Paul Mason, economics editor at Britain’s Channel 4, has
an interesting piece on the evolution of capitalism in recent years. He
observes:
“Postcapitalism is
possible because of three major changes information technology has brought
about in the past 25 years. First, it has reduced the need for work, blurred
the edges between work and free time and loosened the relationship between work
and wages. The coming wave of automation, currently stalled because our social
infrastructure cannot bear the consequences, will hugely diminish the amount of
work needed – not just to subsist but to provide a decent life for all.
Second, information
is corroding the market’s ability to form prices correctly. That is because
markets are based on scarcity while information is abundant. The system’s
defence mechanism is to form monopolies – the giant tech companies – on a scale
not seen in the past 200 years, yet they cannot last. By building business models
and share valuations based on the capture and privatisation of all socially
produced information, such firms are constructing a fragile corporate edifice
at odds with the most basic need of humanity, which is to use ideas freely.
Third, we’re seeing
the spontaneous rise of collaborative production: goods, services and
organisations are appearing that no longer respond to the dictates of the
market and the managerial hierarchy. The biggest information product in the
world – Wikipedia – is made by volunteers for free, abolishing the encyclopedia
business and depriving the advertising industry of an estimated $3bn a year in
revenue.”