Reforming an institution never works. Progress is achieved by starting something better from scratch. "The way you change schools is not to reform. Is by starting a better school"As an example, school reform was a key action item for most billionaires and politicians. In 50 years US spent billions in school reform, with no result.

The myth of Reform

Marc Andreessen, the parter at a16z ventures, observed new technology is almost never embraced with open arms. New technologies are a danger to the status quo and they face a lot of pushback. It follows the same process:<ol><li>Ignore</li><li>Vigorous Protest, usually using arational arguments. </li><li>Rage, name-calling the tech and execs as danger to the order of things. </li></ol>

3 Stages of Technology Adoption

The early days of capitalism had super heroes founders (the red barons from 150 years ago). People like Carnegie, Disney or Ford were changing the world through sheer determination. Marc Andreessen & the whole VC industry is focused on finding people like that.However we have now moved to a managerial style of capitalism, where the founder is replace by a bureaucracy.  Instead of owners we now have managers. Instead of individual achievement we have collective interests.

Bourgeoisie Capitalism vs Managerial Capitalism

The Fermi paradox is the discrepancy between the lack of conclusive evidence of aliens and the apparently high a priori chance for their existence. Aka "Where are all the aliens?"One cynical explanation is that like humans, alines got to a level of comfort that they lost interest in exploring the universe. Instead of coming to say hi, they may be Netflix & chillin'.

The Complacency Problem & the Fermi Paradox 

One example of the incumbents fighting new tech are the laws passed in 1865 by the British.  They passed a series of legal restrictions for drivers, mostly aimed at keeping the road safe for horses. <ul><li>One provision set the speed limit at 2 miles per hour within towns; </li><li>Another required a person to walk in front of the vehicle waving a red flag...at all times. </li></ul>The role of the laws was to discourage people to get cars and to disrupt the horse based transportation industry. It took 30 yrs to be dropped.

Red Flag Laws

Marc is a very good historian and a philosopher of tech

With much coverage of technology lined with pessimism, the a16z Podcast returns to highlight the bright side of technology, alongside the founders building it. But before featuring the solutions in progress, we wanted to explore why building the future is still so important.And who better to traverse this ground than a16z’s own cofounder Marc Andreessen, who has built and invested in the future time and time again, especially when it wasn't the obvious thing to do.Together with Marc, this episode explores technology through the lens of history – including the three stages of human psychology as we encounter new technologies, how that process often manifests in regulation, when to change your mind, the Cambrian explosion of opportunity coming from distributed work, the importance of founder-led companies, and perhaps most importantly, we examine why there's still much reason for optimism. Resources:Marc on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pmarcaPessimist’s Archive: https://pessimistsarchive.org/ Stay Updated: Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16zFind us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zSubscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.com/podcastsFollow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithioPlease note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

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With much coverage of technology lined with pessimism, the a16z Podcast returns to highlight the bright side of technology, alongside the founders building it. But before featuring the solutions in progress, we wanted to explore why building the future is still so important.And who better to traverse this ground than a16z’s own cofounder Marc Andreessen, who has built and invested in the future time and time again, especially when it wasn't the obvious thing to do.Together with Marc, this episode explores technology through the lens of history – including the three stages of human psychology as we encounter new technologies, how that process often manifests in regulation, when to change your mind, the Cambrian explosion of opportunity coming from distributed work, the importance of founder-led companies, and perhaps most importantly, we examine why there's still much reason for optimism.Timestamps: 00:00 - Welcome back!02:19 - The importance of tech today05:25 - Historical negativity toward technology9:40 - The invention of the bicycle13:16 - Innovation vs status in society20:45 - Automobile moral panic and red flag laws24:52 - Balaji’s arc on social networking27:44 - Surfacing signal from noise34:06 - The role of timing in innovation37:39 - Today’s major unlocks44:59 - Remote work and society reshuffling49:49 - Changing your mind54:06 - Retaining a lens of optimism1:04:25 - What Marc’s excited about1:08:41 - Bourgeois vs managerial capitalism1:17:32 - Reform vs starting anew Resources:Marc on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pmarcaPessimist’s Archive: https://pessimistsarchive.org/ Stay Updated: Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16zFind us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16zSubscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.com/podcastsFollow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithioPlease note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

The a16z Podcast discusses tech and culture trends, news, and the future – especially as ‘software eats the world’. It features industry experts, business leaders, and other interesting thinkers and voices from around the world. This podcast is produced by Andreessen Horowitz (aka “a16z”), a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm. Multiple episodes are released every week; visit a16z.com for more details and to sign up for our newsletters and other content as well!

The Complacency Problem & the Fermi Paradox

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The Fermi Paradox