When a man values the future output of the production process, discounted for their time preference and uncertainty, at a higher value than the initial investment required, he is likely to invest and build or acquire capital goods. Should the investment succeed, he can use more of the resources to acquire more capital goods, increasing his profits and productivity further. In turn, as the stock of capital and productivity increase over time, he becomes less uncertain about his financial future, and that lowers his time preference further, encouraging more capital accumulation. As more capital is accumulated across society and time preference declines, the price of capital (determined by interest rates) also declines. This process of lowering time preference and increasing investment can be understood as the process of civilization.

- nostr:npub1gdu7w6l6w65qhrdeaf6eyywepwe7v7ezqtugsrxy7hl7ypjsvxksd76nak