Looking out to sea at the huge winter waves crashing upon the Cape Town shore, it’s hard to imagine what the first local tribesman thought when he saw, in the distance, Vasco De Gama’s tiny Portuguese ship sail round the Cape of Good Hope, heading out towards the Indian Ocean in search of profit.
You wonder what went through the local’s mind? Could he have imagined the calamity that was soon to befall his people and most of the peoples of Africa?
Once the Portuguese had opened up the passage to India via the Atlantic, the old Silk Roads, the commercial superhighways of the medieval ages from China to Istanbul, were gradually downgraded in global commerce. Economically, the Earth shifted on its axis from Asia to the Atlantic. This was the great disruption.
It took a while, but the commercial earthquake triggered by the Portuguese heading around Africa in 1497 and sailing triumphantly into the port of Calcutta in India is impossible to understate. So much changed, from slavery to mass manufacturing, from the conversion of England’s peasants to proletarian workers and, more traumatically, the mass expropriation of native lands, stemmed from the commercial imperative to trade as much stuff as possible in as many countries as possible.
It was the beginning of European domination of the world.
In 1497, India was the richest, most commercially sophisticated economy in the world. As Sven Beckert explains in ‘Empire of Cotton’ (well worth a summer read), India’s main produce was cotton and it was one of the most sought after manufacturing products in the world. Cotton was fine, soft, fashionable and durable unlike the smelly, heavy wool that Europeans were used to wearing.
Cotton came from India and before the Portuguese opened the Atlantic route, various middlemen held European consumers in ransom. At every stage margin was added, starting with getting the cotton across the Indian Ocean, then the camel transporters in the Arabian desert took a margin, then the Ottoman merchants charged to get the material across the Mediterranean to Italy and then naturally, the Italians took their cut.
These guys were yesterday’s middlemen.
The fees that cotton generated for these middlemen kept generations of Ottoman, Arab and Indian merchants in clover for centuries. The fees were paid in the high price of cotton forked out by the final consumer in Europe. Then overnight the Portuguese transported cotton directly from India around the Cape, cutting out the various Silk Road middlemen.
The price of cotton from India started to fall. The Portuguese made fortunes, even calling this place the Cape of Good Hope because of the riches Indian trade promised. Profits always attract and these fortunes attracted the next two waves of European occupiers to this part of the world. The Dutch arrived soon after the Portuguese and settled here, some becoming the Afrikaaner Tribe. The Afrikanners stayed to farm, but most Dutch adventurers were traders, using Cape Town as an essential port on the long journey from Amsterdam to India and further afield to Indonesia.
Of course Cape Town flourished later under the British, whose demand for Indian cotton to feed the mills in Manchester was so insatiable that they rolled out much of their subsequent Empire to guarantee cotton supplies.
All these massive shifts in economics had one thing in common: they were driven to cut out the middleman.
Cutting out the middleman is, and has always been, one of the major drivers of economic innovation. Whatever the product, profit margins tend to be driven by forcing down costs, making production more efficient and, if possible, maintaining your selling price. This is what capitalism and trade are all about.
The relentless pursuit of profit always identifies the middleman and tries to force him out or lower his take. For the producer, the quickest way from production to sale is the most profitable route. The fewer mouths to feed, the higher the margin — this means eliminating the middleman.
In the old days the technology that eliminated the Asian, Arab and Ottoman middleman was Portuguese, Dutch and later British naval prowess. Every generation has their technology. Today that technology is the Internet.
The only problem is that today we risk cannibalising ourselves.
As was pointed out in this column last week, we are all “middlemen” and if today’s technology is about eliminating the middleman, very soon we end up eliminating ourselves. In a mature service economy with easy credit and rampant consumerism, the middleman is what is normally called the white-collar economy. So everyone who doesn’t actually make something is threatened by new technology that cuts out the middleman.
In a time of the smartphone and companies like Netflix, Airbnb, Amazon and Uber, these might not so much be regarded as fantastic innovations, but could be seen as the enemy for many who could lose their jobs.
Consider London’s famous black taxis. In the old days the London cabbie had to learn “The Knowledge”.
This meant that the cabbie had to train for two years to memorise every nook and cranny of London, every backstreet in every area of that vast city. This effort demanded cabbies renting scooters to head out for months on end, committing the city’s streets to memory. Once he had the knowledge in his head, the cabbie did a rigorous exam and got his taxi license. He also had to buy a special black cab, an expensive vehicle, for which London is famous.
The knowledge was his pricing power; his cab was his unique asset. Because he had the knowledge, he could demand a fare. This was his value added and his price was his margin.
