Foucaulf
Jr. Member
Posts: 1,050
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« on: September 13, 2014, 03:18:44 PM » |
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Most economic research these days deal with monopolistic competition and optimal contracts anyway. What Thiel's arguing is basically Schumpeter's argument for a right to monopoly, made about 70 years ago.
His whole analogy with restaurants is weird: PayPal may end up having more customers than any individual restaurant, but that doesn't mean the restaurant is satisfying some people's wants. Nor are restaurants exactly "fighting for survival," as it's clear there's differentiation between what they offer.
The idea of growth can be twisted in different ways by different people. As an accounting identity, a Silicon Valley startup that gets $10 million in revenue contributes as much to GDP as 100 new restaurants each earning $100000 in revenue. What is equivalent in accounting seems vastly different to a techno-utopian, which I find rather silly. Just because you think your idea will change the world doesn't mean everyone should flock toward it.
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