The Most Valuable Commodity in the World is Friction

There are great opportunities in front of us, for anyone whose eyes are open.

Friction (scarcity) allows for return on capital.

Lack of friction (abundance) allows for compounding growth.

The great businesses are the ones who harness both.

Technology changes where the friction is located.

Scarce resources become abstracted and turn abundant.

New scarce r

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But Silicon Valley’s friction fighting has come at a price. Some of it is related to where friction goes, once it has disappeared from a consumer’s phone or computer screen. Often “eliminating friction” in a tech product simply means transferring the burden to a low-paid worker. Amazon’s all-out attempts to reduce customer friction have put additio... See more