Now consider what has happened with the arrival of Uber. The new Uber driver doesn’t need the knowledge. He has Google maps. He doesn’t need the expensive black cab either. He has a second-hand Toyota. The value of the knowledge is eliminated and the asset is depreciated. In no time the cabbies’ livelihood dwindles.
Uber is doing to the cabbie what the Portuguese did to other middlemen: eliminating them.
Just wait until technology does this to lawyers, accountants, architects and doctors. Whether they like it or not, the skill set of many of these professionals can be replicated accurately by machines. All the above are functional positions and with the exceptions of possibly doctors, few would lose sleep at their passing.
The point is every era, every century, every generation has its massive technological disruption. In the 1980s and 1990s when technology, outsourcing and the relentless drive for profits destroyed working-class manufacturing, the middle classes called it “economic reform”. Now when technology comes after those with white collars and pristine fingernails, what will they call it?
The local tribes in South Africa called it ‘Maafa’ from the Swahili word meaning “the great tragedy”.
Got news for you Dave: the Swahili come from Kenya and asscociated envoirons. The local tribes of the Cape were the San/Strandloper and Khoikhoi with a few Xhosa, Sotho and Ndebele/Nguni and other odds and ends. I lived and worked in the Cape for 24 years and spoke both Afrikaans and Xhosa and I have never heard of the word “Maafa” and I thought I knew the lot. Maybe I missed something.
‘S called, ‘progress’, David. Thought you’? know that one?!
sb:’you’d’!
Subscribe
test
I think the message here, that machines are a threat to people, is overblown. Tech and Humans can combine to create, produce, and transcend.
great article, i actually commented on this article in the independent. My point was what about the effects of machines and automation on the emerging world. Does automation tip the balance of economic power back towards the west and Japan and away from the huge emerging economies of China and asia. Afterall the Chinese economic model is based on the large availability of cheap labour and providing all these people with jobs to lift them out of poverty to middle class. Because of this huge cheap labour source China and India never had to think much about automation. Does automation… Read more »
It all sounds eloquent, picturesque, floating and guilt-ridden. Thanks to the Portuguese, the African tribes actually got the option of buying cotton. No mention of that at all. Thanks to the Dutch they also got the option of buying wool. No mention of that either. Except the insinuation that trade with the Dutch and Portuguese brought tragedy to the African Tribes. All of which was rather mild, compared to the current drive by China, the USA and La Repubilique Francaise to control the supply of essential commodities from Africa. At least, Vasco Da Gama operated on the basis of consent… Read more »
Uber is prevented from a trial in Limerick, and will presumably be prevented elsewhere. The problem is NOT uber. The problem is that the institutional state needs it’s cut. There are bailout programs to manage, failed politicians to cushion land, and failures to cover up. And quangos to run. more quangos than ever before. Even failed politicians are being recycled into them. I do not have a problem with uber. It seems that despite all the regulations, that the geniuses in local government in Dublin gave an enormous proportion of the taxi licences to ex-criminals, current criminals and assorted law… Read more »
https://www.eh-resources.org/little-ice-age/
I presume that for many in Europe, that wool was the preferred clothing material.
The rich may have required cotton. But the majority of the populace where more concerned about cold. And there was not a lot of wool around. People washed clothes infequently, as it reduced the warmth of the material.
