That was predicted decades ago, when telecommuting was hyped, and the opposite happened.
Yes, I agree with this. But a lot of trends stop and then reverse themselves.
ETA: Upon further reflection, my best guess is that this trend will continue. Because people crave status; even in a society of plenty there is a limited amount of status; and it’s high status live in or near an important city.
Also, people want to be near their friends, and the easiest way to be close to a lot of people is to live in a big city.
I would actually expect that communications technologies accelerate the urbanization process, since it makes it easier to make geographically distant friends online, and then you become more likely to want to move to where they live.
what is status in a world thats moved out of the age of scarcity that humans have been in since existence?
I really don’t think there will be any kind of status except maybe politics. How can you be certain that in a society of plenty “there is a limited amount of status”? No society has ever been there before.
To your first point, I agree. Comparing the past to the future, saying well we weren’t right about telecommunting’s consequences so we definitely cant now be correct about a different technologies consequences is silly.
what is status in a world thats moved out of the age of scarcity that humans have been in since existence?
Hanging out with the cool kids; summering in the Hamptons; having a balcony on Central Park West; having courtside seats at Knicks games; sending your children to Harvard, just to name a few things.
All of these things are scarce and are likely to remain so no matter how wealthy the world gets.
That was predicted decades ago, when telecommuting was hyped, and the opposite happened.
True. I imagine that this too should decrease people’s (often very strong) emotional attachment to their car, though. But who knows?
Yes, I agree with this. But a lot of trends stop and then reverse themselves.
ETA: Upon further reflection, my best guess is that this trend will continue. Because people crave status; even in a society of plenty there is a limited amount of status; and it’s high status live in or near an important city.
Also, people want to be near their friends, and the easiest way to be close to a lot of people is to live in a big city.
I would actually expect that communications technologies accelerate the urbanization process, since it makes it easier to make geographically distant friends online, and then you become more likely to want to move to where they live.
what is status in a world thats moved out of the age of scarcity that humans have been in since existence?
I really don’t think there will be any kind of status except maybe politics. How can you be certain that in a society of plenty “there is a limited amount of status”? No society has ever been there before.
To your first point, I agree. Comparing the past to the future, saying well we weren’t right about telecommunting’s consequences so we definitely cant now be correct about a different technologies consequences is silly.
Hanging out with the cool kids; summering in the Hamptons; having a balcony on Central Park West; having courtside seats at Knicks games; sending your children to Harvard, just to name a few things.
All of these things are scarce and are likely to remain so no matter how wealthy the world gets.