No one buys books
elysian.press/p/no-one-buys-booksEverything we learned about the publishing industry from Penguin vs. DOJ.
Tech doesn’t make our lives easier. It makes them faster
brettscott.substack.com/p/tech-doesnt-make-our-lives-easierBreaking through the illusion of convenience that's used to sell us automation
Maybe Treating Housing as an Investment was a Colossal, Society-Shattering Mistake
goodreason.substack.com/p/maybe-treating-housing-as-an-investmentThoughts on science, economics, politics, relationships. Not an expert.
The Dangers of Elite Projection
humantransit.org/2017/07/the-dangers-of-elite-projection.html(Leer en español aquí.) Elite projection is the belief, among relatively fortunate and influential people, that what those people find convenient or attractive is good for the society as a whole. Once you learn to recognize this simple mistake, you see it everywhere. It is perhaps the single most comprehensive barrier to prosperous, just, and […]
Markets in power
bam.kalzumeus.com/archive/markets-in-power/How physics and infrastructure combine to generate (ba dum bum) the power market.
We don’t have a hundred biases, we have the wrong model
worksinprogress.co/issue/biases-the-wrong-model/Behavioral economics has identified dozens of cognitive biases that stop us from acting 'rationally'. But instead of building up a messier and messier picture of human behavior, we need a new model.
Yanis Varoufakis on Crypto & the Left, and Techno-Feudalism
the-crypto-syllabus.com/yanis-varoufakis-on-techno-feudalism/Was that a good or a bad thing? Of course, it was good for a young person in Shenzhen who managed to earn $60k a year designing digital hats on his PC – instead of destroying his body in a sweatshop. The question, however, is: Could all workers in Shenzhen (and beyond) be rescued from sweatshops by migrating to a metaverse? The answer is: Not before we have robots working for all of us so that we can reproduce the material conditions of our lives. As long as we do not have these mech...
The Case Against Crypto
stephendiehl.com/blog/against-crypto.htmlHistory repeats itself first as tragedy and then as farce. The wild economic oscillations of yesterday’s gold standard is today’s dog meme mania. Human nature is remarkably invariant through the ages and if we don’t learn the lessons of history then we’re doomed to repeat the mistakes of past generations. This time around If we’re very lucky then crypto assets simply end in a market crash and a series of progressive New Deal-like reforms to our financial system. If we’re unlucky then...
Extreme poverty isn’t natural, it’s created — Jason Hickel
jasonhickel.org/blog/2021/3/28/extreme-poverty-isnt-natural-it-is-createdNew research questions the dominant narrative about long-term poverty trends.
Brexit stems from a civil war in capitalism – we are all just collateral damage | Brexit | The Guardian
theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/24/brexit-capitalismTo one sort of capitalist, the insecurity and chaos that Brexit will bring is horrifying. To the other, it is highly profitable
The economics of vending machines
thehustle.co/the-economics-of-vending-machines/[…] Ibanez’s YouTube channel, which chronicles his life as a vendor, boasts 362k subscribers and now earns more than his machines.