Gresham's Law
Origin
In 1558 Thomas Gresham wrote to Queen Elizabeth I about Henry VIII's debased silver coins. When debased (bad) coins circulated alongside genuine (good) silver, people hoarded the real ones or shipped them abroad — only the debased remained in circulation. The insight predates Gresham but bears his name.
Meaning
Not only about money — when two indistinguishable items of different value circulate, the lower-value one survives and the higher-value one disappears. Why fake news drives out real news on SNS. Why race-to-the-bottom competition kills quality products.
Lesson — Meeting Eastern Classics
Analects: "A gentleman harmonizes without uniformity; a petty man conforms without harmony." Confucius taught that surface uniformity is not real harmony. Gresham's Law is the place where surface sameness kills difference.
"替" depicts two persons (夫) switching places — replacement, substitution. The Analects calls for renewal, but when 替 is degradation not renewal, Gresham's Law activates. Which 替 to permit is the core of market design.
