"Disruption isn’t good or bad on its own. It depends on how and why it happens."

5 months ago 8

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"A comment published in my local alt-weekly newspaper raised a provocative question:
'Funny, isn’t it, how when some tech billionaire 'disrupts' an industry, bankrupting businesses and putting people out of work, it’s presented as a good thing, yet when the state 'disrupts' an industry to cut back on fossil fuels pollution and other environmental damage, the disruption is presented as a problem. ...'    "Since the comment was meant to provoke a response, let’s respond.          "Put simply, these market and government disruptions aren’t the same. Very different forces drive them, and they lead to very different outcomes.
    "When a firm—even a firm led by a tech billionaire—'disrupts' an established industry, it isn’t as if it happens because they waved a magic wand and changed the rules overnight. Indeed, they may not change the rules at all. ...
    "Apple didn’t need a government mandate to displace Blackberrys and flip phones. Instead, consumers willingly adopted the new technology. ... This kind of disruption is a natural part of how markets work. New ideas replace old ones when they do a better job of satisfying consumer demand. ...
    "When governments decide to 'disrupt an industry [however], it’s usually through mandates, bans, quotas, or rate regulation—rules that everyone has to follow, whether they like it or not. These disruptions aren’t about offering people better choices, but enforcing certain outcomes. ...
    "This isn’t to say that all government intervention is necessarily harmful. ... The key difference is this: market disruptions arise because they offer something better. Government disruptions often happen because someone in power thinks they know more and better than the people and firms affected by the regulations. That’s a big distinction, and it’s why we should be careful about conflating market disruptions with government disruptions. ...
    "Think of it this way: if someone invents a faster, cheaper, and cleaner way to ship goods, businesses will jump at the chance to use it. If, however, the government tells firms to switch to a more expensive and less reliable method, the reaction will be very different. One is a choice; the other is a mandate. And that’s why people view them differently.
    "Disruption isn’t good or bad on its own. It depends on how and why it happens."
~ Eric Fruits from his post 'The Disruption Double Standard'

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