Date posted: August 6, 2006

The Perverse Logic of Capitalism

If a novel idea or product is successful, others will copy it. This is what happens in business, but also in science and the arts. When a new field of scientific inquiry is opened up, - the science of networks, string theory, social cognitive neuroscience -, scientists and PhD students flock there, because the chances of breakthroughs and getting an article published (profits in science) are still high. Thus there is a drive towards homogeneity and monoculture in capitalism.

But homogeneity creates its own niches. The flattening of the competitive landscape invites differentiation. Being small, being local, being colorful, in short being different, are all ways of carving out a niche. Until it is cloned or gets too big (the case of counter culture becoming mainstream).