posted by kizer permanente
The more I think about I can see your point you were making. Almost everything wouldn’t come into existence if people with disposable income didn’t buy it first.
This was my point. When people were talking about cell phones, someone had to fund it. And at the time, it was looked at (likely) as something that would never be needed or catch on. But a rich person looked at it as a way to make money, because other rich people would be in the market for it. And so the science and tech kept pushing.
Of course I was being very loose with all the transportation stuff. But the Model T sure as shit wasnt being marketed to the lower class poor. It was definitely a status to own a car vs travelling by horseback. Without the rich wanting to constantly one up each other, I dont think we get to a lot of things because nobody wants to take on the risk of the product being worthless or not wanted. A product needs to be exclusive (for the most part) when its initially launched, as a cost effective way to actually manufacture it. That leads to high prices initially. Rich people HAVE to be interested/invested in the success of new products for them to become mainstream where the rest of the population can enjoy them.