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I think one problem with this discussion is what is encompassed by "tech". If you just use "tech" as an abbreviation for "technology", then sure, tech has been driving human civilization for millennia. Agriculture? Buildings? Roads? Language? Writing? Man, those are some technologies that have paid off big time. If by "tech", you mean "high tech", well, that encompasses an awful lot of different things, and of course the goalposts are constantly moving as today's high-tech becomes tomorrow's tech becomes the next day's obsolete. If by "tech" you mean computer hardware, software, networking, and networked services, then sure, that's a pretty important driver of some other advances, but likewise advances in other fields help to drive this as well. Globalization, shipping, mining, energy, RF engineering, photonics, aerospace, and so on all play into this, and all both benefit from and contribute to the success of computer hardware, software, networking, and networked services. But just because this form of high tech can help with other fields, doesn't mean it's driving the economy. It may be increasing productivity to a certain degree, but there is an awful lot of the economy which is only minimally influenced by these kinds of things. |