Engineer vs. Lawyer: The Key to Progress and the Future of Prosperity.
I recently came across Dan Wang’s fascinating book “Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future.” His core analysis – the fundamental difference between an engineering approach and a legal approach in the pursuit of progress – deeply resonates with my personal philosophy and the vision of Globtec Investment LLC.
As a trained mechanical engineer, I was shaped by the conviction that at the beginning of any creation lies the idea. Through technical knowledge, pragmatic know-how, and the tireless pursuit of progress, this idea becomes reality. The engineer acts: designing, building, testing, optimizing, and creating. It was only later that I acquired the financial-technical background to be able to fund and scale these technical visions.
This “engineering mindset” is the engine for true prosperity. It is characterized by action, the creation of new things, and the pragmatic solution of challenges.
However, many societies, particularly in the US and the EU, seem to be increasingly experiencing the dominance of a “legal approach”: The focus is too heavily on regulation, risk mitigation, managing existing assets, and reacting to problems. The undoubtedly important role of lawyers – drafting contracts, resolving disputes, and securing frameworks – is essential for a functioning economy. Yet, when this regulatory and safeguarding mindset overshadows creative action, it becomes a brake on innovation. The lawyer is a master of reaction and structuring, but by nature, will never originally create something new.
This paradigm shift is concerning. The current levels of prosperity in many Western countries are based on the technical achievements and innovative power of past decades – the legacy of the engineering approach. If we, however, continue to primarily rely on the dominance of regulation and legal safeguarding, instead of prioritizing action and creation, we risk losing this hard-earned prosperity.
At Globtec, we embody the engineering approach to investment: We seek disruptive ideas and visionary founders who want to create. We focus on pragmatic, technology-driven solutions in areas like AI and Blockchain that generate real progress and do not merely manage the status quo. Our role is to empower technical pioneers and transform their ideas into reality.
Where do you see the balance between these two approaches in the current global economic landscape to foster both innovation and ensure stability?
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