Free flow of information

BusinessPundit has an analysis of an Economist article about Monster’s Jeff Taylor. Rob said one thing that caught my eye:

“Easier access to information improves the capitalistic process.“

Truer words were never spoken. By my thinking, the advent of the written word caused civilization, since I could communicate in a lasting format my new farming method, my new set of laws, or new way of beating the other guy over the head with a rock. Similarly, the invention of the printing press *caused *the industrial revolution, and (more obviously) the development of computing technology *caused *the information age. I’ve always believed that most major advances in civilized nations and their economies are catalyzed by advances in information technology– how quickly and efficiently we can exchange information plays a pivotal role in the economic health of our nation(s).

That’s why I believe we live in such interesting times.

We’re about to reach an inflection point in computing technology where systems become secure and reliable enough to trust, connectivity is ubiquitous, and a considerable majority of people in the western world are computer-literate. The unavoidable increase in productivity that comes as an automatic result of this will cause, in my opinion, a period of steady economic growth. It won’t put us back to the “irrational exuberance” levels of 2000, but it will exceed a simple economic recovery. The problem is that I don’t see it starting before 2007.