4 ms·

The cannibalistic nature of Capitalism requires a "Big New Thing". The internet and tech at large has propped up power structures in the United States, for exam

by tmpz22 4y ago

The cannibalistic nature of Capitalism requires a "Big New Thing". The internet and tech at large has propped up power structures in the United States, for example I think without computing and the internet the American middle-class would've degraded much faster then it has. I don't know what the next "Big New Thing" will be, but I doubt it will have the same impact as computing/internet. I think things are just going to get pretty bleak for the lower classes as more and more of the world is consumed by oligopolies. Historically you get uprisings and revolts when the lower classes are trampled. I don't even think that can happen anymore with even small police departments getting tanks and access to drag-net surveillance at global scale.

IncRnd 4y ago
> The cannibalistic nature of Capitalism requires a "Big New Thing". That's completely false. Just look at all the convenience stores spread across the world. Or, if my neighbor sells widgets, I can still go into the business of selling widgets.
ethbr0 4y ago
> next "Big New Thing" The internet was transformational because it (1) decreased communication friction by orders of magnitude & (2) enabled digital business operations, powered by computation instead of people. And specifically, these were both things that applied to every business on the planet. A lot of job roles disappeared as a result of that, but it made business much more efficient and scalable. And allowed the remaining employees to be more highly compensated (same_revenue / fewer_employees = more salary space). Looking around for similar future potentials, I see 3. 1: Applied AI integrates itself into businesses (specifically, in finance, operations, and analytics) enabling another increase in efficiency by an order of magnitude 2: Remote working (and specifically international) allows use of a wider range of talent, at competitive salaries, which permits businesses to hire specific skillsets they previously lacked access to (didn't exist or unaffordable) 3: Driverless over-the-road freight vehicles increase shipping efficiency by an order of magnitude

by tmpz22 4y ago

IncRnd 4y ago

> The cannibalistic nature of Capitalism requires a "Big New Thing". That's completely false. Just look at all the convenience stores spread across the world. Or, if my neighbor sells widgets, I can still go into the business of selling widgets.

ethbr0 4y ago

> next "Big New Thing" The internet was transformational because it (1) decreased communication friction by orders of magnitude & (2) enabled digital business operations, powered by computation instead of people. And specifically, these were both things that applied to every business on the planet. A lot of job roles disappeared as a result of that, but it made business much more efficient and scalable. And allowed the remaining employees to be more highly compensated (same_revenue / fewer_employees = more salary space). Looking around for similar future potentials, I see 3. 1: Applied AI integrates itself into businesses (specifically, in finance, operations, and analytics) enabling another increase in efficiency by an order of magnitude 2: Remote working (and specifically international) allows use of a wider range of talent, at competitive salaries, which permits businesses to hire specific skillsets they previously lacked access to (didn't exist or unaffordable) 3: Driverless over-the-road freight vehicles increase shipping efficiency by an order of magnitude