In another chapter of “There is Nothing New Under the Sun”, we find a close comparison between the attempt to control information for economic superiority and the economic impact of free flowing information.
The time is 1791 and the United States is in its infancy. Britain has invented numerous technologies such as textile machinery which had catapulted Britain to great wealth. The US is an agrarian democracy, enabling Britain to reap the greatest profit margins from America’s raw materials. To maintain its leadership, Britain outlawed the export of textile machinery, skilled textile mechanics were forbidden to emigrate, should they memorize methods and peddle this information abroad.
Alexander Hamilton, meanwhile, understood that gaining this information was key to building the US industrial base. He supported numerous spies in England and welcomed English “defectors” to begin building America’s industrial might.
Despite Britain’s best efforts, restricting information and controlling the flow of technology failed as we now know. Employment non-competes will end up like Britain’s — shackles that fail in the end.