Privacy and Progress

The price of swift progress is the ultimate sacrifice of privacy. If every company had full access to a consumer's full demographics, likes and dislikes, the companies will be able to find ways to fulfill the needs of the consumers. Moreover, if no company were to be able to keep its production processes and designs secret, every company would be able to access and find ways to improve upon the products. In theory, this will enable the world to approach a perfect model of information flows and enable progress at a swifter rate. However, given technologies and human selfishness, this is highly unlikely. There are inherent inefficiencies in all communications technologies and humans are unlikely to want to release their "secret formulae" to the world. The free access of information may seem to negate the incentive to invent. This is untrue as everyone will have the ability to improve upon any shortcoming they may encounter. A company that implements the new product will become a feasibility testing lab and help determine whether the item will remain in production. Consumers with access to the information may also potentially seek out and better understand the items they are purchasing. In reality, though, most consumers would rather be told what they're buying, and companies would prefer to keep their lucrative new strategies to themselves. Such is the way of the world.