There are two main ways humans can generate income: sales power and volatility. Added value is continuously created through production, which involves actions to generate this added value. By adding new layers of value to basic ones, additional value is created—for example, making bread from wheat flour. The ability to persuade someone to buy this added value is known as sales power. Therefore, VAT is a tax paid by the final consumer. When sales power is strong, a significant amount of added value remains, leading to wealth accumulation. The second method is volatility. We can buy and sell assets that create either fundamental or added value. The former includes items like gold or commodities, while the latter refers to companies and assets such as stocks. Volatility occurs because prices fluctuate based on the sales power of producers, creating added value, and the balance between supply and demand for assets. Warren Buffett has avoided investing in gold because it cannot generate add...
Advertising is a unique service business. When limited to the Internet, platform operators gather users and allow them to access the platform for free in exchange for viewing advertisements. In reality, users are not accessing the platform for free; instead, the advertiser pays for it. In other words, users do not fulfill any obligations regarding platform use, while the advertiser assumes those obligations and gains profit by notifying and exposing itself to the user. The platform operator fulfills its obligation by providing the advertising medium to the advertiser, but does not guarantee the advertisement’s success and is not accountable for the outcomes of the business. Advertising represents one of the few unique transaction structures in the world that satisfies the utility of each party without necessarily attributing benefits to the counterparty meant to receive them. Such an unusual transaction structure has been rare throughout human history. Although the advertising in...