> Well, no...this is not what happens. Rather it is an back and forth --
> technical word is iterative -- process between consumers and producers,
> and computers only massage information to provide feedback as to what
> the totals are, what it means for relative valuations, etc. etc.
I find it especially interesting that the information culture, that alleged icon of unfettered capitalism, is saturated with information socialisms which operate very much like the above -- open source, copyleft, the 3D videogames, etc. Neil Manke's Half Life mods, for example, are astounding works of art, but created by a non-commercial group of coders and gamers. It's not the hegemonic tendency, but there's a creeping Parecon-ization at work in the information commons.
-- DRR