Societies emerge at different speeds. America once was an agrarian based society. In fact, Thomas Jefferson noted on the State of Virginia, that the United States be founded on an agrarian ideology. He certainly recognized the need for some domestic industry, but believed the vast land of America could be and should be utilized by farming.
Then America emerged with the industrial revolution. Farming is hard work and many saw the potential of working in the factory and on the assembly line. Their individual economy would also become more stable. Other countries could produce certain foods and trade became more established as we industrialized.
America was the industrial capital of the world and the bread-basket of the world.
Today we design. We create instruments and processes. We do methods engineering that is precise and transferable.
We rely on others to actually manufacture the widgets we design.
We also realize that emerging economies create broader consumer bases. Free market capitalism.
When you hear the utterings of unfair competition, beware, that is always a cry for special privilege and always at the expense of the consumer.
America is becoming a platform based society. A digital platform, an information platform, a delivery platform and an advanced agrarian platform. These platforms all benefit society and expand a consumer base and bring us higher on the economic spiral.
The agrarian platform is of special interest to me as it combines my technology, LED science, bioscience and plant morphology into vertical farming that is not subject to environmental issues, is free of pests and pesticides and is community based. The agrarian platform is transferable anywhere in the world regardless of climate. And that is good for a free market that benefits the consumer.
As an American manufacturer, we can virtually manufacture around the world. We design the manufacturing platforms with its monitoring processes, policies and protocols. These platforms give us the ability to focus on advancing science and innovative engineering, all of which benefit the consumer.
Competition is what benefits the consumer. I compete against LED companies for the consumer dollar and in order for me to be successful I must do so on price, quality and innovation.
Progressive advancements we should not fear but embrace. What might seem oppressive might actually be liberating.
A short story.
I met a truck driver recently and struck a conversation. I asked him what he thought about autonomous driving trucks. He was infuriated. His proclamation that the trucking industry was the backbone of our country and that autonomous driving trucks would destroy the industry and the country at large. In his opinion, this technology is harmful.
Until;
I asked him what kind of tractor he drove and he answered proudly, “I have a 2019 Peterbilt 579 with an enhanced sleeper. Really comfortable.” I asked how many hours a day he drives and how much was the rig worth. He told me he drives 11 hours a day and gets a good night’s sleep and it was worth about $140,000.
I said to him, “Why don’t you trade her in and buy an autonomous truck that you could monitor from your kitchen table and that it could drive 24/7?” Then I said, “You could buy another autonomous truck and monitor it also from your kitchen table and it too will drive 24/7.”
I told him he could increase his revenue because now his truck can drive constantly, deliver faster, do long runs and give greater value to his customers without him having to leave his home.
Suddenly he started to see what he could do. He saw the potential. He saw his own liberation through technology and the information platform. He saw everyone winning. Products would get to their destination faster and cheaper. He could grow his routes. He could move up.
He came to realize that free market capitalism provides benefits to all.
The future that angered or frightened him he now embraced.
We, the human race, are really identical. We’re curious. We like what others have. We want to advance and we want to liberate from strife. We want our children to have a better life than even we.
We thrive on competition. We thrive on innovation. We are a civilization that continues to thrive. And there is no better way than having freedom to choose and a free market to operate in.