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Zusammenfassung von Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus

Name: Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus
Rating: 4 (25 reviews)
Author: Douglas Rushkoff

Douglas Rushkoff

How Growth Became the Enemy of Prosperity

4 (25 Bewertungen)

15 Min.

Kurz zusammengefasst

Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus by Douglas Rushkoff explores why the current economic system is failing and how we can rethink it for a better future. Rushkoff argues that focusing on growth at all costs is hurting society and suggests alternative approaches.

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What’s in it for me? Discover the downside of the digital revolution.

Google’s motto is “Don’t Be Evil.” But does the tech giant abide by its mantra? Many people living in San Francisco feel the company has betrayed its do-gooder philosophy. Why?

With the tech boom in the Bay Area, many historic neighborhoods in San Francisco experienced skyrocketing rents as well-paid techies moved in and teachers and public servants – people who earned much less – were forced out.

This growing crisis came to a head with the advent of “Google buses.” The tech giant used publicly funded bus stops to load employees on to private, air-conditioned buses to make the commute down the peninsula. Protests broke out, and in Oakland, locals even threw rocks at the buses.

But the conflict wasn’t just about a private bus, it was about the gap between haves and have-nots, the unequal distribution of societal benefits.

That’s what these blinks are about. The digital economy is creating growth for people who already have money, while the rest of us just gets poorer. These blinks offer a brief history of industrialization, showing how business has always been about keeping elites in status and power.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

why online commerce is unfair to small businesses;
why reducing working hours actually makes people more productive and happier; and
how one Massachusetts county makes its own money.

The greed for growth has driven elites to exploit the working classes since the Medieval period.

There was once a time when a person had to either make or sell any product on the market. If you sat down at a restaurant, for example, you had to order your meal from a waiter. These days, you can go to McDonalds and order a burger from a self-service stand.

What does that mean for employees? People all over are losing their jobs. A company’s relentless pursuit of growth is essentially taking jobs away from people.

Computers are often scapegoated for the decline in jobs, but really, it’s our greed for growth that is to blame. Businesses are so eager to expand that they replace people with cheaper machines whenever possible.

How did we get here? Why do we as a society rely on such a small number of rich companies for employment and economic prosperity?

The answer to this question starts with the Middle Eastern bazaar system, an open market for exchanging goods and ideas. Europeans who took part in the Crusades brought this market idea back with them to Europe.

The introduction of open markets led to rapid economic growth in Europe as well as the expansion of a merchant class, people with the ability to exchange products and services directly, without middlemen.

A craftsman, for example, could go to a market and buy oats directly from a peasant for a price equal to its real value, since there was no longer the need to pay a commission to a grain dealer.

As the merchant class grew wealthier, however, the aristocratic class started to lose both wealth and clout. So they developed monopolies, which led to the top-down economic system we still use today. They essentially killed the open market by granting certain companies exclusive rights in the industry in exchange for a share of their profits, curtailing trade in the bazaars.

This eventually led to our modern system of markets, in which workers earn wages from market-controlling companies, rather than trading directly from one another.

The digital marketplace removes human selection, allowing bots to determine our tastes and choices.

An open market gives each individual both the opportunity to sell any product or purchase any product. The digital marketplace should do the same, yet instead, it has just made big companies even bigger.

In fact, online commerce ensures that only a few companies can effectively reach the largest pools of customers. Wired CEO Chris Anderson once predicted that online commerce would enable smaller companies to promote products and services more easily, yet in reality this has not been the case.

Crowd-sharing platforms are about selling – not sharing – and they’re hurting real businesses.

In school, you were taught that “sharing is caring.” If you have an object or tool that someone else might find useful, sharing it with that person is the right thing to do.

Today the internet is chock-full of crowd-sharing apps, or platforms that allow people to share goods or services online.

Money used to expedite trade became a means for elites to generate even more wealth for themselves.

Let’s say you’re at the supermarket and want a bar of chocolate. Instead of paying for it with cash, however, you have to offer another item or service for it. Maybe you trade a cup of coffee for the chocolate bar, or offer to post a letter for someone.

This is how trade worked in the Middle Ages. But the system wasn't efficient, as not every “buyer” had something a “seller” would want. To overcome this problem, currencies were invented.

We don’t need to work over 40 hours a week! Flexible working time means happier workers.

It's normal to work long hours, but while long days at the office may help a company grow, it takes a toll on a worker’s health and quality of life.

We could make our lives more enjoyable as well as protect the planet by reducing work hours. The 40- hour work week is no longer necessary.

A return to local currencies within communities would make money a means again, not just a goal.

Officials of Berkshire County in Massachusetts have done something unusual. They've created a local currency, called Berkshares. The “exchange rate” is 100 Berkshares to $95.

Local currencies such as Berkshares are great, as they foster money circulation in local communities and make money a means again rather than a goal in and of itself.

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Worum geht es in Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus?

Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus (2013) explores society’s unhealthy relationship with money, as it transformed from a means to facilitate trade to a goal in itself. The rise of digital markets has done little to improve the situation. These blinks explore the history of money and offer practical solutions to help local communities make money work again for everyone.

Bestes Zitat aus Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus

Instead of selling their wares, people now sold their hours.

—Douglas Rushkoff

Wer Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus lesen sollte

Workers concerned about losing a job to a machine
Students exploring sociology, history, economics or politics
Entrepreneurs

Über den Autor

Douglas Rushkoff is a bestselling author, teacher and documentarian, and won the Media Ecology Association’s first Neil Postman award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity. He is a professor of media theory and digital economics at CUNY Queens and a technology and media commentator for CNN.

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