> the uploaded realm it just might. Everything is SO EXTREME and simplified
> in the uploaded realm and not fuzzy like the real world that capitalism may
> not be able to hold it's own.
I'd say that capitalism will be essential to control access to the limited
processing resources available. No matter how much (finite) processing
power you have, in a socialist upload-world anyone can fork off a copy of
themselves for free so the world will be taken over by the fastest-copying
upload; "tragedy of the commons" and all that. You need some kind of
pricing system to ensure that the more useful uploads get more processing
power. The socialist alternative seems to lead to precisely the situation
you fear. You could have some kind of "Central Socialist CPU Committee"
who would decide which uploads were allowed to create copies, but that
would inevitably lead to a monopoly.
Mark
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