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tomohawk
Compelling technologies do not require fiats from on high, or massive taxpayer subsidies.
jka
Perhaps they're not required, but they can help during high-stakes competition between nations.
handmodel
I disagree. By this standard the government should not even be building highways (they are subsidies to the technology of the automobile, after all)

The government built/supported plenty of the infrastructure that helped the internet/wireless communication take off fast. It obviously would have occurred without it but would have been slower.

halfnormalform
The history of rural electrification says otherwise.
suture
The Rural Electrification Act and subsequent subsidies was very successful. Electricity is a compelling technology.
tomohawk
Samual Insull was doing a great job with rural electrification, long before FDR came along.

https://www.masterresource.org/insull-samuel/insull-rural-el...

Samual Insull was a hero saw the future of electricity and made it happen. He was hounded by FDR and died penniless for his efforts.

suture
Rural electrification greatly increased after the act. I don’t know the history in all this but one thing is certain. The act increased rural electrification and is an example government intervention increasing the use of a compelling technology. It may be the case that it would have occurred without government intervention and I won’t dispute this. But government intervention did greatly increase rural electrification.
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