At 09:03 AM 4/3/04 -0500, R. A. Hettinga wrote:

At 1:26 PM -0800 4/2/04, Major Variola (ret) wrote:

...

Physics, because large entities have different properties (eg surface-to-mass ratio; inertia) than small entities.

Well, certainly, that's the current wisdom about such things.

However, I'm talking about markets, and firms, which are all creatures of information flow. As William Gibson put it once, a corporation is a being which eats information and shits money.

We are talking about mercs, not selling bits on MercNet. Mercs are physical. Thus their resources (satellites, rockets, tanks, etc) are *controlled* by Men With Guns. Who don't like to share the shiniest toys.

In those terms, then, since, Coase's theorem again, reduced transaction cost (lowered by lower information gathering, and most important to cypherpunks, lower transaction *security* costs lowering transaction execution/settlement/clearing) how do we get the large behavior current in modern markets without large firms?

Cheaper info cuts out middlemen, sure; but it does nothing to permit mercs access to physical-technology that they need in the physical world.

Lots of little devices acting in common, in their own self interest, using markets to price their services.

Devices are physical. MwG control the physical.

Somewhere, on the Shipwright site, is a John Young - discovered DOD paper from the mid-90's about "The Mesh and The Net", which looks like a toe-hold on the idea of geodesic warfare. I used to joke about keeping the landmines in your front yard paid or they wouldn't let you out the door. :-).

Sure, meshes mean you may not need satellites or fixed base stations for your comms. Big deal. The mesh-radios may be controlled, and regardless, you need more than radios to be a merc. Get that through your head.

So, I would bet that lower costs of market entry means that smaller firms could compete in large, temporary groups, in the same way that market sell-off stampedes happen, only with guns.

You're too stuck on bits and forgetting about atoms.

The net allows more collaboration between the troops without central control,

Yawn. Disintermediation will happen, its just not enough. Atoms matter.