The Economy of Stuff is the economy that the global system has been based on since at least the 1950's. It is the economy of the consumer, the economy of things at the lowest possible cost. It is the economy of consumption, the economy of the disposable, the economy of the maker and sellers of things.
The difficulty is twofold, of course. On the one hand, in order to keep making things at a low cost jobs end up moving from place to place. Places that made things are replaced by other places that make things more cheaply. For those that remain, the work they have is replaced - hopefully with something, but sometimes with nothing. One the other hand, the drive to sell things as cheaply as possible ultimately leads to cheap ways to sell things: small stores are replaced by big stores, bigger stores by chains, and chains by stores on the Internet that can ship things from far away.
Eventually, of course people have more stuff than they need. And we are making all the stuff we can. Then comes the next shift, the Economy of Ideas.
The Economy of Ideas is somewhat more nebulous. It still involves the creation and sale of things, but the things are nebulous, tools that help us accomplish things: software, designs, plans. They are higher value things that ultimately help to do lower value things.
But there is a catch here as well: ideas cannot be eaten. They do not directly result in things that can be used. And they require a fairly large infrastructure of support to make those jobs possible. And, there are a finite amount of people that can do them due to the education and skill levels required.
What do we end up with? A society that has started to reach the final point of consumption where it consciously starts to stop consuming. A society where those who perform lower skilled jobs are replaced by the indirect fruits of those who work in the economy of ideas: automatic checkouts instead of checkers or even no stores at all, just sorters and delivery drivers (and this, of course, discounts the field of robotics, which at some point will find its stride - and whole new swaths of career fields will become obsolete). A society where you may have fewer and fewer wealthy and more and more poor, but a society which is also largely paid for by those wealthy.
Do I pine for a return to the old days of "handmade" On the whole, no - I like convenience and the Economy of Ideas has brought things to my life I could have never imagined. But economically there are causes and effects: those out of work buy neither the Economy of Stuff nor the Economy of Ideas. And the economy ideas often relies on the economy of stuff to accomplish what it is producing.
If neither side thinks of the other, I am not sure how it ultimately turns out - except that, oddly enough, neither the Economy of Stuff nor the Economy of Ideas can exist without the other.
Years ago, when I was still at home, I used to wonder how the car manufacturers could make so many cars every year. How many people would(could) buy a new car every year?
ReplyDeleteYour post makes me think of that again.
Too much stuff. Sometimes I wish there was more handmade; because when the global economy crashes - as I think it must - someone will need to know how to make the stuff again. If that makes sense.
Good post!
Are you a computer geek, TB? I'm asking because I still don't know what 'firmware' is. I am forbidden by law from programming and that's probably a good thing. Guys like me should probably stick to pneumatics.
ReplyDeleteI believe there's always a way to make a buck. We are moving toward a service economy - sure, you can buy widgets cheaper elsewhere - but can your provider look after you the way I can, as a supplier? The cheapest product is not necessarily the least expensive - and that is what many consumers are finding out the hard way.
There is always a way to compete - and the man that takes that tack will always get the better of the man that doesn't.
Thanks Linda! We have truly become a disposable economy; planned obsolescence (such as the I-Phone, for example) have become the practice of the day.
ReplyDeleteI have become much more selective in my purchases as well. Seldom - except for things I expect to wear out or go through like socks and underwear - do I purchase mass produced any more.
And yes, barring the survival of 3-D printing, we will all have to learn to make something.
Glen, I am actually beneath computer person. I am the lowest of the low, a paperwork reviewer.
ReplyDelete(Firmware, as I understand it, is the "software" on your computer or other electronic device that is built in and allows it to run.)
I like your analysis of the service economy. I have never thought of it that way before. To me, service economy reeks of fast food and manning the cash register - but you are right, in an economy of things that are almost alike, service will be the decider (although knowing how to make something is not all bad either).
Forbidden from programming...thanks for the chuckle!
3-D printing. Now there is magic...
ReplyDeleteIt is, Linda. And assuming we do not destroy ourselves, we are merely scratching the surface.
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