What profound impacts has 'The Intelligent Investor' had on subsequent investment philosophies?

Haha, talking about The Intelligent Investor—this truly is the "bible" of the investment world. It's not a manual promising to tell you which stock will make you rich tomorrow; it’s a foundational philosophy that genuinely shapes your investment worldview. If many investment books focus on "tactics" (Shu), Benjamin Graham's work embodies the "Way" (Dao).

Its influence is profound. It’s fair to say that without this book, the "value investing" we know today might have taken a very different form. Let me break down its core impacts in plain language:

Core Impact 1: Introducing "Mr. Market"

This is Graham's most brilliant metaphor and a cornerstone of value investing.

Who is he? Imagine a business partner named "Mr. Market." He comes to you every day with a quote, offering to buy your shares or sell you his.
What's he like? This gentleman is emotionally volatile, like someone with bipolar disorder. Sometimes wildly over-optimistic, he might offer absurdly high prices for your shares. Other times, consumed by deep pessimism, he's willing to sell you his shares at fire-sale prices.
How to deal with him? Graham's wisdom lies in telling you: You can completely ignore this manic character! He exists to serve you, not to guide you. When he offers stupidly low prices, seize the chance and buy them from him. When he quotes sky-high prices, consider selling to him. Crucially, you must never let his manic-depressive mood infect yours.

Profound Impact: This metaphor fundamentally changed how investors view market fluctuations. Before Graham, falling stock prices were simply seen as bad news and caused panic. After him, intelligent investors realized that irrational market downturns are golden opportunities to buy great companies. It transformed "price volatility" from a risk into an opportunity.

Core Impact 2: The Permanent Moat – "Margin of Safety"

This is the core principle of value investing, paramount for protecting your capital from permanent loss.

What does it mean? Simply put, it means getting one yuan of value for every five mao (half a yuan) you spend. Through your own analysis, you determine a company's intrinsic value is, say, ¥100 per share, but you only buy when its price falls to ¥60 or lower. The ¥40 difference is your "Margin of Safety."
What is its purpose? This "cushion" protects you. If your analysis is slightly off (e.g., the company is only worth ¥80) or if unforeseen negative events occur, this substantial margin significantly reduces the probability of losing principal. It's like building a bridge rated for 30 tons but only allowing 10-ton trucks to cross—keeping it eminently safe.

Profound Impact: The "Margin of Safety" shifts the focus of investing from primarily "how much can I make?" back to the fundamental prerequisite of "how do I avoid loss?" It emphasizes the extreme importance of risk control, transforming investing from gambling into a disciplined business where risk/reward ratios can be carefully calculated. Virtually all value investors since have enshrined Margin of Safety as the cardinal rule.

Core Impact 3: Defining the Clear Demarcation Between "Investment" and "Speculation"

Before Graham, many people conflated all stock buying. He drew a sharp line:

Investment: An operation that, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of principal and a satisfactory return. Keywords are "analysis" and "safety." You are buying a share of a business, focusing on its operations, earnings power, and asset value.
Speculation: Any transaction not meeting these criteria. Here, the focus is primarily on short-term price fluctuations, hoping someone else will pay more later, with little regard for the underlying company's condition.

Profound Impact: This definition forced people to seriously examine their motives for buying stocks. Do you aim to be a business owner, sharing in corporate growth? Or are you a gambler betting on price swings? This distinction elevated investing into a teachable, researchable discipline, distinct from casino gambling.

Core Impact 4: Recasting the Investor's Mindset—From Market Forecaster to Business Analyst

The book teaches that the "intelligent investor" isn't defined by high IQ, but by emotional maturity and rational thinking.

You are not a fortune teller: You don't need to predict the market's next move or whether the economy will boom or bust. History proves no one can do this consistently accurately.
You are a businessperson: Your job is to analyze a company's value, just as if you were buying the corner grocery store. You examine its books (financial statements), assess its customer traffic, scrutinize its profits, and then buy it at a reasonable – or better yet, discounted – price.

Profound Impact: This liberated ordinary investors. You don't need genius, inside information, or perfect timing—just common sense, patience, a willingness to do the homework (due diligence), and emotional discipline. It shifted the investment focus from "watching stock charts" to "reading financial statements and understanding the business"—the true essence of investing.

In Summary:

The Intelligent Investor's greatest achievement was transforming investing from an enigmatic, luck-reliant "art" into a systematic "craft" governed by principles, discipline, and a logical framework.

It cultivated generations of value investors. Its most famous disciple is Warren Buffett, who stated that his investment career rests on Graham's two foundational ideas: "Mr. Market" and "Margin of Safety."

It is no exaggeration to say that this book lit an eternal beacon for countless investors who seek long-term, stable returns through rational analysis.