticipated my objections...
ReplyDeleteThis really is very interesting.
I thought you'd like bitcoin as you became more familiar with it. I read it and was just amazed, this is a game changer. It's a shame it has mostly to do with drugs. I can easily see this becoming a means for exchange to dodge taxes, fees and regulations. Just think what it can do for 3rd world countries. This could work hand in hand with mobile phone tech and change everything.
ReplyDeleteI honestly see very little opportunity for them to ban it as it runs similarly to bit torrent networks which evolved as a means to sidestep criminal proceedings from illegally downloading copyrighted material.
I'm still not sold on it yet... I have three or four question marks (monetary policy is not clear), but I've been reading the discussions on Mises, the paper by Satoshi Nakamoto, the FAQ Wiki and other stuff. I've put out a few feelers elsewhere too - I'd like to see the opinions of some of the people at the Cobden Centre and elsewhere. I wonder what that new German wunder-kind in Salamenca thinks of it...
ReplyDeleteThe usual virulent misogynistic aggressive nonsense comments to be expected from this hate blog. There is not a single argument in your response, just ad hominem attacks. But then, whenever was there an argument in this blog? Haha ...
ReplyDelete"The usual virulent misogynistic aggressive nonsense comments to be expected from this hate blog."
ReplyDeleteEr, no. Sarcastic perhaps, but "virulent", "misogynistic" and "aggressive"? No.
"There is not a single argument in your response, just ad hominem attacks."
My response linked to the arguments I put forward well over a week ago.
"But then, whenever was there an argument in this blog?"
Pretty much every single week, if not quite every day. Feel free to browse the archives. There is even an email address at the top for when you need help identifying an argument! I should at least be praised for such charity...