Following an article in “The Guardian” with the following headline: “Ken Livingstone: Venezuela crisis due to Chávez’s failure to kill oligarchs” I’ve just publically asked “The Guardian” the following question: How would “The Guardian” react if someone published an article in which he or she claimed that the constant lying and censorship of “The Guardian” – starting with the Holodomor denial, when they sacked a journalist who wrote about it, and then they published an article denying that there is any hunger in Ukraine; up to their recent forced (by PCC) admission that their article by Mr Simon Jenkins, from… Read more »
“more traumatically, the mass expropriation of native lands, ” It is called invasion and conquest. It is a continuing function of mankind and mother nature. There is nothing, from the electrons of an atom to the most complex of organizations that does not strive to maximize its own benefit and consume the resources and space of its neighbour. From the genes residing in your body, to the billions of organisms inhabiting your body, to the greatest of empires, all try to get bigger and larger. It is a fundamental reason why nothing should be created within government for the good… Read more »
Sensational news – Israeli football club defends Legia Warsaw against the Simon Wiesenthal Centre! The Simon Wiesenthal Centre alarmed media all over the world that the Legia Warsaw football fans have beaten up the fans of the Israeli football team Hapoel Petah Tikva and turned to UEFA to punish Legia Warsaw (I suspect that the real reason why the Simon Wiesenthal Centre did it was this: http://www.espnfc.com/legia-warsaw/story/3172378/legia-warsaw-charged-by-uefa-for-banner-honouring-nazi-victims ). But Yesterday, the Israeli club Hapoel Petah Tikva stated in writing that none such attacks from Legia Warsaw took place And No media in the world published the clarification of the Israeli… Read more »
Phenomenon of recent [ at least ] years on internet . Google lets u think your comment has been posted when in fact “ur computer” & / or “ur blog account” is the only who can see it. . 1. Hiding certain person[s] posts in a thread or even whole discussion, because : 1.1 their posts are covertly subject to vetting 1.2 judged to be contrary to narrative of The Dreadful Few. . 2. Eventually publishing their post[s] thus : . No computer user, or blogger of blog in question, BUT TARGETED POSTER, can see the post[s]. . . AND,… Read more »
Here is a fine example of how technology creates jobs and explores new frontiers. I was on a ferry yesterday on a 90 minute crossing and engaged conversation with “Murray”. turns out he is a high tech welder that gets $90 and hour basic and works for a North Vancouver company that has developed the latest in diving suits. He told me they can go down 4000 feet (the 2012 article says 300 meters) and no compression problems as it is an exo-suit that absorbs the pressure. It is like being in a one man sub but the air flow… Read more »
“My Gut Felling [ Animal + Spiritual ]” AND “My Instinct [ Mind + Spiritual ]” AND “My Experience” AND “My ever accumulating Knowledge” AND “My ever disposal of uncovered fallacious opinion” [ Revisionism + Cleansing ]” AND “My Inquisitive / Truth-seeking Character” is increasingly pointing me to seriously consider merit in this line of enquiry ; . . HEADING ; Putin – Billionaire & Gangster ? . August 7, 2017 . BLURB A French documentary film claims Putin is richest man in Europe. . … SUB-HEADING ; “What we think of as geopolitics are really gang wars. Putin’s enlightened… Read more »
REALTY = Real Property i.e. Land & / or Buildings IS ALWAYS ON UR MINDS IN THIS TYPE OF BLOG . . And, here is a most important individual in the story of Realty ; . Wikipedia.org are wrong to say that his birthplace Cork, Ireland is in U.K. ; Although, at the time of his birth, Ireland was in UK. . AND, SOME SAY THAT THE BRITS NEVER LEFT BECAUSE THEIR CIVIL SERVICE SYSTEM CONTINUES TO BE AN UNHOLY TERROR ON VILLAGE IDIOTS LIKE MYSELF WHO ARE RECIDIVISTS IN THINKING THAT WE WON LIBERTY. . . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Torrens . And,… Read more »
“Cryptocurrency Market Tops $116 Billion to Set New All-Time High”
https://www.coindesk.com/cryptocurrency-market-tops-116-billion-to-set-new-all-time-high/
“Bitcoin Is Now Worth Nearly 3 Times More Than an Ounce of Gold”
https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-is-now-worth-nearly-3-times-as-much-as-gold/
FOOD FOR THOUGHT . . UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME => COCAINE FOR THE MASSES -> WILL YOU TAKE YOUR CHIP? => INSTANT INFLATION WHAT EVERYONE HAS -> BECOMES THE BASELINE => I.E. WORTHLESS . . => VALUE WILL NO LONGER BE TIED TO HUMAN LABOUR => THE COMPLETE PRIVATISATION OF DEMAND => NO NEED FOR DEBT MONEY . . WHY SELL SOMETHING OF VALUE FOR SOMETHING OF NO VALUE? -> THE COLLAPSE OF SUPPLY -> THE COLLAPSE OF FREE MARKET => THINGS ARE ONLY MADE IF NEEDED . . . -> HE WHO CONTROLS THE RESOURCES => CONTROLS THE MACHINES .… Read more »
http://www.thenews.pl/1/10/Artykul/317562,How-judges-are-selected-across-Europe
“”The jobs being created are easily low, but on top of that the impact of technology on quality jobs is heavy. The failure of full employment to spur wages is a structural change that will not reverse. In the Gold Forecaster we have outlined that in the developed world up to 50% of all jobs will be permanently lost to A.I. and machines. This fact has not been accepted in general, by economists. Until, not just the problem but new-industry, job creation is put into effect it is unlikely that wage inflation will take off. In turn, that slows the… Read more »
GAS-LIGHTING
.
And, plenty of exponents of that dirty art-form in Ireland
Yes, we are still “The Snake-People”
.
.
David is all for “Strainfully Happy” / Gay Rights & all that stuff.
.
.
So, how about this aspect of it ? ;
.
