[isoprophlex]

Maybe the extreme scalability of AI bullshitting will offset the extreme scalability of running large-scale direct-to-consumer oligopolies, and we see some return to local shopping, with all the positive effects on local communities... one can hope

[eru]

Division of labour is a good thing. It's why we are rich today.

[sweezyjeezy]

That's a stretch. One can hold the view that division of labour is a useful economical principle, but also that oligopolies represent a dangerous concentration of power.

[eru]

What oligopolies?

[only-one1701]

Well, it’s either a that, or we took a bunch of resources from all over the world by force. Maybe a bit of both?

[eru]

Who took resources by force?

For comparison, Ireland is amongst the richest places in Europe these days, and they never colonised anyone. They used to be colonised.

[only-one1701]

I’m talking about my home, the dear old US of A. And every other western country besides Ireland to a greater or lesser extent.

[eru]

If that were true, you'd expect some correlation between amount of colonisation done in the past, and wealth today.

(And even more, you'd expect to see a causal connection. So you'd need to exclude the alternative explanation that rich countries engage in a bit of colonisation as a rich man's hobby. And there's plenty of other correlations without causation.)

We could run a formal statistical analysis. But just have a look at Portugal and Spain. They ran extensive colonial empires, but aren't exactly rich these days. Germany and the Nordic countries were rather less involved in colonies, and are rather rich.

Russia ran and runs an extensive colonial empire, and they are comparatively poor (and we know that what wealth they have comes from oil and gas).

The Netherlands ran a big colonial empire and they are rich.

> I’m talking about my home, the dear old US of A.

The core of what became the US was already rich before they even stopped being colonies, and long before they had any colonies of their own.

[blibble]

where "we" is bezos

meanwhile my local highstreet is essentially dead

[fosco]

Local stores bullshit too, I was at a well known American ‘sporting goods’ store and got an exercise ball of 75cm size (it states on box), it is fully pumped and smaller than a 55cm ball that I have. When purchasing online I’ve had better luck

Caveat emptor

[mauvehaus]

Just so we're clear: are you having an issue with the size of the balls at Dicks[0]?

[0] https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/

[kyleee]

I have noticed the balls in my local dicks have occasionally been smaller than advertised as well, I wonder if there is some trend or fraud being perpetrated

[dorfsmay]

Did you measure them?

Did you return the one you bought locally?

[kaffekaka]

I want you to be right, but that requires quite a lot of hope.

[pembrook]

What positive effects?

More suburban strip malls, more fluorescent lighting, more people working mindless do nothing retail jobs for minimum wage, higher prices due to zero economies of scale, inefficiency from every local store reinventing the wheel of staffing/recruiting/scheduling/warehouseing/anti-theft/POS/advertising/etc.

If online shops have to raise prices to combat fraud it doesn’t suddenly turn springfield Ohio into the Zurich city center.

[mensetmanusman]

All we know is that we have no idea what the consequences are going to be after this plays out.