How to disrupt global economics
People talk about cryptocurrencies and blockchains causing major disruptions to world economics, financial systems, politics and all of the people in the world... It is not going to be that way. Not much is going to change.
There is a simple reason for this and it is at the core of economics itself; Supply and Demand.
For the most part, the economic world we have created is this way because we as people have demanded it to be so. You might argue and say that you yourself didn't choose to be poor or oppressive but, yes you did. Every purchasing decision we make has effects on the larger economic model and much like the Steemit Trending page or any trending page for that matter, we demand shit.
But, but.. I don't demand shit...
Yes, yes you do. Not only do you demand shit, you demand cheap shit. A lot of cheap shit. Masses and masses of time wasting, skill sapping, mind numbing largely useless, cheap shit. And you are willing to pay a huge amount for this valueless garbage.
Don't believe me?
Apple - 752
Alphabet - 579.5
Microsoft - 507.5
Amazon.com - 427
Berkshire Hathaway - 409.9
Facebook - 407.3
ExxonMobil - 242.2
Johnson & Johnson - 338.6
JPMorgan Chase - 306.6
Tencent Holdings - 277.1
Wells Fargo - 274.4
Alibaba - 264.9
They are the top 12 most valuable companies in the world and the number is their value in US dollar Billions. They are the makers, distributors, investors, aggregators, supporters and agents of, shit. Essentially within that group of companies, you can see the entire ecosystem of what is wrong with the world and it is because of us, not them because it is we who keep buying their shit.
For example, Apple creates phones yet, no one calls anyone anymore. A smart phone is just a mobile catalogue with the ability to share desires with others on Facebook. All of those cheap crap adverts hint at places like Alibaba, the mass sellers of the masses of cheap shit that we demand. All of that shit needs to be delivered and ExxonMobil don't mind selling a barrel or two of oil for the boats, planes, trains and trucks to get that shit to your door, with next day delivery. And of course, JPMorgan Chase back all of the nodes along the way and they are just shit by definition.
It is the demand for these type of nonsense products that is creating the vast amounts of inequalities, it the demand for time wasting entertainment that people literally spend two full-time jobs a week consuming on-demand. Geez, people actually demand to watch other people unbox and use this shit on shit platforms designed to engage users to consume shit.
Wondering why there is a problem in the economic world yet?
We incentivize producers to produce what we demand and even though we would like to say that we want a better world, when it comes to incentivizing actions that lead to one, fuck that, Lambo!
We use this shit in the hope that it somehow makes us better, improves our lives or gets us closer to the rich and wealthy we hate but, want to become. Yet, it is just shit that keeps increasing the divides and decreasing our abilities to combat it. This is all on us as consumers as supply dries up very, very fast once demand stops.
If you haven't noticed, not many people in this world have become financially wealthy by helping the world to be better. The rich that are helping were rich first. Even the people who are actually making a difference in science and community development struggle to get funding because we don't want to pay for anything other than the cheap shit we demand. The shit that takes our mind off how shit the world is.
We demand people behave well, demand they do what is right for the community but we demand they do it for free. Good behavior is not incentivized, the production of shit is. You want to change the economics of the world, change that, stop paying for shit and start buying improvement processes.
The top companies in the world should be those who are actually making the world a better place and we should be able to have actual shares in them that payout as the world improves. Not shares in companies that payout as they dive it deeper into crisis with more gimmicky shit.
It is no different to Steemit. I have said several times how this place is representative of the wold economic system and the behaviors within. The amount of shit content supported whether paid for or not is massive. It is not that it is necessarily low quality but, it is unnecessary, it adds very little to make the world better. Seriously, how many holidays do you really want to finance some of these people to go on? Doesn't anyone ever get tired of reading and seeing pictures of what other people eat at fancy restaurants they will never go to, isn't there something more important on the agenda?
This is the problem though isn't it? No one wants to finance the hard, dirty work that needs to be done here or anywhere else which means, no one wants to do it. There is no incentive to do it other than a feeling that one is potentially doing the right thing for an uncertain future and perhaps a word or two of support or a pat on the back and a 'good job' comment.
The entire world is the same.
It could be that average people just don't understand what actually needs to be done or what needs to be discussed. They don't understand what it actually takes to cure cancer so they will not invest into it. They have to sell friggin' pink ribbons to get money for cancer research as if, curing cancer is just not enough of a return. How much was that latest XBox game though? If you can just clock it, cancer is cured!!
The way to change the world, tear down the conglomerates as they currently stand and shift the positions of the banks as once we as a global community is simple. Demand better for our world, put our money behind it and, they are forced to supply it.
But, if we can't even do it here with a few hundred thousand, how the hell does one person convince the rest of the world. Perhaps Netflix has the answers.
Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]
I completely agree with everything in this post! I agree with the problem. Heck, I'm part of the problem. I also agree with the solution. However, once we get down to the actual details of how to implement the solution, I don't know how it would work. Why? Because people.
Of course, it seems simple:
Supply and demand. That's how the world works. Simple. Except how do you get everyone to demand better for our world and put their money behind it? One would argue that we don't need everyone, we just need enough. Okay, how much is enough (say, in percentage of the world's population) and how do we get enough to cooperate?
Force everyone to do the right thing? Nope. We'll lose our freedom and we'll all be slaves. Remove government and laws altogether and switch to a completely voluntary society? How would that work? We're already free enough as it is to voluntarily not buy shit.
An example of an economy that needs disrupting? Just look at Steemit:
Exactly. How about we all see first if we can fix Steemit?
Decentralized governance. The benefit of having a dictator is that you only need to convince one person of the change. Here, you have to convince many who are benefiting from harming many more.