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGtugQ3wgGU
WRONG AGAINS / JERKS . . Christ-mocking Jerks & Mary-mocking Jerks & Joseph-mocking Jerks . As ever with Jerks, they have the neck / chutzpah to cry foul / “ad hominems” … ” … when they are [ trying to ] beat their target to a pulp” [ as the wise Poles say in Poland ]. . HYPOCRITES INDEED ! . We have such on this blog. . And, the perversely stupid — “wrong again, & again, … & again …” 8-) — Zionist-Christians effectively support their like over yonder in a certain den of iniquity ; . . The… Read more »
@ Grzegorz,
.
.
What to make of the results, & especially the video purported to be concrete evidence for the following Google.com search terms ?
;
.
Aug 3, 2017, 10:00 AM Masked soccer hooligans attacked staff members Israel AND Poland
.
.
https://www.google.com/search?client=ubuntu&hs=m8P&channel=fs&q=%E2%80%A2Aug+3%2C+2017%2C+10%3A00+AM+Masked+soccer+hooligans+attacked+staff+members+Israel+AND+Poland&oq=%E2%80%A2Aug+3%2C+2017%2C+10%3A00+AM+Masked+soccer+hooligans+attacked+staff+members+Israel+AND+Poland&gs_l=psy-ab.3…143242.158774.0.159881.22.17.2.0.0.0.1128.2528.0j5j1j1j7-1.8.0….0…1.1.64.psy-ab..12.0.0.i2ssHzY1FD8
.
.
e.g.
.
.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/poland-condemns-hooligan-attack-on-israeli-soccer-team/
Technology is doing humans out of jobs forsure.
That said bugs in technology and what tech cannot do will keep people who want to work employed forever.
Update on WW 3 ;
However, WW 3 NOT full-scale yet
.
.
Hmm … m !
.
.
“McMaster solidifies power at NSC — and supports Iran deal, sees Israel as occupier”
.
.
http://mondoweiss.net/2017/08/mcmaster-solidifies-supports/
These desperadoes are always equiped with state-of-the-art assassin technology ;
Especially, when on hit-jobs in Ireland.
.
.
http://aanirfan.blogspot.com/2017/08/the-mysterious-sas.html
.
.
WHAT IS THE IRISH STATE’s POLICY TO DEFEAT THEM ?
MORE MUSICAL CHAIRS
.
.
LONG-TIME ONGOING STRATEGY TO THWART THE AGGRIEVED CITIZENS ;
.
.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/leo-varadkar-s-rebranding-of-departments-could-cost-15-000-1.3179471
AS A CATHOLIC, I SALUTE U FOR THIS Vladamir Putin . THANK U. . U ARE CORRECT Mr. President. . . Vladimir The Great Sums Up Pope Francis The Fake ! . . by Tyler Durden . Aug 8, 2017 . . Authord by Antonius Aquinas, Vladimir Putin has once again demonstrated why he is the most perceptive, farsighted, and for a politician, the most honest world leader to come around in quite a while. If it had not been for his patient and wise statesmanship, the world may have already been embroiled in an all encompassing global configuration with… Read more »
BAKING HOT HEAT & BLINDING SUN
THEY KNEW THAT, BUT “THEY WERE GIVEN AN OFFER THEY COULD NOT REFUSE”
THE CONSEQUENCES OF REFUSING WOULD BE …
.
HEADING ;
52 Members of Congress now in Israel on AIPAC-supported trip….
.
.
https://twitter.com/HenryMakow/status/894909229521395714
C21st Afro-Futurism + #FcUKEU Brexit = ‘Maafa’ for Ireland’s CAP/CTA domestic economy.
“Whole World Is Africa” by Black Uhuru
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPlYoGdFUqs
BLURB ;
HEADING OF BLURB ;
The ‘Gay’ Agenda is Not Finished
.
TEXT OF BLURB ;
.
The goal of transhumanism is to use technology to release mankind
from the “confines” of nature.
.
It sounds good.
.
But, really, it is re-engineering humanity to be slaves.
.
Scott Lively relates the history of the homosexual agenda and explains that the goal of transgenderism is to break the natural mold.
.
.
https://www.henrymakow.com/2017/08/transgender-endgame-transhumanism.html
Would have to question the notion of the Architect as a profession being replaced by technology.
