I'd imagine this technology having the potential to enable many people to perhaps start businesses much more easily or cheaply. Is it possible to imagine every single human being a self employed business? Could the economy work that way?
This is the dark side of making products cheaper for consumers. It will always require consolidation to keep having a margin while the products more and more accessible.
There are a couple of friction points with regards to technology and that is dependence on local workforce and industries where people are always looking for a better solution and in areas without any benefits for automation.
But there is no need for more than one taxi company once the cars become self-driving.
What leads you to that conclusion? I'm not saying you are wrong (who knows) but I'm curious how you reached it.
I can't decide whether the transition is likely to be evolutionary or revolutionary, I think a lot of it will come down to how it's handled over the period.
- power is extremely centralized in our Western society and the mechanisms of conservation are much more sound than in the past, because...
- ...the "masses" are generally richer, therefore less prone to really feel a urge to overthrow the current setting. We all have much more to lose, if you want, than the people that took part in revolutions in the past.
- ideologies strong enough to bypass the previous reasons are basically dead
The only sudden transition could come from a planetary war or global-level event (even natural disaster), but the tipping point of our current equilibrium, in my opinion, is much harder to reach today, thanks to technology, global communications, the role of the Media and the intertwined financial interests of all nations.
I'm sorry, but WHAT? Loyalty towards brands is at an all time high. People want personal treatment. Also, we live in a service-based economy, not a product-based one. This makes carving out a niche for yourself even easier.
There are thousands of advertising agencies but only a handful owners of those. There are millions of products but only a few owners like Proctor&Gamle, Johnsons & Johnson etc. This trend of consolidation will continue.
Your comment about advertising agencies is very ignorant. You have no idea what you're talking about there. This leads me to believe you just like to talk nonsense on the internet. That's why I'm stopping the conversation here.
The one and only mention of "free markets" in the book occurs in a description of protectionist restrictions on trade imposed by manufacturers of finished goods -- ensuring no competing imports of foreign products but a cheap supply of raw materials.