Wherein Bill Frezza, my only reason for an InternetWeek subscription, signs off. So long, Bill, and thanks for all the fish... :-). Cheers, RAH At 10:08 PM -0700 on 12/6/00, InternetWeek Newsletter wrote:
Opinion: The Internet Vs. Tyranny, And Other Parting Thoughts
Writing a regular opinion column is an invigorating tonic, a deadline- disciplined interlude of forced reflection, providing an opportunity to follow where the muse might lead. With this column, I have tried to examine the broader impact of Internet technology on business, public policy and society. My approach has been rooted in the firm belief that ideas matter and that fundamental principles worked out long ago can be applied to novel situations to guide us toward discovering not only what might be but what ought to be.
Working against the backdrop of a society that has deeply embraced moral relativism has provided ample opportunity to lay bare the hypocrisy that permeates both the business and political leadership of our day. Judging by the mail I've received from so many readers over the years, this has delighted some and infuriated others, which was exactly my objective.
Our industry, the telecommunications industry, and its newborn wonder child the Internet, are shaking up the world like no revolution before. Of course there are historical developments that had greater impact. But none has affected so many people over such a brief period. And, thanks to the acceleration of events brought about by the Internet itself, we are all in a position to see the results of the choices we make, unlike our predecessors who played largely to posterity.
Most encouraging, the power to innovate is decentralizing, with the rewards for success so unabashedly disproportionate that extraordinary efforts are being called forth from people who might otherwise be content to lead ordinary lives. Progress has always come from the motivated few over the objections of the complacent many. The way these few are treated determines the future. The most profound contribution of the American experiment to human happiness is that we have freed the basic impulse for improvement from the tyranny of hidebound culture. The Internet has become both the source and the conduit to export our culture of success to the rest of the planet, smashing ancient chauvinism by exposing one and all to the Darwinian hurricane.
Capital has been pried from the grip of those whose main objective was to preserve it, set loose in a global arena seeking market-driven returns. Talent has been released from the prison of place to make contributions far beyond the reach of local customs and constraints. The price to access knowledge has dropped so precipitously that anyone can stand on the shoulders of everyone, scaling heights that would otherwise take lifetimes to achieve. The cost of failure has been reduced to such acceptable levels that this marvelous teacher can instruct without maiming, making its students stronger as they prepare for the next challenge. Coercive force wielded by prince or mob is receding toward impotency, unable to have its way as the prime productive asset becomes the power of unfettered minds.
These are good things to remember as we head into a cyclical economic downturn. Many will question the value of what has been created. The reactionaries will preach ruin and the envious will gloat, claiming the Internet bubble was an aberration. They are wrong. The businesses, technologies and entrepreneurs that survive the cleansing fires will form the foundation for the next round of growth. The failures will be its fertilizer. This is as it should be. Unlike the Roaring Twenties when the central government was powerful enough to turn a recession into a protracted depression, today's government is so palpably broken, careening headlong toward a chronic dysfunctional state, that it can be discounted. Washington will remain a bleeding tax on progress, but as a tapeworm rather than a cancer. The innovators will outrun it, along with its European counterparts who foolishly believe that coalescing into a single ministerial glob will assure bureaucratic immortality.
Thank you, dear readers. It has been a great six years. This is my last column, at least for the foreseeable future. The press of business and the closing of our newest venture fund demands my full attention. I am also deathly afraid that I am becoming a bore, preaching the same themes in variations that can only be appreciated by diehard free market capitalists--a misunderstood minority even in the best of times. Hence until I retire, a good 10 years from now, my harangues will have to be reserved for my poor dinner companions.
Happy thoughts for a happy future. Farewell, until we meet again. --Bill Frezza
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R. A. Hettinga