The part that gets me is the insistence on technology-as-purely-good-and-beneficial and an obsession with population growth (if you’ve not read to the end: yes, the population-growth stuff drops off a little in the middle, but by the end “obsession” is definitely a fair characterization) without ever addressing that technology is the reason population growth is leveling off.
I disagree with basically all of what he was getting at with those things, but the pointed failure to even note the tension there was downright funny by the end. Putting aside my material disagreements with the whole thrust of that argument, it’s just comically inept on its own terms.
“Technology is one of three ways to increase production, and another is population growth… uh, actually, I just noticed, as the alert reader may have, that that whole bit was dumb, it’s just technology… also population growth especially is very good… what do you mean, ‘and why is population growth declining’?”
What's funny about this is that another way to increase production is to improve conditions for working class people - free college, free medical care, protections against speculation on housing to allow for affordable housing, better transit options and urban design... these political choices would dramatically improve our operational abilities as a country, but wealthy people like Andreessen tend to oppose measures like this in favor of laissez faire policies. This ultimately limits his ability to serve as the visionary he clearly would like to be.
I disagree with basically all of what he was getting at with those things, but the pointed failure to even note the tension there was downright funny by the end. Putting aside my material disagreements with the whole thrust of that argument, it’s just comically inept on its own terms.
“Technology is one of three ways to increase production, and another is population growth… uh, actually, I just noticed, as the alert reader may have, that that whole bit was dumb, it’s just technology… also population growth especially is very good… what do you mean, ‘and why is population growth declining’?”