DISRUPTIVE DIGITAL REVOLUTION: A LETTER TO THE ECONOMIST (December 30, 2014)
Both your main leader and the associated article in the Business Section warn of a possible repeat of the dot.com crisis in late Nineties (“Past and Future Tense” and “Frothy.com,” December 20, 2014). As you say, a new tech bubble is in the making, but the policymakers in key places have much less room for maneuver than was the case around the turn of the millennium. This applies especially to America, which is still at the vanguard of what you call a disruptive digital revolution. Besides, it is enjoying a healthy recovery from the financial crisis, and it seems to be rather alone in this regard. On top of the plummeting oil prices and economic troubles in Russia, all this suggests a bumpy year or two ahead. Companies you mention in this connection are Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Twitter, all leaders in disruptive digital revolution. Investments coming their way are growing ever faster, whence the fear of another tech bubble. Interestingly, the only sort of disruption you foresee is the burst of this bubble. Pray, in what other way is the digital revolution disruptive? Or is this just another nod toward Joseph Schumpeter who is among your most precious heroes?