Cargill, the largest private company in America, exemplifies the power of the middleman, controlling vast segments of the global food supply chain from grain storage to meat processing. This dominance highlights the tension between building short-term projects and establishing multi-generational empires. Technological efficiency often triggers Jevon’s Paradox, where increased productivity leads to higher total resource consumption rather than a decrease, a phenomenon currently unfolding with AI and code production. While new technologies inevitably create periods of economic turmoil, history suggests that they ultimately drive net growth by spawning unforeseen industries and demand. Success in this shifting landscape requires agency and adaptability, as passive resistance to technological change—much like the Luddites or those who rejected the ice trade—fails to account for the relentless human drive to expand and innovate.
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