AGE OF TECHNOPOLY 

HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU ASKED YOURSELF LATELY "WHAT'S HAPPENING OUT THERE?". QUITE LIKELY IT WAS SOMETHING YOU FELT, RATHER THAN ACTUALLY THOUGHT. WELL, IT IS STRANGE AND IT IS DIFFERENT. THE WORLD IS REJECTING MONOPOLY JUST AS A NEW FORM OF EXCLUSIVITY EMERGES. THIS NEW POWERFUL ECONOMIC FORCE, SO FAR GENERALLY UNSEEN AND UNIMAGINED, IS ALMOST INVISIBLE. THE FIRST CHILD HAS JUST BEEN BORN. THE AGE OF TECHNOPOLY OPENS.

AS COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD DEREGULATE, CONVENTIONAL WAYS OF CONTROL DISAPPEAR. THE VACUUM JUST STARTING WILL BE FILLED WITH THE CREATIONS OF THE NEW AGE: THE CREATION OF THE TECHNOPOLIST. WHAT IS IT? WHO IS SHE? IT IS A PRODUCT OR SERVICE THAT IS ALMOST 100 PERCENT CONTROLLED -- ALL OVER THE WORLD -- BY ONE COMPANY, GROUP OF COMPANIES, A SYNDICATE OR A COUNTRY. IT WILL RARELY BE HELD BY ONE INDIVIDUAL. AND IF SO, LIKELY BY A WOMAN. THEY WILL HOLD CONTROL FIRST, BY THE UNIQUENESS OF THEIR PRODUCT. IT WILL PERFORM IN A MANNER PREVIOUSLY UNIMAGINED. IT WILL CREATE A WORLD-WIDE DEMAND THAT WILL FORCE CONSUMERS AND/OR BUSINESSES TO GET THEIR HANDS ON THE PRODUCT REGARDLESS OF GOVERNMENTAL RESTRICTIONS.

IT WILL, IN THE MAIN, BE PRICE INSENSITIVE. EVEN THOSE WHO POSSESS ONLY A WELFARE CHECK WILL CUT BACK ELSEWHERE TO OBTAIN IT. THEY WILL BUY IT REGARDLESS OF THE COST!

THIS PRODUCT OR SERVICE OF THE TECHNOPOLIST WILL BE MADE INITIALLY IN ONE LOCATION. IT WILL BE STREAMLINED AND MARKETED LOCALLY TO TEST ALL POSSIBILITIES AND RECOVER MUCH OF THE INITIAL CAPITAL INVESTED IN THIS "DREAM". BY THAT TIME, PRODUCTION EFFICIENCES OF THE EMERGING TECHNOPOLY WILL BE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO MATCH BY ANY LATE-ENTERING COMPETITOR. AS DISTRIBUTION GROWS, ENORMOUS PROFIT WILL ALLOW THE ORIGINATOR TO OFFER BETTER MARKETING AND FINANCING TERMS THAN COMPETITIVE LATE-STARTERS. THE ORIGINAL PRODUCT WILL CONSTANTLY BE UPDATED SO THAT COMPETING PRODUCTS WILL APPEAR OLD-FASHIONED AND UNDESIRABLE. COMPETITOR SALES WILL BE MINIMAL AND THEIR BANKRUPTCY WILL FOLLOW.

THE "PILOT" PRODUCT FOR THIS NEW APPROACH IS ALREADY HERE. LAST YEAR MORE THAN 45 MILLION OF THEM WERE SOLD ON THIS PLANET. MORE NET PROFIT WAS MADE FROM THIS ONE PRODUCT BY ONE COUNTRY THAN FROM AUTO- MOBILES. IT IS NOW FOUND IN MORE THAN 60 PERCENT OF NORTH AMERICAN HOMES, WITH AN EVEN HIGHER PERCENTAGE IN BRITAIN AND THE MIDDLE EAST. STRONG DEMAND CONTINUES FROM NEW BUYERS, AS WELL AS FROM INITIAL BUYERS UPGRADING TO LATEST MODELS. MORE THAN 95 PERCENT OF WORLD PRODUCTION COMES FROM ONE PLACE. THE DRIVING TECHNOLOGY BEHIND THE WHOLE PHENOMENON HAS A CONTINOUS RESERVE OF "NEW" DEVELOPMENTS ALREADY PERFECTED AND WAITING FOR THE PROPER MARKETING MOMENT. THE STRATEGY IS TO MAKE THEIR OWN PRODUCTS OBSOLETE WITH THEIR OWN NEW DEVELOPMENTS, THEREBY PROHIBITING COMPETITORS FROM EVER CAPTURING MORE THAN A MINISCULE SHARE OF THE GLOBAL MARKET.

