Archive of UserLand's first discussion group, started October 5, 1998.

Re: snowballs (Anti-Microsoft sentiment)

Author:Dave Rogers
Posted:9/20/2000; 1:29:47 PM
Topic:Debunking the OSS Bazaar?
Msg #:21549 (In response to 21545)
Prev/Next:21548 / 21550

And please stop leaning on your age for credibility.

Joshua, it was not my intention to give you the impression that I rely on my age for credibility. Rather, I was suggesting that your youth has some role in shaping your opinions and as you grow older, your opinions will change too.

You'll have to take me at my word on this, when I was a much younger man I was probably more cynical and arrogant than you are. I'm happy to report that now I'm merely arrogant. That's progress, no?

WRT "the river always flows toward the sea," you omit the assertion that that is the way it will always be. Perhaps that was merely a poor choice of words on your part, and from your comments in this and the previous post, it would appear that it was not your intent to assert that there is nothing we can do about the fact that power and wealth seem to flow to the powerful and wealthy.

I think Dave McCusker has already addressed that issue sufficiently, I would merely add that the history of much the last three centuries, shows that the tendency for power and wealth to flow to the powerful and wealthy at the expense of the poor is lessening. I would point to the rise of the middle class as an example of this.

For a long time I had a little theory I poked around at, that every major advance in civilization came on the heels of a new source of energy. The availability of cheap and abundant energy afforded people greater wealth and time to acquire education, which has, in the main, lead to more liberal and democratic societies where the RGR-PGP phenomenon is most restrained.

The advent of the internet and what many of us term the information age caused me to review my little theory. I think an equally strong, and perhaps stronger, correlation can be drawn between the increase in communcations bandwidth and the advance of civilization. The thing that really twigged me to this was the Roman habit of building roads. Roman roads were the internet of ancient times. Although there was no significant new source of energy, still relying on human and draft animal power with some wind and water power, it was the ability of the Romans to quickly and safely move information and commerce that enabled the success of the Roman Empire, which, in the main, was a good thing for most of the places they conquered.

Then came movable type, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Now, both in the case of energy and bandwidth, these advances initially enabled the wealthy and the powerful to use new and more powerful means to hold on to wealth and power. But again, over the long term, the rise in bandwidth, the ability to exchange ideas and information, caused wealth and power to flow somewhat away from the wealthy and the powerful.

The information age has already accelerated this process, and it is only going to continue. The poor will not get poorer, certainly if we, as a society, feel it's in our interests to see to it they don't, and maybe even if we don't.

I'm quite optimistic about our chances for a better future, even if I'm quite aware of the negative qualities of human nature.

I'm quite impressed with your obvious intelligence, though I still find much to disagree with you about.

(It seems I'm also predisposed to use the word "quite" an annoying number of times.)

I think you're dead wrong on commerce doing more to solve human rights or international problems than government can, and I think you're wrong about the negative features of monocultures. But those are differences of opinion that don't energize me to write contrary posts.

This one did, because it was just so hopeless it was beyond the pale.

I'm happy to learn I was wrong and I look forward to reading more from you in the future.

All the best, Dave Rogers

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