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** TRADE & COMMERCE DIGEST: Cargo, freight, and passenger issues. **
** **
** All followups on this topic should be sent to **
** [email removed]. They will be edited for clarity **
** and resent to the Traveller Mailing List in a following digest. **
** For my benefit, if you would include the word TRADE or COMMERCE in **
** your SUBJECT: this will help me track these articles for inclusion **
** in this digest. Thanks, Greg Givler [email removed] **
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Contents:
1. Letter from the Editor
2. Tech Level Ruminations by Dan Williams
1. Letter from the Editor
I am in the process of presenting a Trade and Commerce System based on the
excellent articles submitted in earlier digests. I will have the first part
available in about one week. After which I will try to follow up with another
part every week. I will welcome input on all parts so that we as a
group can establish a Trade and Commerce System that we all find useful.
In the mean time take a look at Dan Williams article it sheds some light on
the subject of tech level and what exactly does it mean.
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2. From: [email removed] (Dan Williams)
Subject: Re: Tech Level Ruminations
Hi I am new to the list also, but I though I might try to add something.
In the computer game star-saga the economic model is for inner worlds to
be high tech while the outer worlds are seperated and low tech areas with
a scattering of really advanced technology in spots. The play continues
with players taking cheap high tech goods to low tech worlds to trade for
materials, and taking the raw materials back to the high tech worlds to use
to buy more expensive high tech gadgetry for trade or use by the player.
This is a more normal means of exploitation of cheap low tech labor by high
tech worlds. Normally there is a need to gear up to a new technology before
it can be utilized by a people. The tools just aren't there to be able to
support high tech industry. So if a high tech level N factory was planted
on a low tech level N-3 world and your tech level N Framistat defiburalated
what is the factory to do? Stop production while a quick messenger fetches
the necessary part? Most Businesses can not afford to do this!
Of course with enough incentive a business or organization can
develop the required infrastructure to support itself. Maybe with goverment
assistance. If the raw materials are at the location and it is to costly or
inconvinient to transport them, and the labor is cheap and plentiful, and the
goverment will give us a loan for providing "aid" to the locals, then it may
make sense to build training facilities, support bussinesses, public service
industries, or what ever else you could need to suport yourself. I would
expect to find stratification of locals and imported highly trained personnel
happening quickly. Slums and resentment, ect. Think of South Africa today
and how it started. An extreame example but History does repeat itself.
If you want a better example think about how the US installed industry in
Japan, and how Japan has grown to the power it is today from the wreck it
was after the war.
So if you intend to seed a high tech industry on a low tech world you
need to take account of the infra-structure, why the industry is here,
(labor costs, transport costs, necessity, etc.) how are the natives
used/treated, and whats in it for the bottom line.
Comments, observations, or flames encouraged.
Dan Williams
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TRADE AND COMMERCE DIGEST | ****This*SPACE*intentionally*left****
Greg Givler, Editor | *************************************
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