Creative Destruction

Author: Teresa Hatler Date: Wednesday, May 15, 2019 2:54:24 PM EDT Subject: Creative Destruction

When Joseph Schumpeter, born in 1883, coined the phrase, “creative destruction” the world was a much different place.  The newest innovations were electricity, automobiles, and telephones. Schumpeter found that “competition among entrepreneurs in the search for new ideas that will render their rivals ideas obsolete,” (Francois & Lloyd-Ellis, 2003) caused old ways of doing things to fall by the way for new and improved ways.

Perry Mark, 2018, gives a very interesting list of things that didn’t exist on Christmas fifteen years ago.  Check out some of the list:  iPhone, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Google Maps, Spotify, Uber, Airbnb, App Store, Google Chrome.  What is currently in the process of being “destroyed” through the creation of the things on the list? Slowly becoming unnecessary are the U.S. postal service, newspapers, magazines, taxi service, traditional hotels, folded maps, atlas books, radios all of which were crucial to society only a short 20 years ago.  

What this has meant for consumers hinges on the age group.  Children under the age of 18 do not know what the world was like when we waited for the newspaper or the mail to be delivered.  Adults over 55 have had a very hard time learning the new technology, and then having to keep up as it has morphed and been updated frequently.  Schumpeter would be amazed at the difference since his lifetime.   

More information

Francois, P., & Lloyd-Ellis, H. (2003, June). Animal spirits through creative destruction. The American Economic Review, 530-550. doi:https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.regent.edu/stable/3132105?pq-origsite=summon&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents

Perry, M. J. (2018). Creative destruction. Washington: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. Retrieved from http://eres.regent.edu:2048/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.regent.edu/docview/2160647709?accountid=13479

Crypto-currency by Facebook

     In January 2018 Facebook banned crypto-currency ads.   “Facebook (FB) said that it will now block advertising promoting crypto-currency and other related products because they are frequently associated with "misleading" or "deceptive practices"  (LiveBriefs, 2018).  Interesting item to ban considering the plethora of choices of things that are deceptive or misleading on Facebook.  Even more interesting now that Facebook has unveiled it’s own form of crypto-currency set to launch in early 2020, (Pettit, 2019).  The crypto-currency, called Libra, could be used to buy and sell retail products, to send money to  friends or family worldwide, to pay Uber or Lyft drivers,  and to pay bills of any type.  It can also be used to store your money with no fees.  The idea is that it would provide access to financial resources to people world-wide who currently have little or no access to money.

     From a Biblical worldview there is the one most obvious hazard.  This is a one-world monetary system that could work, work well, and work quickly with a large percentage of the population already on-board with Facebook.  Once there is a one-world financial system in place, it will be a small step for mankind to have one item which carries all personal financial information, such as a miniscule chip for identity that is not cumbersome and has literally no physical ramifications when placed under the skin.    

     This product will impact Western Union, Wal-Mart money, Paypal, and numerous other companies that currently provide money wiring service.  It will remove the necessity for bank accounts. The entire banking system in the western world could very possibly crumble within a very short time if this crypto currency is adapted as fast as Facebook itself was.  The Facebook.com launched in February 2004, according to Facebook's corporate page, 15 years later there are “1.56 billion daily active users on Facebook on average for March 2019… 2.38 billion monthly active users on Facebook as of March 31, 2019”  (Newsroom, 2019).    The 28 companies on-board complete the picture of how widespread the new crypto-currency will be. Visa, Lyft, Uber, Paypal, Ebay, Mastercard and Spotify are only a few.  The goal is to have 100 companies supporting this crypto-currency by 2020. 

     This is important enough that one should take notice and be sure that you have an alternative plan for the day that all systems fail.  There are definite threats to financial systems and electric grids. If it all went down tonight, indefinitely, how would you provide food and water for your family? Alternatively, if this is highly successful and the progression is to a monetary system that quickly implements a requirement of allegiance to something other than your God, how will you disengage?  There is a day fast approaching where you are either all-in, or all-out.  The wise will have already taken notice and not based their entire source of food, shelter and protection on the world’s system.    

For more details see

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Facebook

https://newsroom.fb.com/company-info/

Facebook bans crypto-currency ads. (2018, Jan 31). Live Briefs US Retrieved from http://eres.regent.edu:2048/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.regent.edu/docview/1992583944?accountid=13479

 Pettit, H. (2019, June 18). tech. Retrieved from https://www.thesun.co.uk: https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/9319668/facebook-launch-libra-cryptocurrency/