Google Qua Robin Hood

As I'm taking a break from a paper -- need to (hopefully only) proofread it and turn it in -- thought I'd write the promised post on why I love Google. And as Abby (the cat) is sleeping on my paper right now, I may even finish it.

One of the oddest things about capitalism is its alchemical abilities: it makes money from nothing. Yes, you have to have money to start with, but it is not a product or work itself that creates this new wealth -- it is the non-entity money. One of the saddest things about capitalism is that when everything has a price, some things have less of a price. Like teaching or, worse, graduate school. While you may one day make more money, the salary is ultimately fixed at what someone is willing to pay you for your specific relationship with them.

So Google comes around and lets individuals post ads on their own personal websites -- companies do this, too. (Even the NYTimes -- look at the edges of a page sometime.) And suddenly people are separated from the exchange ratio of money -- you set up an ad, someone sees it and says, "oh that's cool." (b/c let's face it, Google matches ads nicely...I even click on the ones in my email sometimes! I never imagined I'd do that when I signed up for it.) Capitalism at its most amazing!

What I like even further about it is the independence -- or the potential -- for independence it creates. It redistributes wealth effortlessly, but also doesn't really waste resources. Instead, people are empowered to actually be able to increase their salaries and not sacrifice their lives to do it. This is an ideal situation, when you can choose your own life yet not starve doing so!

Course all this assumes people actually make money off of this & Google doesn't allow you to reveal profits. Suffice to say, people make large claims. :-)