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A lot of the tech that has enabled the rise of the 'virtual class' is built on a marriage of public and private funds. The railroads that enabled westward expan

A lot of the tech that has enabled the rise of the 'virtual class' is built on a marriage of public and private funds. The railroads that enabled westward expansion, the dams that powered it, so many things that enabled our situation today, built in part (though not fully, of course) on the contributions of a myriad of people - people that may not necessarily know each other. People normally have benefitted from the type of tech built by public and private funds, but now, there's a big fear that the current tech being built has no upside for anyone but a very small number of people. With a little more social and political grace, these fears might be assuaged, but instead, there's this zeitgeist that 'we could build such a better world if only pesky people didn't get in the way'. It's a Cultural Revolution!

malvosenior 9y ago
The basic infrastructure you mention were enabled by cheap labor more than anything else. We still use that for manufacturing (among other things) via globalism. > there's a big fear that the current tech being built has no upside for anyone but a very small number of people Some people have that fear, a most people don't. The quintessential example of an "evil" California company is Uber. That service has been absolutely trans-formative not just for myself and other tech workers, but also for the drivers. I take Uber all the time and despite the media FUD, nearly 100% of drivers say the service was life changing as they can now make money on demand, when it works for them. I think there's a small pocket of very well connected people who are "afraid" of unchecked technological progress because they don't understand it and/or they're heavily invested in decaying power structures (old media, social scientists, politicians...). They make a lot of noise as a smoke screen to put the technologists under them in the social/financial hierarchy. Most technologists and most regular people aren't afraid of anything and quite enjoy the fruits of our progress (cf Facebook usage).

malvosenior 9y ago

The basic infrastructure you mention were enabled by cheap labor more than anything else. We still use that for manufacturing (among other things) via globalism. > there's a big fear that the current tech being built has no upside for anyone but a very small number of people Some people have that fear, a most people don't. The quintessential example of an "evil" California company is Uber. That service has been absolutely trans-formative not just for myself and other tech workers, but also for the drivers. I take Uber all the time and despite the media FUD, nearly 100% of drivers say the service was life changing as they can now make money on demand, when it works for them. I think there's a small pocket of very well connected people who are "afraid" of unchecked technological progress because they don't understand it and/or they're heavily invested in decaying power structures (old media, social scientists, politicians...). They make a lot of noise as a smoke screen to put the technologists under them in the social/financial hierarchy. Most technologists and most regular people aren't afraid of anything and quite enjoy the fruits of our progress (cf Facebook usage).