Where To Build Your House

War is a source of endless profit.

The reasoning behind this is simple. When bombs and technology are needed, they are produced. There are two sides who need this stuff, so they both buy it. Then they use it to destroy each other’s stuff. More stuff is needed, so more is bought. This continues until war ends, at which point an economic slump usually begins from lack of growth and unemployment.

Anyway, you can imagine why you’d want to be in the business of making weapons. Even if war never actually happens, stockpiles of weapons are needed to compete for dominance even if there were never any intent to use them. Even in peace, you need the bigger stick.

Food is a source of endless profit too. So is the internet, but for different reasons.

The web is an endless frontier where people can create freely. The web will never be full, resources will not be taken up by overhead, and you can reduce competition with greater ease due to low switching cost.

The result of this is that more people will get rich, but on a smaller scale. They will be able to support their families, or maybe even their neighbourhoods. For most, that will be good enough. No rent for businesses means less of their work goes to support those that own the buildings. The new mom and pop stores will retain a sense of agency. They will have more personal time and be happier.

Every day that we work on the web, we are working towards creating something for ourselves– something that leaves us freer, happier, and (in the case of the social web) with a better support network. Every day that we work for a big corporation leaves us more dependent and alienated. That’s why I prefer to build my house here.

There are no bombs. There are no warships. You do as you please, and no one can stop you.

What do you think?


Posted

in

,

by

Comments

2 responses to “Where To Build Your House”

  1. Martyn Chamberlin Avatar

    This continues until war ends, at which point an economic slump usually begins from lack of growth and unemployment.

    Naw. After WWII there was an economic boom. During the War, lots of things were rationed, few products were made for civilians, and the people kept their money. Afterwards, all the factories that had sprung up overnight to meet the demand for bombs and tanks began making stuff for normal people. And folks had money, so they started buying.

    There are other instances of that, but I won’t labor the point.

    War is a source of endless profit.

    From the soldier’s perspective yes. They get good pay. But that money comes from the government, which comes from the people. So ultimately, war is the biggest EXPENSE ever to visit the earth. It’s not endless profit. Look at Germany after WWI. The huge debt from that war was assigned them. And they revolted under it (Hey? who wouldn’t.)

  2. Donovan Avatar

    You make a lot more money working for the man than following your bliss. Case in point. My wife supports me by working for the corporation and gets the weekly paycheck. My website for good, doesn’t come close to paying the bills. Thank you corporate America. Most people do not make money from their blogs or internet biz. Most people make money from working for someone else.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *