Institutions Will Seek To Preserve The Problem For Which They Are The Solution
from the the-shirky-principle dept
We already wrote a detailed analysis of Clay Shirky's recent writeup on complex business models. However, a few of you have sent over Kevin Kelly's recent post about Shirky's piece that also compares it to Clayton Christensen's Innovator's Dilemma, but thankfully highlights the one key line in Shirky's piece that may have gotten lost in the original:"Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution."Kelly calls this the "Shirky Principle." To me, it calls to mind Upton Sinclair's famous line:
"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!"They are not the same point, but they are related. In both cases, these are situations where people will often seek to preserve a problem or a falsehood, rather than recognize that it doesn't need to be that way. There are lots of industries where this is a major issue.
But, of course, the real problem is in how they go about trying to preserve that problem. They will go to great lengths to demonize the solutions. This is why the newspaper industry has, at times, lashed out at Craigslist and Google News -- two operations that have essentially removed problems that the newspaper business used to solve. It's why old school video guys lash out at YouTube or Boxee -- because they have removed problems that television used to solve. And, yes, it's why the RIAA and the MPAA lash out at file sharing apps and services -- because they have removed problems in distribution and promotion, that they used to solve.
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Filed Under: business models, innovator's dilemma, institutions, problems, solutions
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Preserve The Problem
Never in a million years would I have thought of this.
The truth of this is overwhelming.
The medical/pharma industry vs cancer.
Education cartel vs learning.
Legal vs justice.
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Re: Preserve The Problem
Education cartel vs learning.
Legal vs justice."
UNATCO vs. Grey Death
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not many people seem to care much about conflicting interests these days.
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the problem isn't one of quality, it's one of availability and affordability.
you can't count on an industry that profits from scarcity to solve the problem of scarcity.
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No laws, no crime.
eg. recent article about cell phones and driving.
Justifies many jobs and budgets.
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The point of this are that there are institutions that may not have to exist at all if you solved the problem.
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More examples
Unions and unfair labor practices
ACLU and rights violations
These organizations just keep finding more and more minute unrelated examples to justify their existence. There are leagal structures, societal norms, and business pressures that make all of these issues rare and easily responded to by the buying public. How long would Wal-Mart last if it put a "Whites Only" sign on the front door? There would be no need for Jesse Jackson or the courts as the stock price plummeted and the stores emptied.
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/Discussion
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Scary example...
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Re: Scary example...
No worries, the Turner/Overdrive ticket will beat them handily....
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Demotivational Poster
(It's absolutely true, and I've seen it firsthand in the financial software consulting industry... but consider the ancient software used at doctors offices, airports, libraries, the DMV, some of which dates back to Windows 3.1 or earlier. There are huge consulting industries built around this ancient software, since it's much cheaper and easier to help people use crappy software than to build a viable competitor.)
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So True!!
Just recently, I saw a TV add that looked quite expensive (and on location to-boot) for donations to help some impoverished group. My response, why was the money spent on a glossy tear-jerk TV add when the money could actually have been used to help that group?!?!
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Politics
If abortion was illegal, they would lose the majority of their supporters.
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Re: Politics
Abaondoned fetuses?
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Re: Politics
As one congressman put it, every line in the tax code has a special interest supporting it. It will never be fixed.
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The Rural Electrification Administration, whose initial purpose was to provide electricity to rural areas. It still exists, albeit under another name. I challenge anyone to point out a rural area in America that is devoid of electricity.
The Federal Helium Reserve was established after WWI to ensure a supply of helium for dirigibles. It still exists and is governed by the Dept. of the Interior. The alarmism surrounding the depletion of helium for scientific purpose is breathing new life into this project, which has been vestigial almost from the beginning.
Amtrak was supposed to last two years. That was in 1970. Marvel at our brilliant passenger rail system, replete with bullet train service coast to coast!
Need I go on?
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Re:
You're so cognizant. Do you have a website with which to visit so I may learn more of your ironclad position?
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only path to ridding ourselves of 20th century corporate rule.
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correlation does not imply causation
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It's called 'The Iron Law of Bureaucracy'.
I know it's hard for the precious Web 2.0 younglings to understand, but they did not in fact invent everything nor have all insights worth having; perhaps one day they'll learn of the concept of 'prior art', and possibly even read a book or two (Kindle is fine).
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William Inge
Every institution not only carries within it the seeds of its own dissolution, but prepares the way for its most hated rival.
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The problem is me
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