I didn't mean to be snobby, I meant to be very clear that I hope people don't submit this kind of thing to this site, be it left or right wing. I follow a lot of economics 'blogs', but pretty much refrain from posting them here. I think they're interesting, but off topic, and likely to lead to even more off topic discussions.
But I think this is on topic for the simple fact that most people here I would classify as being interested in working on or eventually starting a startup. Which I think they hope will either sell a product, or have an IPO or get bought out.
So whether you like it or not, your dream of a startup is dependent on the macro-system.
The reason I posted this is because I'm in the same boat. I've been trying to put together a startup, I've had training in economics, and I was sort of brainwashed to believe growing up that hard work = success and good idea = market adaption and people at the top = hard work and good ideas.
This view of the world that people at the top dominate certain market mechanisms and they do so because they take advantage of disaster and face no natural competition and opposition makes me pause and think about my own experience and I thought it might be food for thought for others.
For example, why should I work hard to present an idea that I hope will beat competition and be adopted democratically in a free market system because it's the better idea, when there's a good chance that the eventual winner will be a well-connected group that sneaks it's market entry in when I'm scared and distracted because, say, terrorists run amock in my city?
If that's the way the world works, then ALL free market endeavor is lost because the system will tend to collapse because there will be no motivation to compete in a system where winners don't compete but rather cause problems for their competition and sneak solutions while we're all distracted and putting out fires.
That affects everyone - including programmers.
Last week it was "Do you watch t.v." that was most popular. I suppose it's relevant for hackers, but then again t.v. gets in the way of everyone's productivity, so it's relevant for everyone.
Ås for the Castro debates, no I didn't watch them since I don't have closed-circuit cuban government controlled t.v.
May I ask how the hell you saw them and know their contents living in Austria as you claim to do?
Sad. I pity such people then.
There is a world of things out there that is quite fascinating and interesting and very relevant. Indeed, that world is far, far larger than the slice of it that this site focuses on. So much larger, that if everyone were to bring their own personal interests, politics, economics, and so forth here, it might well wreck the community, as has happened elsewhere.
This does not mean that I or others are not concerned or interested in that world, it means that by choosing to focus on our common ground, it keeps the quality higher.
But since you'd get offended by such things being outside the immediate realm of programming, I'll refrain from posting it so people can concentrate on hacking while the world economy spirals out of control.
Of course, it will be hard to hack if economies collapse and the power grid goes off, but that's another off-topic discussion.