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Lumifer comments on Taking Effective Altruism Seriously - Less Wrong
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They can "have a low use for" in the sense that they get little immediate gain, yet they can have "good usage" in the sense that the total utils created is large because they retain the capital and the capital continues to provide utility for a long time.
Rates of util acquisition matter. Time integrals also matter. But the most common thing for invested money to do is not to grow ad-infinitum, resulting in its owner owning half the planet after 100 years, but instead to eventually go completely bust in some or other speculative bubble.
A rational market only has a finite need for capital. Attempt to invest beyond that need, attempt to supply capital beyond the demand for it, and you will run into problems.
Yes, correct, so? Would you take this to mean one should not invest one's money?
This is true. However I feel that dealing in aggregates is misleading: what matters is not really how much capital in total is available, but rather how it is distributed (aka available to whom). It is possible to invest capital successfully, it is also possible to waste it.