[lbo-talk] Jayati Ghosh on the contradictory effects of tech change

[Shane Mage]

Quite right. But uber and airbnb are not the "middleman." The "middlemen" are those computer-based algorithms. What are uber and airbnb but opportunists skimming off the rents presently enjoyed, thanks to cartelization laws, by owners of hotels and taxi fleets? The problem is "Intellectual Property" law, which would come down very hard on anyone who "hacked and open sourced" those algorithms.  The  libertarian communist response should be to *support* uber, airbnb, et.al., against the "legal" assault by those cartels. And at the same time demand the socialization (open sourcing) of all "intellectual property" (with a cut-off valuation of, say, one million dollars to protect the livelihood of authors, composers, performers, et. al.) including, of course, all "trade secrets" without any cutoff. Then the necessary services enabled through those algorithms could be provided by consumer/producer cooperatives, as many and as varied as socially needed, with no legal restrictions at all except for  minimally necessary health, safety, and reliability standards!

On Feb 15, 2016, at 12:25 PM, JOANNA A. wrote:


> I think the programming behind uber and bnb is simple enough that it could be hacked together and open sourced and then indeed you'd eliminate the middleman or at least neutralize him.
> 
> Otherwise, neither are a good develpment
> 
> joanna
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> 
> 
>> On Feb 13, 2016, at 10:40 PM, JOANNA A. <123hop at comcast.net> wrote: 
>> 
>> I totally don't get how uber/airbnb gets rid of the middleman. They are the middleman. 
> 
> 
> I’d like to see fuller discussion on this point also. I can see where transaction costs are reduced by direct contact between buyer and seller, but the contact still has to be mediated to some degree by these new upstarts. Ghosh described these services as cutting out the middleman, and it seems to be generally accepted among economists, but I’ve yet to see this assumption developed in any detail.