Frezza: The Internet Vs. Tyranny, and Other Parting Thoughts

[R. A. Hettinga]

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

-- 
-----------------
R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah at ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'