That sounds like 1 point for dictatorship and 0 for decentralized governance.
As someone trying to take philosophy from the academy to the most marginalised people in our community, I am painfully aware of this.
There's more in my head, but my thoughts aren't very organised this morning. But can I just say how nice it is to read something that isn't some sort of weird wealth-porn.
After reading the post linked to from @krnel's observations, I have to ask: Have you considered setting up a witness node and trying to claw your way to the top 20 that particular heap?
I don't have the technical abilities to run my own witness node and to get into the top 20 one needs a fair bit of support from those already in the top 20-30, that isn't likely to happen anymore.
In one sense it's a pity, as I think you'd make better decisions than some of the current crop. But you are right - it's a closed shop now.
The only way in to really disrupt it is to buy in and that might happen (if the place survives) when corporations start powering up.
If the rent-seeking that @krnel was discussing doesn't cause our economy to implode, yes, you might be right. Imagine, @microsoft-witness - LOL!
LMAO
I bought a smartphone for the first time in 2015, to call and be called or apartments to move back into the city. I also wanted a portable computer for convenience in waiting in doctor offices, in the metro, etc. I could have kept bringing books, it might have been better and saved me money :P I don't use my phone much at all. I text my girlfriend, and that's the main use. Get notified of emails, yup. The main two things lol.
The people who produce only keep producing because consumers buy. We feed the beast. Dollars are votes. So much is wasted time (games, entertainment) with wasted money spent into it. Spending time and spending money, but with little value in the long term for our lives.
Cause and effect is a good little video to show how out of control mindless consumption is. I like to be pretty minimalist in my lifestyle. Simplify life ;)
It is an endless cycle (under current behaviour) and no matter how poor people feel, they don't want to break it. It hacks their wiring and gives them an out to taking responsibility. Their hard life is all someone else's fault. The governments we elect, the corporations we buy from, the banks we borrow from.
We create our own self-inflicted suffering in large part, I've talked about that in several posts in the past :/
I have to laugh as I din't know what you are going to write about next. Your ramblings and moaning are very interesting and yes there is a lot of buying shit going on. Most of it as you you don't need and it wont last either.
I got a pair of Hiking boots when I was 23 and I still use them. I am now 50. What boots today would last 27 years? The companies that run the world today wouldn't want that as that is not good for business. Look what Apple did with their batteries. The apps you downloaded for an update made everything go slower so they forced you to buy another phone even when your phone was fine.
Keep rambling it is a good read.
The ones people buy with the intention of using them but are gathering dust in their garage with all of the other TV shopping exercise equipment.
Hehe. You are so right. I know lots of people like that.
There is so much shit in this Post I don't know where to begin .
Needs vs. Wants
We sure do want a lot or the right to brag about it . The garage or closet full of shit that we haven't seen in years or know whats in it
maybe hiccups , People always seem to migrate towards the money . Same here with the bots . I would like to see it go more towards communities .
Let's see what HF20 will bring to the table.. if anything.
Tone down the cynicism, I am sure phones are much more than that, and sadly I cannot imagine the numerous accidents and mistakes made FB while at work or on the road, could it ever offset the numerous implications that benefited people in serious life-threatening situations if we'd weigh an objective good/public benefit?
Hey, this couldn't be more descriptive, because considering that long chain of delivery kinda invalidates equally most of the benefits. Ideas, first of all, should be Freely Shared once acknowledged, all else is absurd and counter to freedom and progress, but hence there is no excuse for the monopoly upon the markets on the purchasers, not once there's no choice to be made because of primarily IP rights. The first real free country (more region of land/lot less NOT GOVERNMENT) begins with freedom of expression.
I have just remarked on necessity here:
https://steemit.com/unity/@baah/re-silent-ghost-re-baah-re-silent-ghost-re-baah-re-silent-ghost-re-baah-re-silent-ghost-re-baah-re-silent-ghost-re-krnel-moral-truth-is-the-foundation-and-measure-of-true-unity-20180331t214507401z#@silent-ghost/re-baah-re-silent-ghost-re-baah-re-silent-ghost-re-baah-re-silent-ghost-re-baah-re-silent-ghost-re-baah-re-silent-ghost-re-krnel-moral-truth-is-the-foundation-and-measure-of-true-unity-20180331t215244426z
In the other epic Subject Topic.
It's said simply, but demanding better would also open us up to accepting the appearance of better which we would quickly become dependant on (forgetting important things like who's the master and who's the servant) and the proverbial rug get's pulled we are left with our pants down and ready to move into the pigsty, awaiting for Thanksgiving, and all the sacrifices the psychopaths had earned. Isn't it harvest time?
Sounds like you're on the path to minimalism :)
Few are starting to become aware of the way we're all being brainwashed to spend money that we don't have on things that don't exist..
With profits being shared among the financial institutions and large corporates. Most of the money that is spent doesn't even actually exist.
Not much really exists these days, it is all about the perception of a reality.
The hippies of the 1960’s wanted to change the world through economic and social revolution. They saw the stuff their parents purchased in the 50’s as shit. These same hippies are the people buying cheap shit today. I see no cure to human addiction to shit. No shit.
It is like the Mafia, "just when you thought you were out..."
Crypto is still a new area, but I believe it can disrupt the financial world as we know it today, the same with many centralized apps and systems. The largest disruptive technology the masses will experience is robotics and globalization. Our proof of work monetary system where a person provides a work for compensation will no longer be valid in a wolrd where goods and services are being provided by machines. The wealth distribution will be the next hot topic when we realize we don't need people to provide us with necessities.