Migration is an unprecedented stress that will negatively effect both developing and modernized countries. Today's planet is so imbalanced that only 20% of the world's population live in the 30 or so modernized countries and they consume 85% of the goods and services. 3 billion people live on less than $2 a day, 1.2 billion on less that $1, and and several hundreds of millions live on less that $0.60 a day. 2 billion more are coming and almost all of those are going to be in developing countries, so it makes the urge to migrate to modernized countries a very pressing issue.
2. What is the major debate around the future of market-based economies?
The major debate is about how to balance the basic market-oriented approach with this or that regulatory feature or social safety policy.
3. How is this technological revolution different than previous technological revolutions and what two factors of production are now more important than capital, labor and raw materials?
This technological revolution is centered on low-cost telecommunications and information technologies whereas earlier technological revolutions were about transforming energy or transforming materials. It has made knowledge and creativity the number one factor of production instead of capital, labor, and raw materials.
4. What new service ideas have you had direct experience with? Drawing on your personal experience what are the benefits and drawbacks of these new service ideas?
Couldn't cell phones (now smart phones) be considered "a product that is a more of a service?" Think about how you pay for the phone itself but also, you're paying a monthly bill for all of the things that phone can do - call and talk to other people, send texts, and access to the internet, along with purchasing apps. And, with the bundling, if you purchase more than one line and phone, it could become a better deal for the person paying the bill. I don't really see anything wrong with this, because paying for a service is something we should do. You pay your server for taking care of you when you go out to eat, right? You pay a doctor to check you out and make sure you're healthy. You pay the mechanic to fix your car. These are all services, just like Internet, cell phones, cable, cars, etc they all require a service that you should have to pay for.
Quote:
"An example of bundling to come: multi-use smart cards with biometric data that would serve simultaneously as identity cards; airport security devices; credit or debit cards; frequent flyer, hotel, and care rental cards; telephone cards; medical insurance cards; and even voter registration."
Response:
Again, this frightens me. Although this book was written 10 years ago and that still hasn't really happened, it doesn't mean that it won't. I know there was some crazy talk about chips being placed in humans to keep all of their information in one place. That is so scary! For example, when I was in high school, they required us to have our fingerprints scanned in so that we could rid of lunch cards and lunch numbers and they would just have your finger scanned instead. I hid in the library while everyone else got their fingers scanned because I didn't like the thought of the school having my fingerprint on file. Why can't we just use a lunch card? Our fingerprints are part of our identity and it just didn't settle well with me. But, that's slightly off topic. Having one card that does and contains all of that information may sound appealing in theory, but think about if you misplace it. That's a lot of information and very important stuff you just lost. That must be why someone thought to place a chip with that information into bodies, that way you can never lose it....creepy stuff.
Slightly dramatic, but this image is from an article "Is a 'human barcode' on the way?" by NY Daily News.
Sources:
Rischard, J. F. (2002). High noon: 20 global problems, 20 years to solve them. (pp. 3-23). New York, New York: Basic Books.
I think you are raising important issues about identity and control! I find this stuff creepy too! We to educate our children about these issues so as a society we can be sure we are making the right choices!
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