1. People

1.1. Suffering

1. People do not want to suffer
2. People suffer because of attachment to desire
3. Desire
   1. has three types
      1. Desire for sense pleasure through sight, smell, taste, hearing, touch
      2. Desire to become
      3. Desire to get rid off
4. To stop suffering, either
   1. Let go of your attachment, or
   2. Fulfill your desires
5. Desire is infinite, but resources are limited, so to fulfill your desires you need
   1. Something others want, or
   2. Power

1.2. What others want

1. Other people have the same three types of desire, but manifest them at different levels and priorities (e.g. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs but with different shapes for each person)
2. Because there are different manifestations and resources available, exchange arise, through
   1. Money
      1. has perceived value because it allows people to fulfill their desires
      2. has different forms
         1. fiat: medium of exchange agreed upon by people through their proxies (government)
         2. gold/crypto: medium of exchange agreed upon by people collectively
   2. Social contracts
      1. People want
         1. Significance
         2. Acceptance
         3. Approval
         4. Intelligence
         5. Pity
         6. Strength
      2. And to achieve that desire to become, they do things

1.3. How to force others to give you what you want

1. To force others to give you what you want, you must have power
2. Power is the ability to prevent them from fulfilling a desire that they are more attached to than what you are trying to forcefully take, e.g.
   1. Robberies
      1. You are able to take away their life
      2. They have a desire to live
      3. If that attachment is stronger than all of their other attachments
      4. You can force them to give you what you want
   2. Taxes
      1. You are the government
      2. You are able to enforce the law (for reasons to be discussed in a different article)
      3. They have a desire to not be a criminal
         1. Because they do not want loss of money, time, reputation etc.
      4. If that attachment is stronger than all of their other attachments
      5. You can force them to pay taxes, etc.
3. Power also comes with the ability (not obligation) to prioritise someone's desires over others

By understanding the nature of desire and how it leads to methods of exchange and power, the state of the world arises

2. The World

The Big Cycle

TODO: watch ray dalio's big cycle video and summarise key notes here

1. Productivity Grows -> Wealth Builds

3. The Economy

Markets

1. Trade is built on desire
2. The economy is trade on steroids
3. The natural state of the economy is deflationary
4. Deflationary economies encourage saving
5. Saving

4. Investing