Interesting that you are R Mercer which is a moniker for another oligarch. I think we need to consider the history of the Robber Barons because there is this new bunch of them and they are very destructive. The old bunch were brought under control initially by the FDR Administration and a strongly Democratic Congress but subsequent Adm…
Interesting that you are R Mercer which is a moniker for another oligarch. I think we need to consider the history of the Robber Barons because there is this new bunch of them and they are very destructive. The old bunch were brought under control initially by the FDR Administration and a strongly Democratic Congress but subsequent Administrations, both Republican and Democratic and the accompanying Congresses allowed the Robber Barons to gain power again. I would love to see this new batch of Robber Barons put in their place.
They excuse their destruction in the name and cause of creating a better future--of disrupting the way things are to create a better way (because obviously anything they do or create is better because they are geniuses).
This has always been the nature of progress--for the most part. We have always been good at the destruction part but have usually not managed it or the disruption well. In the good old days, it was YOUR fault that your job went away because things changed. You weren't obviously smart enough to look ahead to something that nobody else actually foresaw.
There is a little bit of help these days, but not enough and not thoughtful enough (and not supported enough).
Unregulated/unthoughtful (from a societal perspective) change is disruptive and dangerous. Change (especially rapid change whose only concern is profit) creates massive problems. Witness all of the unintended consequences of the digital revolution--especially social media.
But thought and regulation would get in the way of progress (and most importantly, the accumulation of massive wealth). This is largely a repeat of the Robber Baron era, only with a different technology base. We did not learn the lessons the first time and apparently are not learning them this time either.
Interesting that you are R Mercer which is a moniker for another oligarch. I think we need to consider the history of the Robber Barons because there is this new bunch of them and they are very destructive. The old bunch were brought under control initially by the FDR Administration and a strongly Democratic Congress but subsequent Administrations, both Republican and Democratic and the accompanying Congresses allowed the Robber Barons to gain power again. I would love to see this new batch of Robber Barons put in their place.
It's my actual name, but I am no relation :P
They excuse their destruction in the name and cause of creating a better future--of disrupting the way things are to create a better way (because obviously anything they do or create is better because they are geniuses).
This has always been the nature of progress--for the most part. We have always been good at the destruction part but have usually not managed it or the disruption well. In the good old days, it was YOUR fault that your job went away because things changed. You weren't obviously smart enough to look ahead to something that nobody else actually foresaw.
There is a little bit of help these days, but not enough and not thoughtful enough (and not supported enough).
Unregulated/unthoughtful (from a societal perspective) change is disruptive and dangerous. Change (especially rapid change whose only concern is profit) creates massive problems. Witness all of the unintended consequences of the digital revolution--especially social media.
But thought and regulation would get in the way of progress (and most importantly, the accumulation of massive wealth). This is largely a repeat of the Robber Baron era, only with a different technology base. We did not learn the lessons the first time and apparently are not learning them this time either.
:) Agree with you that we did not learn the lessons the first time and I don’t see evidence that we are learning them this time either.