[ExI] Transhumanism and Politics

spike spike66 at att.net
Sun Jan 27 07:03:04 UTC 2008


> On Jan 26, 2008, at 5:07 PM, Stathis Papaioannou wrote:
> > On 27/01/2008, spike <spike66 at att.net> wrote:
> >
> >> Governments are poor customers.
> >
> > I don't think arms manufacturers would agree with you.
> 
> 
> On what basis do you assert this?  The US used to have a 
> thriving arms industry with all the R&D paid for privately, 
> in large part because it was a free market... J. Andrew Rogers


J. Andrew has answered this far better than I could ever do myself.  He is
right on, as usual.  Governments are exasperating as customers, and the US
government is probably the very most exasperating.

Consider this micro-insight: in the heart of Silicon Valley is a Lockheeed
factory that makes products that may or may not be defense related.  It has
been shrinking steadily in the past 15 years.  Much of the original campus,
next to Moffett Field in Sunnyvale is now occupied by Yahoo and a collection
of internet fly-by-nights.  

In the past three years, Lockheeed's most profitable line of business has
been selling Sunnyvale real estate it once occupied.

spike


  







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