The Downsides of Disruption and How We Might Manage Them

This chapter will consider the downsides of disruption in economic, social, political, and even personal contexts. There is a saying that “Everybody wants to develop a disruptive technology, but nobody wants to be disrupted,” and this is very true. This chapter will present several examples of how technological disruptions have had negative impacts upon both disrupters and those whose markets and businesses have been impacted by disruption. The chapter will also consider some of the costs and dangers of space disruptions as we now understand them.