4 ms·

At one point we need to realize that there is a working model for that: public infrastructure. Government-managed and funded.

by Iv 10y ago

cyborgx7 10y ago
But the invisible hand of the market will work it all out. Who needs stable public infrastructure if you can have a constant cycle of bubble building and popping to keep you on your toes.
drzaiusapelord 10y ago
Like we had public access on cable? You had limited resources and serious censorship both by the government and local 'community values.' Half the things on imgur or gify wouldn't be allowed on this hypothetical government hosting. Having the government do everything has been tried in history and its leads to failure (communism). There's a reason that the PC and internet and mobile revolutions happened via capitalism and private business. Or why wikpedia is a foundation or the wayback machine or whatever. I understand Bernie Sanders is popular here and there's a strange 'have the government do everything, duh' mentality popular with millennials now, but historically it doesn't pan out. The government's role should be something that's carefully considered. Its not remotely a fix-all.
- mthoms 10y ago
  >Having the government do everything has been tried in history and its leads to failure (communism). Having the government do some things has been tried in history and in many cases has worked out quite well. The roads, schools and fire department are quite good where I live for example. Though not perfect of course. I'm not suggesting that this particular service is a good thing for the government to take on. Just want to mention that it's not "all-or-nothing" choice.
- S4M 10y ago
  > There's a reason that the PC and internet and mobile revolutions happened via capitalism and private business. You realize that Internet was first funded by the government, right?

4 ms·

At one point we need to realize that there is a working model for that: public infrastructure. Government-managed and funded.

by Iv 10y ago

At one point we need to realize that there is a working model for that: public infrastructure. Government-managed and funded.

cyborgx7 10y ago
But the invisible hand of the market will work it all out. Who needs stable public infrastructure if you can have a constant cycle of bubble building and popping to keep you on your toes.
drzaiusapelord 10y ago
Like we had public access on cable? You had limited resources and serious censorship both by the government and local 'community values.' Half the things on imgur or gify wouldn't be allowed on this hypothetical government hosting. Having the government do everything has been tried in history and its leads to failure (communism). There's a reason that the PC and internet and mobile revolutions happened via capitalism and private business. Or why wikpedia is a foundation or the wayback machine or whatever. I understand Bernie Sanders is popular here and there's a strange 'have the government do everything, duh' mentality popular with millennials now, but historically it doesn't pan out. The government's role should be something that's carefully considered. Its not remotely a fix-all.
- mthoms 10y ago
  >Having the government do everything has been tried in history and its leads to failure (communism). Having the government do some things has been tried in history and in many cases has worked out quite well. The roads, schools and fire department are quite good where I live for example. Though not perfect of course. I'm not suggesting that this particular service is a good thing for the government to take on. Just want to mention that it's not "all-or-nothing" choice.
- S4M 10y ago
  > There's a reason that the PC and internet and mobile revolutions happened via capitalism and private business. You realize that Internet was first funded by the government, right?