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Jurij Jukic's avatar

Forgive me for I have not read the article in its entirety yet, but a question comes to mind. Isn't technology this creativity you speak of? Yes, technology is a monster which eats everything, but it also does unlock new forms of economic activity. E.g. PayPal (and later Stripe) allowing online businesses to thrive, i.e. unlocking creativity which has not previously been able to be priced in the market. So the demand which is stimulated creates new tech, which in turn creates new demand proper. (If I have understood correctly your distinction between demand stimulation and creation). So this might be an argument that technological development makes capitalism not stagnate, but allows it to continue (even if there is a shadow economy which is necessary for it).

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O.G. Rose's avatar

That's an excellent comment, and I really appreciate you taking the time to read this! The point you just made is a central paradox of Belonging Again II, which is the question of under what conditions technology inspires creativity, and under which conditions it does not. In some cases, technology seems to train us into both consumption and creation, while in other cases we are only trained into consumption. Why this occurs, and how we might respond, are major inquires the book pursues. Again, thank you!

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