Stephen Downes

I think there are some good points to be made in this longish post ruminating on how to decide what needs to be made and what needs to be done in the world. The main advice is in the title, where 'redemptive' is defined as "I sacrifice, we win" and contrasted with 'exploitive' ("I win, you lose") and 'ethical' ("I win, you win"). This is more than just 'catering to the desires of your users' but instead "seeking to understand their deepest needs and to seek their good, even if that means that we cannot maximize our returns or profit margin." This is had because 'their good' is often not seen as also 'my good'. The same post also references Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s novel Player Piano, which is probably my favourite of all the Vonnegut novels.