Supply chain issues are killing synth companies
It feels like we're at the end of an era.<p>Most of us spent an entire lifetime in a particular model. The model being that supply is pretty much unlimited, given that you have money. And even money is a pretty fluid concept. Not only is everything unlimited, in recent years we've also made most of it instant. We've become completely detached from real world resources like commodities but also workers.<p>Indoctrinated to the maximum into this consumer economy, ordering something and learning that you can't have it despite putting up the money, comes as a system shock. The very concept of "NO" is back from past times. What do you mean, no? I said I want it.<p>Optimists would find it an excellent time to recalibrate society. Acknowledge critical dependencies and in-source them. Spent limited resources, such as workers, on areas considered vital instead of dispersing them across a million things less vital.<p>Of course, none of this will actually happen. Just like during COVID where we had the "nature is healing" meme, we soon learned that it's same-old as soon as restrictions were lifted. We're unwilling to let go of a fragile and unsustainable global supply chain. We're afraid to make any hard choice at all.<p>Unlike China. We're all aware their economy is more planned but one of their most fascinating moves is to slash the tech sector. And with "tech" I mean what the US considers tech. Which is the stuff coming out of SV. Most of it is entertainment, social network stuff, games, the like.<p>According to China, this isn't tech. It's unimportant soft tech that in many ways is a net negative to society. Plus it's hard to censor. So they decimated the entire thing and re-calibrated "tech" to real-world tech.<p>I'm in no way in favor of this type of intervention but I do find it a fascinating example of making actual hard choices. In the West, we don't seem to prioritize anything at all, we'd rather continue with the limitless illusion in a world that isn't.