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Land? You'd think it's machinery that is the means of production and ownership of that becomes more concentrated. Back then you would give a manuscript to your
by HarryHirsch 9y ago
Land? You'd think it's machinery that is the means of production and ownership of that becomes more concentrated.
Back then you would give a manuscript to your secretary who would type it, hand it to the typesetter, and it would go to the printer, both skilled tradesman and unionized. Now you yourself submit camera-ready copy to the publisher and pay a subscription for Office 365 year after year. You ask yourself why the price of scientific journals hasn't dropped, but the missing land tax isn't the reason.
- eru 9y agoMachinery deprecates pretty quickly, and we can produce more of it, eroding any excess returns. I'm also not quite sure what this American obsession with unions is about. Actually, the price for reading science has dropped to almost zero. But, of course, not if you restrict yourself to paying for scientific journals. (The monopolies there that drive high costs are the result of a really weird system---and yes, that one's not got to do much with land rents nor equipment. It's closer to regulatory capture, and entrenched interests.)