Christ-mocking Jerks to the North Christ-mocking Jerks to the South Christ-mocking Jerks to the East Christ-mocking Jerks to the West . Yes, It’s a Christ-mocking “Jerk” / “C.CK” Local Area Network [ JERK-LAN / C.CK-LAN ] . . It is not a technological network. Rather, it is a human network ; But, a special one ; A C.CK-LAN no less. . And, so, this is proof that humans have something innate that machines do not have, vis. the internal choice to be evil. Machines are never evil. Humans can be evil. But, no person was born evil. Evil is developed… Read more »
http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/irish-vet-fails-australias-english-fluency-exam-801331.html
FULL-SCALE WW 3 EDGED JUST EDGED CRUCIALLY CLOSER . . Further to “Title by Registration” [ T.B.R. ] System [ A] Torrens’s System or B] English System ( modified Torrens’s System ) ] & the “Registration of Deeds” [ R.O.D. ] System, both briefly discussed above, here is breaking news on the makings of ; . The Mother of all “Wars of Deeds” . . SOURCE ; Middle East Monitor: . HEADING ; Israel steals important Jerusalem property deeds from Al-Aqsa . EXTRACT ; During the closure of Al-Aqsa Mosque last month, Israeli occupation authorities stole important documents from Al-Aqsa… Read more »
.
O=8><
.
@ Grzegorz,
.
Trusting ewe not to get lured away by any sirens in this link, but to find more stimulating the Polish angles in the article itself, & the comments underneath which are liable to increase somewhat.
.
.
http://aanirfan.blogspot.com/2017/08/kidnapped-model-chloe.html
Here is 1 daughter of Mr. Barrack — O’Bummer / Obama + Mr. Michael — oops, sorry, Mrs. Michelle O’Bummer / Obama, Malia inadvertently undermining David’s impressionable pick as suitable, & very likely, future USA President Michael, oops, there I go again, I mean Michelle of course, yes Michelle Obama..
.
.
https://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2017/08/09/malia-obama-strung-out-on-drugs-taken-from-music-fest-in-golf-cart/
The worst drug that ignorant brain-washed Americans have become addicted to ;
.
.
Good article from Direct Democracy Ireland about the Garda-Landlords / Landlord-Gardai ;
And, maybe even better comments to it.
.
.
https://www.directdemocracyireland.ie/unacceptable-governmental-influence-gardai/
Kim young-un hooks the Donald on first cast. UN closes ranks on sanctions for Nth Korea. It is interesting to note that North Korea and Iran are two countries under attack for nefarious deeds and both have a state monetary system NOT controlled by the “Rothschilds” banking fraternity. (Syria too, and Russia becoming too independent under Putin) “” Today alone, we’re watching America initiate wars – in nearly all instances, unprovoked – on both allies and “enemies” alike. Be it “traditional,” propaganda-created enemies like Russia, Iran, and North Korea; or “trade” enemies like China; Mexico; and according to Donald Trump,… Read more »
More Chess-Moves apropos whilst the new Silk Road is being built
.
.
When new Silk Road is complete will India be marginalized ?
.
.
http://expandourmind.com/2017/08/08/china-attacks-india-2-weeks-ignites-ww-iii-2017-08-08/
Every article gets closer & closer to mentioning the blockchain & cryptocurrencies… looking forward to it
TODAY IS ANNIVERSARY OF BOMBING OF NAGASAKI . TITLE ; Was Nagasaki Payback for Expelling Freemasons ? . August 9, 2017 . INTRO ; The “Fat Man” bomb from Bock’s Car detonated directly over Urakami Cathedral, the largest cathedral in the entire Orient. This was all that was left. . On this day in 1945, Nagasaki, home to 50,000 Christians, was bombed. Of Nagasaki’s 250,000 residents, 73,844 were killed, 74,909 injured, and more than 120,000 suffered radiation effects. We shouldn’t overlook that Nagasaki expelled the Freemasons in 1926. By the 1930s Japan banned them entirely. Did this add “payback” to… Read more »
The present danger currently avoided at all costs is the impending collapse of the central bankers fiat money. This has nothing to do with hi tech except that the timing of the collapse may be shortened by the advent of crypto currencies which are a present challenge. ultimately the only storage of wealth will be that which has prevailed the last five thousand years. The rest are as tulip bubble manias. DEBT SLAVERY + FAKE MONEY = FINAL COLLAPSE Posted on August 4, 2017 by Egon von Greyerz https://goldswitzerland.com/debt-slavery-fake-money-final-collapse/ It is the massive amount of debt we should be afraid… Read more »
Henry Makow? @HenryMakow
.
Retweeted ;
.
These graphs demonstrate that the last election was about the dispossession of white people, especially white men, by (((Democrats)))
.
.
https://twitter.com/HenryMakow/status/895315383808217089
SOME ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS
.
I tried posting about this a number of times on this blog just before now.
This attempt is bereft of my usual witticisms, alas.
.
.
https://www.rt.com/business/398940-kosher-cryptocurrency-bitcoen-jewish-community/