I wouldn't be citing this paper at all under ordinary circumstances, but it is just so wrong-headed it merits a mention, if only as a representative of a line of thinking that runs deeply against my core beliefs. In a competitive world, argues the author, asymmetries of knowledge are important, for such asymmetries are what allow one side to triumph over the other. And "the triumph is what we all seek... triumphs drive the plot of our lives forward... we want to succeed, and we want to succeed in competition with others." My goodness. How could anybody, anybody, lead such a small, narrow and petty life? If, at the end, I look back, and all I see is triumph, as defined by this author, I would realize that I have not lived my life; I would have, in fact, wasted it. Oh, how many people have said this? The value of a life does not lie in what we take, but in what we give. The same applies more generally in day to day affairs as well, but of course it takes a certain courage to be generous in a world of thieves.
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