Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!seismo!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!nanotech From: pwh@bradley2.bradley.edu (Pete Hartman) Newsgroups: sci.nanotech Subject: Re: Nanotech Economy Message-ID: Date: 2 Nov 90 01:01:01 GMT Sender: nanotech@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Bradley University Lines: 33 Approved: nanotech@aramis.rutgers.edu In Message-ID: dan-hankins@cup.portal.com writes: [ stuff deleted ] >The Nanotechnology Revolution will bring the means of production themselves >within the reach of _every_ individual. [ more stuff deleted ] I don't really think so, for one simple reason--just because the means of production are simple and require only basic raw materials does NOT mean that they will be easy to get. Looking at the list that you posted (like about drugs), it's quite likely that serious restrictions will be placed on who can or can't own/use such technology, and the actual nanomachines themselves will likely be quite expensive. Even if you make machines that build copies of themselves, do you really think that the person who creates them is going to let them go? S/He could make major bucks instead by tightly controlling the technology.... Never underestimate the stupidity of greed. -- ----- Pete Hartman pwh@bradley.bradley.edu Haazavaa? [There are two very different questions being raised here, first of the availability of production machinery--likely available, but at a price that reflects the money that could be made with it, just as production machinery is available now-- and second of paternalistic government restrictions, which are likely to make things illegal, but hardly unavailable, just as drugs are now. --JoSH]