Interesting article ravi...illustrating the contradictory forces involved in the development of technology under capitalism. There is one the one hand computing, which per-se calls out for standardization, raising accessibility to information, globalizing the exchange of ideas and technologies, and in effect raising the quality of information and skills. There is on the other hand capitalism, which in its privatizing drive, needlessly complicates the evolution of computing, moves the rate of exploitation several notches up, restricts acces to information, and concentrates control into fewer and fewer hands.
A few days ago half the people I work with (at Sun) were laid off. This had nothing to do with the quality of their work and everything to do with the way in which the technology and evolution of computing is being completely distorted by an economic system whose aims are completely counter to democratization and the freeing of information flows.
Computing could certainly reverse falling employment. And/Or it could cut our need to work in half. Computing under capitalism will never do either.
Joanna
