The GPS system is a fucking miracle, and like most systems of this complexity it sometimes seems amazing it works at all. https://twitter.com/lithohedron/status/1345649088558112768
Imagine a private company trying to put a system like this together. Would it be free? Absolutely not! There would be 10 different constellations and rafts of incompatible devices competing in the market for several decades before someone "won" the monopoly.
Sometimes it helps to think of public goods like the internet, the GPS system, the US Space program, and public libraries, and consider how conservatives would react if you pitched them now.

Can you imagine the howls about "state run book lending"?
Considering the conspiracy bullshit around a small change like 5G, and the already paranoia around tracking tech, consider how the world would react if a government announced they were building a GPS system now.
Even though it was military spending that brought us the GPS system (and tangentially, the internet), it *is* an example of a socialized cost with massive societal benefits - hard to imagine a world without it.
You can follow @lithohedron.
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