Your Situation and the World’s Situation Are Two Different Kinds
There are at least three layers to this situation: the first is where most people find themselves, the second is the realm of large capitalists, big merchants, major associations, or large enterprises, and the third is that of nations or ethnic groups.
From an individual’s perspective, or even from the standpoint of your small family, money is crucial—you’re pretty much fixated on it your entire life.
But from Elon Musk’s perspective, money can’t solve all problems, which is precisely why there’s a drive to redefine what wealth anchors mean and to participate in that redefinition.
If Europe seizes Russia’s assets, Russia will immediately cut off energy supplies, spike prices, and announce that it won’t pay patent fees anymore—it’ll just take them for free. That’s how relations between countries work. What good is money? It’s virtually useless. Everyone’s really strategizing around the cards in their hand. Money is merely one card among many, and not necessarily the most valuable one.
At the third level, some are cultivating a garden and considering the entire ecosystem. At the second level, large players are constantly seeking ways to survive and add value within that ecological chain. At the first level, you’re simply scrambling for leftover scraps in the crocodile’s mouth, even picking its teeth afterward.
Consider this tree: the first year it bore ten fruits, and nine were picked. Feeling it was deeply unfair, the tree withered itself and only produced five fruits the next year—four were taken. It was thrilled: “Last year I got 10%, but this year I got 20%.” (This is China during the Ming and Qing dynasties.)
Now flip the script:
The second year it bore a hundred fruits, and ninety-nine were taken. The third year, a thousand fruits—nine hundred ninety-nine were taken. The tree kept growing bigger and more lush. (This is modern China.)
Once it becomes a towering tree, does it even matter how many fruits were taken before? Its own growth is what truly counts.