Magazine

The Three Laws of the Cyber-Economy, by Michel Bauwens

Law 3: The Price of Transactions Will Tend Towards Zero

The Internet creates an environment in which both the market and transactions can happen seamlessly and at near-zero cost, as it allows the elimination of all human intervention in the transactional shopping and commerce practices. Micro-payment technology, enabled by digital cash systems, will create new sectors of the economy in which knowledge workers will be able to directly sell their wares to the consumers. Also, this will generate Internet re-engineered businesses who will substantially eliminate physical intermediaries, and allow them to operate at seriously reduced costs. In turn, the physical intermediaries will be replaced by Internet market-makers who will create a context for supply and demand to meet and transact, directing our scare attention in the sea of offerings.