But so to an extent are all asset prices.” Although we agree with much of this, the argument assumes that gold is solely a financial instrument.
It also responds to its uses in jewellery, technology and in myriad other real-world applications.
The suggestion that the price of bitcoin is the latest measure of investor risk appetite reminded me of your article years ago describing my work .
We have many good jobs in my suburb of Livonia, but it has chosen not to participate in the regional bus system, cutting off people of all races in Detroit from the opportunities here.
I know of many people who routinely make three-hour commutes, each way, because they have to catch two transfers, and still walk a mile or more.
Building officials are keen to ensure the water pipe serving a toilet is the correct size, but are completely uninterested in the design for adequate ventilation.
The pandemic has not helped.
It is true that the current system of largely market-led environmental reporting comes with a risk that some companies might not disclose full information.
And although the carbon footprint is an important measure, by definition it looks at past emissions and tends to encourage a binary framework of clean versus dirty at any given point in time.
We welcome mandatory climate disclosure, as signalled by the G7, but would emphasise that market-led incentives offer a valuable system.
China shouldn’t tell its people how many babies to have, says The Economist, in a year when governments, with a straight face, have told people whom they are allowed to hug and when they may leave their homes .
If we ever emerge from biosecurity tyranny we will have ecosecurity tyranny to look forward to.