Notes

Disruptive 3D Technology Considered
The other day our think tank was discussing the challenges of 3-D printing and how "Capitalism will quickly suffer damage when 3D printing starts to affect the retail distribution chain." Consider if you will that down the road people will be 3D printing in the home using carbon composite layering graphene, metallic materials, plastics, ceramic materials, etc. - people don't need to go to a retail store to get cheap products, they can merely print them in their living room. What about the jobs at the major retailers, what about the management in retail, the buyers, truck drivers, warehouse staff? Those jobs gone?

When does this happen - as 3D printing technology matures. How fast will that happen - as fast as it takes for people to print out the brand new evolutions of these 3D printers at home. Put simply, the technology will outpace the power of the markets to react. Capitalism is great at eliminating losers. The thing is that retail is a loser almost overnight (10-15 years). Enjoy watching the few remaining Macy's Thanksgiving Day parades.

One think tanker who leans left-politically suggested that "We need to prepare government to step in and soften the coming economic shocks. more info with no hope of finding work will need food, shelter and health care."

Not fast, my capitalist brain screams - you see, yes, disruptive technology always threatens the incumbents in the market-place, but that's okay, if the free-market is working right, everything re-adjusts. If we've crony capitalism subsidizing, or governments nationalizing to prop up dying industries that's whenever we have problems.

In socialism the leaders who use populist themes have to go with mob rule to bail-out or subsidize such old tech against the onslaught of the brand new. In free-market capitalism there will be shocks to the machine, however the system can realign on its own and continue forward. Printing Press, Cotton Gin, TV, Air travel, cell phones, computers, etc. and yes, what comes next will also disrupt and if companies like Boeing have anything to say "It will fly like nothing else, and GE, DuPont, and other companies will buy up the innovators and make it part of the home based business units to carry on.

Why bother propping up things such as video rental stores or one-hour photo developing franchises? I assume, I've more belief in free markets, mostly in hindsight. Nonetheless it will only work if we leave our hands from it. Price controls, minimum wage laws, subsidies, each of them distort free markets, I worry more about this more than another new thing on the bleeding age in age Singularity and the Internet of things. Think on this.

Lance Winslow has launched a fresh provocative series of eBooks on Innovation in the us. Lance Winslow is really a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the web Think Tank; http://www.worldthinktank.net.
Website: https://www.metooo.io/u/6439780b3defb04df8498557