Marx Was Wrong: Transmuting Labor into Capital

3min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Comments

Transcript

Episode notes

Software is akin to the philosopher stone of alchemy, turning labor into capital, challenging Karl Marx's theories. Unlike industrial machinery, software creates everlasting capital assets from human thought, continuously gaining value over decades. Today, software assets like Minecraft, Facebook, and Salesforce.com thrive for years, attracting constant investment due to their potential to generate value for generations. The global online presence empowers software to reach vast markets, a concept inconceivable in Marx's era when machinery exploited labor. This unprecedented transformation has reshaped the economic landscape, illustrating the everlasting value creation potential of software assets.

Marc Andreessen is the co-creator of Mosaic, co-founder of Netscape, and co-founder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
– InsideTracker: https://insidetracker.com/lex to get 20% off
– ExpressVPN: https://expressvpn.com/lexpod to get 3 months free
– AG1: https://drinkag1.com/lex to get 1 year of Vitamin D and 5 free travel packs

Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/marc-andreessen-transcript

EPISODE LINKS:
Marc’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/pmarca
Marc’s Substack: https://pmarca.substack.com
Marc’s YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/@a16z
Andreessen Horowitz: https://a16z.com
Why AI will save the world (essay): https://a16z.com/2023/06/06/ai-will-save-the-world
Books mentioned:
1. When Reason Goes on Holiday (book): https://amzn.to/3p80b1K
2. Superintelligence (book): https://amzn.to/3N7sc1A
3. Lenin (book): https://amzn.to/43L8YWD
4. The Ancient City (book): https://amzn.to/43GzReb

PODCAST INFO:
Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8
RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/
YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman
YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips

SUPPORT & CONNECT:
– Check out the sponsors above, it’s the best way to support this podcast
– Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman
– Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman
– Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman
– LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman
– Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman
– Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman

OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(05:01) – Google Search
(12:49) – LLM training
(25:20) – Truth
(31:32) – Journalism
(41:24) – AI startups
(46:46) – Future of browsers
(53:09) – History of browsers
(59:10) – Steve Jobs
(1:13:45) – Software engineering
(1:21:00) – JavaScript
(1:25:18) – Netscape
(1:30:22) – Why AI will save the world
(1:38:20) – Dangers of AI
(2:08:40) – Nuclear energy
(2:20:37) – Misinformation
(2:35:57) – AI and the economy
(2:42:05) – China
(2:46:17) – Evolution of technology
(2:55:35) – How to learn
(3:03:45) – Advice for young people
(3:06:35) – Balance and happiness
(3:13:11) – Meaning of life