There is a popular myth around that says our world is changing, fast [see photo].
The truth is all the change today is a mere extension of what we already have. Perhaps the proof is the fact that driverless cars are here. The impact of these new forms of personal transport is slight unless, or until, we include the idea of permanent car sharing and rentals. Under these new car sharing schemes; some families will own a car which they rent to others when they are not using it. And thus some people will never own a car as they prefer to use an Uber type system of carpools to meet their demand for transport. And the good news is that the cost per mile falls from US 0.70 cents to US 0.25. Wow! That is a great change, right? Well yes... this could create a major change in the cost of personal transport. But....
This notion of change [in the means of personal transport] far exceeds the near-term probability that these new arrangements will be available to everyone. For instance, the availability of this new system [primarily based on electric vehicles] to middle, or low, income families will be a slow roll-out. This system requires a whole new infrastructure as plug-in terminals replace petrol stations. We need a whole new system for maintaining these vehicles. This change is happening; however, this is slow moving change. But...
Here is the rub.... All this change to the personal transport will merely lock-down our current lifestyles. If we live in the suburbs we will be driven around by a car with no driver. However... that does not change the infrastructure [roads, electricity distribution, financial instruments, etc] required to support this new system of driverless cars. So much of the change we see happening around the world today merely extends what we have had for a hundred years or more. The fact is that nothing much is really changing in our lives. Perhaps the real reason we are content to be ruled [government, corporate, media, etc] by the most unimpressive, and incompetent, people to hold power for a long long time. Thus our world has stagnated.
Richard.
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