The techno-optimist manifesto

Coming from Marc Andreessen, it’s worth a read.
Seems kind of over-the-top to me, but he does have a point.
Maybe the pessimism he sees all around is because so many of ‘them’ feel increasingly left out, and it scares them?

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This is like the modern day Steve Ballmer “DEVELOPERS, DEVELOPERS, DEVELOPERS, …” :rofl:

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Here is a (slightly NSFW) retort:

So why bother writing it all out, especially as a 5,000-word statement of purpose placed on the front page of your website? One obvious reason is marketing.

Marketing and attention for sure. I like the manifesto, but the timing indicates it might be written out of desperation. I keep reading about startups failing, high interest rates, etc. Cloud profits down.

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This might be a simple coincidence with the current economic cycle (edit: because the sentiment in the Andreseen blog post is nothing new).
But yes, the marketing efforts of a single person/company should be clearly distinct from the developer’s interests, IMO.

There is a large codependence between start-ups and the venture capitalists.

So when when you read the punchline at the end:

It’s time to be a Techno-Optimist.
It’s time to build.

The first thing that comes to mind is the VC’s are in trouble, start-ups are floundering, and lots of somethings need to be created and monetized for the whole thing to sustain itself.

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I’m not so sure. Like the Koch bros (although not necessarily from the same politics), I think he is playing a longer-term cultural/philosophical-warfare game here.

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Marc Andreessen, briefly:

I love the nine tenths of the law that defends my property rights without regard for injustice, but I really hate that other tenth.

In all seriousness, it’s an idiotic article. The man doesn’t seem to realise that regulatory law is also a technology.

Is totaly possible write the truth for selfish goals.

The Manifest in one thing and the autor intentions behind is other thing.

If I discovery the cure of cancer because i have the intention to be the new secretary of the WHO my discovery still saving lifes besides my selfish intentions.

For me the Manifest is a really good philosophical view about the technology and the society.