Canopy Economy

I am in the middle of reading 'Predator Nation' by Charles Ferguson, author of the academy award winning documentary 'Inside Job'. He has used a phrase, 'The Canopy Economy,' that struck a chord with me. Here is how he explains the concept.

"Canopy Ecosystems are the worlds of flora and fauna that occur at the tops of very tall trees, and exist largely apart from the multiple bio-systems layered beneath them. They do this in part by getting the best access to sunlight. But in so doing, they block the sun from reaching everything below. The vast income accumulated by the small slice of super elite at the top of the wealth pyramid has created a kind of global canopy economy that has lost its connections to the people it sprang from."

The author goes on say that he does not have issues with the wealthy per se as long as they earned their wealth by creating value for the world. He quotes examples in Intel, Google, Oracle, and Apple where the founders became wealthy by creating what we need and want and charging a fair price for the value generated. Interestingly, he left out Microsoft from that list of examples, but I do not know if I should read more into that omission. The author contrasts this with the financial services industry where very often they operate in a canopy economy that prevents opportunities from reaching other strata below.

Predator Nation is a fascinating book. I have a feeling that more posts over the next few days will borrow from the book.