I’ve given this a strong downvote, but I’m writing a comment so the OP and passerby aren’t confused why a long comment that provides relevant answers is (currently) sitting at −3 karma:
Repeating the false but popular assertion that smart people can’t outperform indexes without insider knowledge/huge amounts of luck.
Conflating whether it’s moral to invest in China with whether it is profitable.
The suggestion that the asker should look into selling moonshine/other contraband. (This isn’t a moral complaint, it’s just bad advice. Starting a manufacturing business isn’t a remotely suitable replacement for stock investing + the risk adjusted returns of such a business are very poor.)
I say props to Stuart for not letting Goodhart get the best of him, and we should follow suit. Investing in China might be profitable (i.e. provide financial returns), but it also increases the probability of living in a world that I don’t want to live in- for selfish reasons as much as moral reasons.
When investing, it’s far too easy to be blinded by the numbers, and end up actively incentivizing bad things to happen. That’s not something rationalists should strive to do.
I’ve given this a strong downvote, but I’m writing a comment so the OP and passerby aren’t confused why a long comment that provides relevant answers is (currently) sitting at −3 karma:
Repeating the false but popular assertion that smart people can’t outperform indexes without insider knowledge/huge amounts of luck.
Conflating whether it’s moral to invest in China with whether it is profitable.
The suggestion that the asker should look into selling moonshine/other contraband. (This isn’t a moral complaint, it’s just bad advice. Starting a manufacturing business isn’t a remotely suitable replacement for stock investing + the risk adjusted returns of such a business are very poor.)
I say props to Stuart for not letting Goodhart get the best of him, and we should follow suit. Investing in China might be profitable (i.e. provide financial returns), but it also increases the probability of living in a world that I don’t want to live in- for selfish reasons as much as moral reasons.
When investing, it’s far too easy to be blinded by the numbers, and end up actively incentivizing bad things to happen. That’s not something rationalists should strive to do.
-
-