THESE PRODUCTS AND/OR SERVICES WILL PROVIDE SOMETHING NEVER PREVIOUSLY CONCEIVED. THEY WILL DO MORE FOR LESS, AND WILL RENDER OBSOLETE NOT ONLY OTHER SINGLE PRODUCTS BUT WHOLE INDUSTRIES.

A NUMBER OF THESE TECHNOPOLIES ARE UNDER DEVELOPMENT RIGHT NOW. FEW IN THE U.S. OR CANADA. THEIR VALUE WILL BE SO APPARENT THAT POLITICAL BARRIERS AGAINST THEIR IMPORT (OR LOCAL MANUFACTURE) WILL BE COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE. NOT ONLY WILL THE CITIZENS OF SUCH COUNTRIES RISE UP IN PROTEST, BUT THE NON-USE OF SUCH PRODUCTS OR SERVICES WILL PUSH COUNTRIES LIMITING FOREIGN TECHNOPOLIES EVEN FURTHER BACK IN THE TECHNOLOGY RACE. THE SEDUCTIVENESS OF THEIR 'TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER' NECESSITY WILL BECOME AN IRRESISTIBLE ADDICTION.

SOUND LIKE AN IMPOSSIBLE DREAM ... OR NIGHTMARE? MOST LIKELY THE FIRST EXAMPLE IS ALREADY IN YOUR HOME ! THE PRODUCT IS THE VIDEO- CASSETTE RECORDER!

ALREADY FOLLOWING, AS THE SECOND WAVE OF THE AGE OF TECHNOPOLIES, IS THE FACSIMILE MACHINE. THERE ARE CURRENTLY TWICE AS MANY FAX MACHINES IN JAPAN (WITH HALF THE U.S. POPULATION) THAN IN THE U.S. BUT THE ONE MILLIONTH AMERICAN FAX MACHINE IS PROBABLY ALREADY IN SOME U.S. WAREHOUSE! THEY ARE ALL MADE IN JAPAN!

NEXT: HDTV (HIGH DEFINITION TELEVISION). WITH A PICTURE SUPERIORITY OF 1125 LINES OF RESOLUTION TO THE INCH, COMPARED TO THE OLD NORTH AMERICAN AND JAPANESE SYSTEM OF ONLY 525 LINES, HDTV LOOKS LIKE A SLICK COLOR MAGAZINE AD COMPARED TO OLD-FASHIONED BLACK AND WHITE WEEKLY NEWSPAPERS VISIBLE DOT PICTURES. THE NETWORK OR CABLE NETWORKS THAT INTRODUCES PROGRAMMING IN HDTV WILL STEAL AWAY THE CRITICAL MARKET MASS WITHIN TWO YEARS.

CURRENTLY NHK HOLDS THE MOST ADVANCED SYSTEM, WITH A SUBSTANTIALLY SUPERIOR LEAD IN HDTV DEVELOPMENT. THEY HAVE BEEN WORKING ON IT FOR WELL OVER TEN YEARS. WHO'S NHK, YOU ASK? THE JAPANESE BROADCASTING CORPORATION.

THE DAYS OF OLD AGE TV ARE ABOUT TO END. HOW WILL THIS AFFECT YOU? BETTER START SAVING NOW FOR THAT NEW, MORE EXPENSIVE, DIGITAL HDTV SET.

OR ARE YOU STILL WATCHING IN BLACK AND WHITE?

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