The article contends that we'll replace capitalism with a "reputation economy":
> I strongly suspect that any post-capitalist society
> will be built around a technologically sophisticated
> reputation economy, very very loosely a la Cory
> Doctorow’s Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom.
> Obviously we already live in a world full of subtle
> reputation economies — you see one in action any time a
> celebrity gets special treatment. Nowadays, though,
> technology could enable something much more codified and
> quantitative. (Crude hacks like Klout may at least light
> the way, for all their flaws.)
Perhaps I'm being thick, but isn't reputation just a form of capital? Why would it replace capital?
I think the idea is that you can't hoard reputation and you can't trade it.
With money the more you get the easier it becomes to manipulate the system so you can acquire even more, with reputation you go from no reputation to maximum reputation in one particular subject.
You're not being thick. The author conflates currency with capital and corporatism with capitalism. The only question is whether or not the author is making this mistake out of ignorance or malice.
