Is technology the whore of capitalism?

From Huffington Post comes a movie review for War, Inc. that asks a fascinating question.

The promise of technology was to relieve us of onerous labors, leaving us more time for delight and relaxation. Instead, technology has provided new onerous labors to replace the old, placed greater production demands on the laborer, or left unemployed and poor those it has rendered unnecessary to production.

What the hell, Technology? Why did you break your promise?

Come to think of it, where did you get off making such a ludicrous promise in the first place? How exactly was free time going to be redistributed in a world of every-man-for-himself capitalism?

What da hell wuz you thinkin'?

Here's his thought provoking answer to his own question

Did technology really think we would all be socialists by now? Silly goose. Is that why it made those promises it couldn't keep?

Read the rest. It's an interesting idea.

He speculates about the influence of technology in the development of capitalism (and war). Technology makes it cheaper to produce with fewer workers but that savings disappears into a capitalists pocket. Our ancestors seemed to think that technology would encourage social equality. A lot of technogeeks today would agree. So far it doesn't seem to be working. Instead technology encourages capitalism. Which encourages inequality. Which encourages war. Which encourages technology...

I never realized that my lost leisure time has been out making war.

goodies from Cagle's cartoon page

Doc Savage!

Talk about serendipity. I've been reading The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps recently and really enjoying all the tough guys and sharp broads and all the other fun cliches you only get in that kind of detective fiction. Normally I'm a sci-fi/fantasy reader, but detective stories are my first fallback so it makes sense that I would enjoy Doc Savage. If you haven't read any, DO. They're more fun than anything on TV. World-famous detective, also world-famous band of sidekicks, techno-toys, James Bond type villians (long before Bond), Doc Savage has everything. Think of a cross between Batman and Buckaroo Banzai. So when I found this marvelous site that reads, reviews, and rates the Doc Savage books I was like a kitten with a new toy. Now I know what to get when I finish the Black Lizard.

cash or credit?

Peter Schiff, president of money manager Euro Pacific Capital, warns that after years of profligate spending, the "chickens are finally coming home to roost".

"Our whole phony standard of living is imploding," he said. "We have borrowed and spent ourselves into oblivion."

"It's amazing that people can't figure out that America is broke."

courtesy of reuters