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Dear Marc Andreessen

al3x.net

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Re: Dear Marc Andreessen

#11

Post by rdl »

I don't think pmarca is saying people are against robots per se, but against the efficiency-driven unemployment they see. I'm firmly on the side of pmarca and technology here -- I'd love to see virtually all crappy jobs today disappear, and we could find new and better things for those people to do (through the market, ideally, but I'd be open to Basic Income or other forms of wealth distribution if needed).

I cannot imagine retarding technology just to preserve existing jobs being a winning strategy which makes the world better. If we did that in the 1700s, there would only be a few thousand people left over after primary agriculture to do anything else. That would suck.

People holding unionized or otherwise protected jobs are rent-seekers (albeit on a smaller scale than large companies in regulated industries). Rent seekers do not make the world a better place.

Re: Dear Marc Andreessen

#14

Post by corford »

rdl wrote: post #11

I don't think pmarca is saying people are against robots per se, but against the efficiency-driven unemployment they see. I'm firmly on the side of pmarca and technology here -- I'd love to see virtually all crappy jobs today disappear, and we could find new and better things for those people to do (through the market, ideally, but I'd be open to Basic Income or other forms of wealth distribution if needed). I cannot…

I don't think that's really the point of al3x's post. I think it's more we should be very worried that someone with such a balck & white, infantile view of society and economy is in a position to throw billions of dollars at advancing his world view.

I love technology but fear for the world we'll end up with if people like pmarca are left to pull the levers.

Re: Dear Marc Andreessen

#15

Post by jdminhbg »

> Taxi drivers protesting Uber aren’t saying that they want apps out of their cabs.

Of course they aren't saying that, it would be political suicide to say it. But given the stubborn resistance to even using the credit card readers forced on them by utility commissions, do people really think that cabbies are aching to have apps between them and their customers that would thwart their ability to skip inconvenient fares or grab an easier ride on their way to a call? Uber's end-run around regulation is only possible because cabbies use regulation to make consumers' lives worse.

It's kind of crazy to me the degree to which the left is becoming a movement built around kneejerk status quo bias, based on nothing but a distaste for the idea that someone might be making money off of making consumers' lives better.

Re: Dear Marc Andreessen

#16

Post by patrickaljord »

corford wrote: post #5

Very nice to see pmarca's neoliberal idiocy taken apart so thoroughly. Peter Thiel could do with similar treatment imho.

So things we disagree with now can just be labelled as idiocy?

And no matter how much you and other statists hate neoliberalism and how it's taken over the world, thing is the world has never been so rich, so peaceful and people have never lived so long and so healthy in the whole history of humanity. So, if neoliberalism is having a bad effect on the world, I wonder what it would do if it had a good effect.

I would also add that the countries that are doing better in this world are all pro free-market such as Switzerland and Hong Kong. In fact, as someone who has lived in Peru for 5 years, I can tell you (and numbers will show), in the 90's, Peru and Venezuela had similar economies. Then in the 90's and up to today, Peru has liberalized its economy and privatize a lot of industries, Venezuela has gone the opposite way. Today, Peru is prospering more than ever while Venezuelans unfortunately have to wait in line for hours to buy toilet paper, flour and meat. I think reality is on my and Andreessen's side.

Statists are obsessed with inequality gaps and how some people are so much richer than others. I and people like Andreesen are obsessed with fewer people dying of hunger, violence and disease. Once we get rid of that, maybe we can work on reducing that gap you're so obsessed about, but right now, let's help people not die of hunger at least and make make enough of a living to support themselves, and nothing is as efficient as free market economies for this who have lifted billions of people from extreme poverty from China to Peru.

Re: Dear Marc Andreessen

#17

Post by Detrus »

An affordable safety net could be possible with cheap renewable energy and magic hydroponic farms that make food even cheaper. Anyone could have a small farm in their room! Then you just need housing. Maybe we'll make some fancy new materials in the next tech bubble, so that you can put up luxurious, energy efficient, 10 story housing with the ease of a trailer park.

These technologies were promised a while ago, we just need to make them work well. Any day now. Then tech progress can continue unchallenged by the needs of human sustenance.

On the other hand, the Amish approach has its own merits.

Re: Dear Marc Andreessen

#18

Post by rdl »

corford wrote: post #14
rdl wrote: post #11

I don't think pmarca is saying people are against robots per se, but against the efficiency-driven unemployment they see. I'm firmly on the side of pmarca and technology here -- I'd love to see virtually all crappy jobs today disappear, and we could find new and better things for those people to do (through the market, ideally, but I'd be open to Basic Income or other forms of wealth distribution if needed). I cannot…

I don't think that's really the point of al3x's post. I think it's more we should be very worried that someone with such a balck & white, infantile view of society and economy is in a position to throw billions of dollars at advancing his world view. I love technology but fear for the world we'll end up with if people like pmarca are left to pull the levers.

I would sure rather have pmarca pulling the levers rather than people like {politicians, bankers, ...}.

Re: Dear Marc Andreessen

#19

Post by cariss »

Technological innovation is driven by consumer demand to a much greater extent than the "decisions and whims" of billionaire VCs. If only it were that simple, r>g might actually be true.

This is crap.

Re: Dear Marc Andreessen

#20

Post by AngrySkillzz »

alaskamiller wrote: post #3

Tragic that we all inevitably grow up to replace the old outdated system we grew up rebelling, nee disrupting, against. Hunter S. Thompson said something profound and unique to his position. He remarked his biggest fear, and the man knows a thing or two about fear, was waking up to realization that the same people he went to high school with ended up running the show. Here we are. I'm at the same age now as when Marc…

Paul Graham is now the man.
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