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Nice advertisement for libertarianism. In other news, Bill Gates has created more wealth and productivity for people worldwide than any individual (or governme

Nice advertisement for libertarianism. In other news, Bill Gates has created more wealth and productivity for people worldwide than any individual (or government) in the history of the world. This equates to better medicine, more fun vacations, better food, more time with family, longer lives, etc. In spite of being attacked by government (antitrust lawsuits) Gates continues to try to tackle the world's toughest problems.

rayiner 15y ago
Uh, none of this makes any sense.
- grandalf 15y ago
  It follows from how innovation increases productivity, and productivity increases real (adjusted for inflation) wages.
  - forensic 15y ago
    The productivity increases caused by the computer revolution did not increase real (adjusted for inflation) wages though. All the profit was eaten by entrepreneurs and finance. Wage-workers got very little, their wage growth rate actually decreased significantly since the computer revolution.
    - grandalf 15y ago
      Do you have support for that assertion? What is a "wage worker"?
timwiseman 15y ago
In other news, Bill Gates has created more wealth and productivity for people worldwide than any individual (or government) in the history of the world. I do not think this is accurate or supported by the article. For instance, while I respect Bill Gates tremendously, I suspect Isaac Newton contributed more to the current wealth of the Western Hemispher than Gates did, and Alexander Fleming (discovered penicilin amoungst other things) probably tops Newton in contributing to the overall well being of the world now, as just two examples from "the history of the world."
- grandalf 15y ago
  I think it depends on how you measure it. Gates' realizations about business could have actually been significantly more rare than Newtons' observations. I think it's important to at least consider this to be true.
Steko 15y ago
As others have pointed out, neither of your contentions is supported by anything linked or in your comment. I see nothing that recommends libertarianism here. In a libertarian world IBM does not license DOS out of antitrust fears and Bill Gates and Paul Allen do not win the associated $100 billion lottery. The idea that Gates is the shining light that's allowed the world to have progress is even more laughable. The man was in the right place at the right time and milked his monopoly very successfully. That's been great for him and MS but in all likelihood has been to the detriment of the rest of the society. He's giving back a lot now and that's commendable but let's not get carried away.

rayiner 15y ago

Uh, none of this makes any sense.

grandalf 15y ago
It follows from how innovation increases productivity, and productivity increases real (adjusted for inflation) wages.
- forensic 15y ago
  The productivity increases caused by the computer revolution did not increase real (adjusted for inflation) wages though. All the profit was eaten by entrepreneurs and finance. Wage-workers got very little, their wage growth rate actually decreased significantly since the computer revolution.
  - grandalf 15y ago
    Do you have support for that assertion? What is a "wage worker"?

timwiseman 15y ago

In other news, Bill Gates has created more wealth and productivity for people worldwide than any individual (or government) in the history of the world. I do not think this is accurate or supported by the article. For instance, while I respect Bill Gates tremendously, I suspect Isaac Newton contributed more to the current wealth of the Western Hemispher than Gates did, and Alexander Fleming (discovered penicilin amoungst other things) probably tops Newton in contributing to the overall well being of the world now, as just two examples from "the history of the world."

grandalf 15y ago
I think it depends on how you measure it. Gates' realizations about business could have actually been significantly more rare than Newtons' observations. I think it's important to at least consider this to be true.

Steko 15y ago

As others have pointed out, neither of your contentions is supported by anything linked or in your comment. I see nothing that recommends libertarianism here. In a libertarian world IBM does not license DOS out of antitrust fears and Bill Gates and Paul Allen do not win the associated $100 billion lottery. The idea that Gates is the shining light that's allowed the world to have progress is even more laughable. The man was in the right place at the right time and milked his monopoly very successfully. That's been great for him and MS but in all likelihood has been to the detriment of the rest of the society. He's giving back a lot now and that's commendable but let's not get carried away.