[editorial note: In the months since this post was first created John Robb has developed this theme in far more detail. The quote below, and my criticisms of it, may not fairly represent of his current views. Check out his blog and judge for yourself.]
The question this should raise: how do a very, very small group of neo-feudal plutocrats control a global population (of economic losers) in the modern context?
Right now? Lawfare and the bureaucracy of the nation-state. As things continue to degrade, that veneer of legality and constraint will fade and become less effective.
Long term? Bots. Software bots. Drones. My good friend Daniel Suarez did a great job of demonstrating how this works in his books Daemon and Freedom.
In short, bots will increasingly allow a VERY small group of people (in our case, a small group of plutocrats that act as the world's economic central planners) to amplify their power/dominance in a the physical world to a degree never seen before.
I like a lot of John Robb's stuff but some of it needs to be taken with a grain of salt. A small group of plutocrats is going to control everyone and everything with bots? Really?
When did plutocrats become tech geniuses? I won't deny that such technology exists. I do challenge the assertion that this is a potential competitive advantage for the bureaucratic class. Such technology would be far more hackable than are corporeal police officers. Moving the conflict between protesters and law enforcement into digital space would do far more to empower the distributed masses than it would the centralized bureaucracy.
