Back in the 80ties software was expensive: even basic tools like compilers cost more than 10'000$. Gradually the price of consumer software was lowered as copy numbers increased and finally the price tag was removed altogether for many products we use today.
Now, for more than ten years, we have enjoyed great software for free. But since it is impossible to write good software for free, it was rather a deferred payment model. We always knew that someone we will have to pay the price. Well, we do now: The cost of ten years of free software is, for example, a manipulated society and elections with seemingly surprising outcomes.
Here are two enlightening articles:
Distributed ledger technologies, such as Steemit, now provide us with an alternative to private, centralized data hubs used to maximize profits.
