Читать книгу The Unintended Consequences of Technology - Chris Ategeka - Страница 19

Capitalism is based on the legal right to private property and the ability to pass on wealth to future generations. Capitalists argue that a capitalist society is fair because you gain the rewards of your hard work. But often people are rich simply because they inherit wealth or are born into a privileged class. Therefore, a capitalist society not only fails to create equality of outcome but also fails to provide equality of opportunity. Inequality creates social division. Societies that are highly unequal create resentment and social division. They do not last.

For example, in late 2013 we saw the rise of “tech bus protests” in the San Francisco Bay area, where unhappy community-based activists threw eggs and other objects at the shuttle buses used to transport employees of local giant tech companies. These protests became widely publicized. The tech buses were called “Google buses,” although that term is pars pro toto (part of the whole), in that many other tech companies such as Apple, Facebook, Yahoo, and Genentech also have private shuttle services. The buses were used to ferry only tech company employees from their homes in San Francisco and Oakland to corporate campuses in Silicon Valley, about 40 miles (64 km) south.

The people involved in the protests viewed the buses as symbols of gentrification and displacement in a city where rapid growth in the tech sector and insufficient new housing construction led to increasing rent and housing prices, where natives and residents are getting pushed out.

I predict that soon we will see a larger metaphorical “egging” of big tech companies. It's obscene for one man to have $200 billion dollars while a single mom of three holds three jobs at $7.50 an hour, working for that same man as she attempts to make ends meet. It is also obscene that in 2019, the average top CEO's pay increased 14% from 2018 to $21.3 million. Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google's parent company, Alphabet, earned $280,621,552 in total compensation—more than 1,000 times the income of a median company employee (As You Sow, 2021).

Some people would argue that the wealthy person worked hard and created the company, so they deserve all this reward. Also, if they hadn't created the company, this mom wouldn't have the job she has. The rich represent the “hard work” of years of sacrifice from themselves, their families, and others around them. Is it fair to say these people deserve their money because they worked hard for it? This is a fair argument, and is in fact one of the biggest incentives of capitalism.

However, I counter that argument with a question: is it possible for the wealthy person to get disproportionately large payouts for all their hard work without paying starvation wages to their employees? Or is it possible to have an equitable redistribution of that wealth among all parties involved in creating it? I think it's possible! I and many others would love to see more of this thinking put into practice.

But many people see the opposite. As of this writing, monopolies, acquisitions, and consolidations have seen Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet (Google) rise to what is now worth a combined net worth of $4 trillion. This is not sustainable. It's not a matter of if; it's a matter of when. Residents will become increasingly resentful of this type of company and their leaders' resource hoarding, leading to an “egging” of some form or another. This will lead to the breakup of big tech into smaller entities. It will not be sexy or cool to be that big anymore.

Some capitalists argue that it is a good thing for people to be able to earn more and more. However, this ignores the diminishing marginal utility of wealth. A billionaire who gets an extra million sees little increase in economic welfare, but that $1 million spent on healthcare would provide a much bigger increase in social welfare.

Perhaps this is the reason we do need to reform or replace the capitalistic market altogether. One thing is true—we need to rethink the incentive structures that align well with humanity and our planet. What if there was a cap on how much money one can make through capitalism? Let's say that number is $2 billion. Then we would name a dog park after you with a sign that says, “You Won Capitalism.” Any subsequent dollars you make past the cap, you spend it on lifting people out of poverty and taking care of the planet. The more you do of the latter, the more street cred you get in society.