Several levels of hypocrisy in this Slate report on Google CEO Larry Page’s keynote and in Larry’s thoughts themselves of course. Google are in big business to make big money, and that involves competing “against” their competitors for sure. That’s the world which they (and we, and journo’s) inhabit. (Hat tip to Hugh McLeod @gapingvoid)
But one interesting point is the idea of a separate protected – physically segregated – nation or world.
It’s an aspect of Darwinian evolution that is often overlooked – but, progressive, diverse evolution can’t occur if the world in which species compete is a “single market”. Un-crossable mountain ranges, deserts, rivers and oceans are part of the global system of eco-systems. (It’s why enlightened members of the human species exercise artificial restraint in competing with other species that inhabit multiple eco-systems on the only planet we have. We are actually capable of crossing these physical barriers.) There have to be niches insulated from outside competition in order for new species to develop – this is not altruistic protection of existing species, but segregation of new advantageous mutations long enough to actually become a species (a distinct product in the market-place). Secure zones are needed for nurture (collaboration) as well as “nature” (tooth-and-claw dog-eat-dog free-for-all) and obviously when we’re talking about new mass market consumer technology species, that niche needs to be pretty large to be meaningful.
Changing the world requires collaboration unless your definition of changing the world is to replace everyone else’s world with your own. Last man standing is NOT the optimum game strategy for the majority.
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