S.

Writing things
of a frivolous nature.

Paul Mason on PostCapitalism

Paul Mason discusses PostCapitalism and how the digital revolution will create a third economic sector which will affect how we work and generate an income.

A few notes from the talk:

  • The American median wage for men is the same in 2008 as it was in 1973.
  • Wages are suppressed which creates a rise in credit and this in turn creates a boom/bust cycle. 3 of which we have experienced in the past 15 years.
  • In the current economic model things which can be copied (e.g. digital music, software, information) should be free as they take very little materials or labour to re-create. Companies have artificially created scarcity.
  • Information delinks work from wages. We will no longer have to work to time but to targets and work can be modular.
  • Fear of automation means we create jobs which don't need to exist.
  • We used to wash our cars in automated car-washes but these are being undercut by cheap labour.
  • There has been an evolution of large companies to create barriers around information products (iTunes).
  • There has been a creation of a new sector which is not state or private but is built around products being offered for free, volunteering and co-operatives.

“If we all open-sourced our stuff then the leading edge of what is valuable, that has ultra-value, that is innovative would be far more identifiable.”

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