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Welcome to the free market. Either deliver what people want or fail. If influencing human behaviour is more important to you, then you may be in the wrong profe

• jsmthrowaway 12y ago
  I see it's now time to condescendingly explain economics to me to counter a morality lamentation, including the suggestion that I should shut up and get out of not just the industry, but my profession, as if somehow I fucked up thinking computers can effect change outside of marketing. Right, how dare I invest my life into writing software and hoping the possibilities include anything outside of selling Pepsi and Versace. My bad. What do you suggest as my new profession, bottled_poe?
  • nl 12y ago
    Economic judgement should not be confused with morality. I suspect many here agree that Pinterest doesn't contribute greatly to the betterment of humanity. That does not mean it isn't economically valuable. I actually think there's an argument that trying to quantify moral value in economic terms in itself morally questionable. There's room for other measurement systems outside monetary value.
  • bottled_poe 12y ago
    Trust me when I say I'm on your side here. But, let's not forget that computers do little more than add numbers and transmit data. It is the application of this technology that adds economic value to society. And those applications are driven by human desire. Societal change is more effectively influenced through social representation, and there are many avenues to achieve that, but I don't believe creating software in an office space is the most effective one. I wish things could be different, but without financial freedom, we are destined to build what other people deem valuable. One of the best things we can do is work with people whose values align with our own.
    • deleted 12y ago
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