A loose collection of Li's thoughts on human evolution & economic growth, along with a few pieces on value investment and ...book reviews?
Key arguments 1. formula for civilization 3.0 is market economy + scientific breakthroughs. - weak arguments: I can name multiple real-world counter examples which show this formula failed to deliver economic prosperity. 2. optimistic on China: decoupling ideology/political environment from economic prosperity, and assuring that mkt economy/technological innovations will lead to good growth, thus higher return in the market - weak argument from point 1, and I do not buy in the isolation or separation between economy & politics. 3. value investment is the king- 4 components, namely safety margin, ownership, Mr. Market, and ability circle. - jump out from the zero-sum game, and create value for all parties. or I will call it a series of large weight high odds gambling. Are Buffet/Monger survivors of the market, or are they truly on something?
The concepts of civilization and modernization provide a valuable framework for understanding the modern world, particularly in the context of the ongoing US-China rivalry. From the perspective of someone living in China, this dynamic is often seen as a post-modern versus pre-modern struggle.
The value investing section is particularly thought-provoking, prompting me, as a “professional” investor, to seriously commit to adopting value investing for the remainder of my career. While I’m unsure if it’s too late, the only choice is to start now, recognizing that it demands time, effort, discipline, and the right temperament. Ultimately, it comes down to deciding whether you want to live your life aligned with the principles of value investing.
I recently read the author’s latest speech and gained a clearer understanding of Mr. Li’s struggles amidst the recent changes in China, which have shaken the foundations of both value investing and modernization. Perhaps the beauty and challenge of both life and investing lie in this very uncertainty—it constantly demands more from us, offering opportunities for growth while requiring sharper thinking and greater caution.
Although his conclusions largely align with mainstream Western business thinking—namely that free markets, entrepreneurship, and private ownership drive economic growth, and that the U.S. system is superior—it’s still enlightening to see these ideas analyzed through his relatively objective Chinese lens. The second part, where he summarizes value investing, is particularly strong, distilling the concepts down to their essentials.
This might be the best book I have ever read. I really like how Li Lu thinks, and getting an inside into his thoughts is a good read. The starts out by talking about Chinas modanization, which is very facinating, and later has transscripts to some of his lectures. Some of these lectures can be found on Youtube, but is worth a read aswell.
Unfortunately, the writing skills of the author are not as good as his business skills. This book only repeats points from other books without the author's own development.