Architects of the Internet: web development, economics, and politics

On the Internet, many things appear free (as in free beer) to the end user. Sure many people pay for some digital things, such as ebooks off Amazon, making ads go away on Spotify, and in-game fashion accessories. Nonetheless, a common assumption—grounded in some truth—remains that the Internet is truly a land of (near) infinite resources, and therefore the wealth of knowledge/data available there should be shared freely.

For anyone following technology news topics like free 
speech online, cryptocurrency, or even the tough times Facebook is currently going through, it is evident that the internet remains inextricably linked to the (material) world, and that the forces of scarcity of resource, legal fees, and taxation operate there, just as servers don't magically get to escape gravity because they deal with digital stuff.

Here's where the analogy comes in—

Just as architects must produce designs constrained by scarcity of resources, legal requirements, and other 'real world' factors, web developers (designers, front-end people, back end people...) must likewise reckon with the physical substrate their work materializes on.

While that point just stated may be obvious and easy enough to grasp, its implications are many. Here I'll focus on two: (1) web developers must get political to defend their interests, and (2)  the economic environment does not necessarily select (as in natural selection) for the most readable code, the most aesthetically, pleasing designs, and so on. Political and economic forces shape what sort of strategies survive and reproduce (and on the other hand, which don't).

The Scarcity of Resources

Video games that allow mod-makers to produce custom game levels, game modes, and so on contain tools and options for these developers to "play god". Whether this means having infinite ammunition in a first person shooter game or the ability to have infinite lives/attempts in a side scrolling platformer game, developers often work with the illusion of near infinite resources, at least within the context of the projects they are working on.

After some hours of hard work, however, even developers find themselves wanting to order pizzas, take naps, go pee, etc. Developer time is not infinite, even if the in-game mathematical reality may provide infinite resources.

The Price of 'Free'

Developers are just heavily invested in not just whether or not their work is good, but in the environment that sets a price to the value of their work.

Seasons of excessive money printing and reckless speculation may raise average programmer salaries through the roof. Likewise, tough times may convince a company that it makes sense to fire half of their programmers. Have the programmers' skills fundamentally changed? Maybe in some cases, but it is not hard to think of many ways in which the primary factors at play are political.

By political here, I mean what is government-coerced. Paying your taxes, for instance, isn't really optional (unless you wanna get locked up). Likewise, complying with some new hiring practice law or otherwise facing thousands and thousands of dollars in fines, means basically that you have to pay up and do what is mandated by law (or go out of business). Business people, in response to the political climate, may hire more people, fire more people, outsource labor, bring work to Nebraska, etc.

Supply, Demand, and Reality

Insofar as the "laws of economics" are at work and operating, we expect supply and demand (of labor, of goods and services, ...) to move to meet reality. This is a statement of faith in the order of the universe.

Now, there are certain aspects of reality directly under the control of human—namely that which is political.

Talented, hard working developers have it in their best interest to have a freer society that rewards efficiency, expertise, and all that. On the other hand, not-so-talented developers, people that enjoy getting free stuff wherever it comes from, and the whole gang prefer a less free society where wealth that naturally accrues to the first group by economic forces is taken and redistributed.

Building Tomorrow

Architects, contractors, and others involved in the building of physical buildings, infrastructure, and the like, are keenly aware of how the political climate (and the economic environment born thereof) contributes to what can and can't be done. A house that was possible to build last year may not be possible to build today.

While the Internet allows web developers to transcend some problems associated with those aforementioned, older professions, they are still subjected to essentially the same forces, though often in more indirect and arguably more complex ways.

To build tomorrow, we must be conscious of the affects of our choices today. Otherwise, it might not be possible to build that dream house.