If something genuinely helps humanity, but harms the big industries, chances are we will never hear of it again. amirite?

"The history of patents includes a wealth of attempts to reward friends of the government and restrict or control dangerous technologies." ― James Boyle, The Public Domain: Enclosing the Commons of the Mind (2008)

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Yes and no. Things like solar and wind energy are clearly the way of the future but also clearly discouraged by corporate lobbyists who begin propagating nonsense like "sight pollution" as somehow being equivalent to actual pollution. Its less about literally suppressing it Orwell style as much as it's Huxley style and convincing us our interests always align with mega corps.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

I read that we had electric cars several decades ago. The tech got shelved. I could be wrong, but it's what I remember. Good ol' gas!

by Anonymous 2 years ago

The documentary is called "Who killed the electric car" IIRC. Definitely a recommended watch!

by Anonymous 2 years ago

And I hope humanity pays a price for it. We need to learn.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Have you ever seen a lithium mine

by Anonymous 2 years ago

corporate greed

by Anonymous 2 years ago

A cured customer isn't a customer

by Anonymous 2 years ago

But enough money is better than a customer.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Corporate America asks: What is this "enough" you speak of?

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Ya ever heard of water powered cars?

by Anonymous 2 years ago

# "Stanley Meyer"

by Anonymous 2 years ago

In america that includes the cure for cancer

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Cancer research is one I can think of 🙄

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Doesn't tesla invent a way to make electricity from thin air?

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Farts* but yes.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

people who like to think their problems are a result of negative forces outside their control love to feel this way (conspiracy theorists) in reality, humans like things that benefits them, and are willing to pay for in. generally, helping humanity is profitable. small, consumer friendly improvements are an exception. closed tech ecosystems, selling energy that harms the environment, making light bulbs that last forever…. but even then, things generally work themselves around. 10+ year LEDs are popular now… open tech is becoming more popular by competing companies, green energy is slowly becoming profitable and mainstream… something that genuinely helps humanity can be created by a small start up, and TURN INTO a large corporation. then, corps have to compete

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Helping humanity is profitable. You are wrong. If there are people who want it, you can sell it.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Pharma industry agrees. Lets help people by selling tons of medication instead of curing the actual disease.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

But if someone makes a cure he could get much richer. Nobody wants medication that doesnt work 50% of times if there is a cure.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

But if theres no cure everyone wants medication. Medication earns more because you can sell over the time span of sometimes 30-40 years instead of once. See cancer etc.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

>Medication earns more because you can sell over the time span of sometimes 30-40 years instead of once. Not really. You could literally set the price to whatever you want. Even more than 50 years of chemo.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

A company that makes a really good solution to a problem is statistically not a good business.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Yep big corporations don't like people killing their business look at how someone made smart suitcases they would have killed off the entire suitcase industry if they didn't lobby to get suitcases with batterys banned as a safety risk

by Anonymous 2 years ago

If something genuinely helps and is practical, it will become part of the big industries.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

You're starting to catch-up.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

Always has been

by Anonymous 2 years ago