The Zero Marginal Cost Society

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-iDUcETjvo

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 - [1], but can't find similar data for the USA.
  • Music sales - [2]
  • 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, essentially, because it costs something - an exchange of energy and materials of some sort - to convert one form of substance to another. For example, zero marginal cost of housing is unrealistic because a lot of energy and material goes into a house. But we want to retain the concept of 'zero marginal cost' even in housing. The more relevant term may be Abundance Marginal Cost - the notion that additional units are lower cost, but somebody still has to pay for them. The question is who. A fair way on OSE grounds would be that people have access to knowhow via openness, materials and resources via Open Sector Enterprise, and the general ability to convert their ideas and work into useful product by unleashed access to open productivity. The notion of 'labor' goes away - the concept that some toil for the gain of others. 'Ideas and work' allow one to capture the full worth of their effort, which should be a part of their liberation. That means that everybody works for themselves - is effectively self-employed. That is a far cry for responsibility, but it is possible.

TLDR; Abundance marginal cost is when the cost to produce something, based on transparent and accessible prior art and Open Sector resources - allows the production of anything at the absolute minimum cost. If lifetime design is considered, than that cost is clearly 10x lower than current costs for just about anything, but especially for complex product ecosystems.

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