Bad money drives out good money. （劣幣驅逐良幣）
The idiom is often used metaphorically to describe situations where inferior things (e.g., products, ideas, or people) displace superior ones due to economic, social, or competitive dynamics.
I noticed several friends on LinkedIn actively engaging in information transport by sharing reposted articles and posts. The intention could be ensuring valuable ideas reach a wider audience. And some went further as value creators, enriching these posts with thoughtful commentary or unique perspectives that added depth and relevance for their networks.
But, this often mirrors Gresham’s Law 1, where low-effort, repetitive posts—akin to ‘bad money’—tend to dominate feeds, overshadowing the ‘good money’ of original, value-creating content. Those who add thoughtful insights or unique perspectives to their shares are true value creators, yet their contributions risk being drowned out by the flood of less substantial posts.
Gresham’s Law states that when two currencies circulate—one of lower value (bad money) and one of higher value (good money)—people hoard the good money and spend the bad, causing bad money to dominate circulation and drive out the good.
Ask yourself before posting at social media. Are you an information transporter or value creator?
Information Transporter#
The Transport of Information (訊息的搬運) refers to the process of collecting, transmitting, or disseminating information from one place to another. It emphasizes the role of intermediaries or platforms that facilitate the flow of information without necessarily creating the information themselves.
For example, media outlets, social platforms, or data aggregators act as “transporters” by gathering and distributing information to users.
Value Creator#
The Creation of Value (價值的創造) refers to the process of generating something of worth, whether tangible (e.g., products, services) or intangible (e.g., innovation, customer satisfaction, brand equity). It involves transforming resources, ideas, or efforts into outcomes that provide benefit or utility to individuals, businesses, or society.
In economics or business, value creation is central to entrepreneurship and innovation, where new products, services, or processes meet needs or solve problems, thereby generating economic or social value.
Example: A company developing a new technology that improves energy efficiency by creating value for customers and the environment.
Gresham’s law was named in 1857 by economist after Sir Thomas Gresham (1519–1579). ↩︎