The Zero Marginal Cost Society
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-iDUcETjvo
book - https://foet.org/project/the-zero-marginal-cost-society/
OSE Mention
See Google Books - [1]
Comments
- The argument for zero marginal cost has significant limitations for hardware-intensive enterprises - such as roads. They cost $1M/mile to build, and $500k/mile to maintain per year!!! See Cost of Building Highways. How to reconcile? Maybe with better design, or transition to other technologies (such as non-contact highways with drones) - then the argument for zero marginal cost could hold. So this may be reconciled only via lifetime design technologies.
- This is an opportunity: how to translate zero marginal cost to the world of 'capital intensive physical goods'
- Did the book publishing industry get destroyed with the zero marginal cost of internet publishing? Certainly in Japan - [2], but can't find similar data for the USA.
- Music sales - [3]
- Open Source Ecology is mentioned on p. ____________
Critique
MJ sez - at present, the zero marginal cost society concept is an utter failure. While specif tech becomes cheaper, and indeed comes close to zero marginal cost (microprocessors, PV cells, solar electricity at 1 cent per kwhr if used locally, many materials (wheat costs 13 cents per pound, crude oil at 25 cents per pound) - the Cost of Living is constantly increasing. Savings from powerful technology do not translate to reduced cost of living, in general. The culprit is Aggregate Productivity and Centralization. As a result, Wealth Distribution and War persist as issues related to the Artificial Scarcity of zero marginal cost - ie, lack of good execution in delivering Integrated Zero Marginal Cost.
Evolution
Zero marginal cost is a myth in a remote sense, because it costs something - an exchange of energy and materials of some sort - to convert one form of substance to another. However, if the cost of the conversion of natural resources into the lifestuff of modern civilization can be achieved with open knowhow and near-free energy - then zero marginal cost for hardware can be achieved as well. OSE is working on such open knowhow. Near free energy is available from solar panels - at under 20 cents per watt today. Therefore, essential zero marginal cost can be achieved. Thus, Universal Basic Assets can be the new engine of progress, as opposed to Scarcity-Based Economics. Thus, Open Sector Enterprise, can become the new model that delivers Universal Basic Assets - and achieves Practical Post-Scarcity with ideologies replaced by the distributed raw power of efficient and humane production a la Drucker.
If Lifetime Design is added to the discussion, then the above is 10x more possible.